Creeping into February

How can it be February already? Okay, so the last part of January was a bit of a strange scramble, after which I'm still trying to regain my footing and my normal routine. But at least February means that the days will continue to get longer now, right?

I moved back into my room in St. John's toward the end of this past week and have been using the weekend to get back into normal-person things. Such as going out to coffee shops and actually, you know, studying, now that the aftereffects of the concussion have started to recede. And meeting friends around town. And going to a friend's crowded but still fun birthday party on Friday night. All of the activity leaves me feeling more physically and mentally tired than usual, and I have moments when I fall into a bit of brooding, but I'm on the up and up. I've continued to have great company, though -- and have also gotten into the next Oxford adventure, namely looking for housing for next year with a group of friends. (Never has the Stanford housing draw seemed any simpler, compared to sorting out properties and prices and options in the immediate Oxford area.) We're hoping to live in the popular Jericho neighborhood in north Oxford, near St. John's, and have gone to see a few options already. None are exactly what we're looking for (to put it lightly), so the episode of "House Hunters" continues!

I also suppose it's a good sign that I'm starting to look ahead and plan for future weeks and future trips and future adventures with friends for the rest of this academic year, even if I think I'll wind up sticking around Oxford until the end of this term for the most part. I'm already itching to get back out and plunge into being fully active again, but will need to give myself a bit more time before that happens. With the cold and the gloom and the rain, it's all a good reminder not to take anything for granted. February might be a bumpy month of giving myself time and playing catch-up and coping with that annual bit of winter doldrums, but I'll get myself through it. Books and tea and conversation are as good a consolation as ever. Onward!