LCE (Life-Changing Event) Trifecta

2007 is turning out to be a "big event" kind of year. Generally, any one of these would be enough for a single year, but hey, why not cram 'em all in together:

1) As you all know, we bought our first house in January. It's starting to feel more like home, although there are still a lot of projects that we want to work on.

2) Last week, I got a "real" job - in a couple weeks I'll start work at the University of Pennsylvania, as a Research Specialist in the laboratory of Dr. Vera Krymskaya. http://www.uphs.upenn.edu/lungctr/paccd/pulmonary/physicians_staff/faculty/krymska.html

3) And the biggest and most life-changing yet - if all goes well, in mid-November we will have a new baby! Currently the little endoparasite is only 1/2 inch long, but already making its presence felt via those lovely first-trimester symptoms - fatigue, queasiness, sore boobs, mood swings. I've heard the second trimester is typically more pleasant... here's hoping!

Somewhere in there, I still do intend to finish and defend my MA thesis. Hopefully that will occur in June or July. If you're wondering why it's not on the list... well, "trifecta" rolls off the tongue much more easily than "quadfecta." Also, it's not in the same class of events - it will be a milestone, but it won't have a huge impact on day-to-day life in any direct, immediate sense (other than not having to work on the darn thing anymore).

Some of you might be wondering how I ended up deciding that now, of all times, was a good time to job-hunt. After all, did I not state that I wasn't going to get a job until my thesis was finished, or maybe not even until after the first child? I did. But after we moved in and the dust started to settle, it took me all of about a month to get bored and restless. When I started applying for jobs, I was already pregnant - but I didn't know it. Would it have stopped me if I knew? Maybe, but I'm glad I went ahead with the search... 9 months is a long wait if you don't have much to do. It does add a certain awkward element to the process - when should you mention your condition? At the interview? When you're offered the job? After you start? At the end of the 1st trimester? I 'fessed up shortly after the offer was made, and was very relieved when my soon-to-be boss said "Congratulations! Not a problem."