Happiness, only slightly tempered

Although I am shocked and saddened that we lost Heath Ledger today, I have to confess that my giddiness over my own news outweighs that. I just found out that I got the fellowship! This just makes so many things in my life easier. I am funded through May '09, with that being my new planned graduation date. In a perfect world, I'll wrap up my dissertation by the end of '08, then spend the spring really seriously job hunting, without the added pressure of defending and house hunting simultaneously. In exchange for the funding I'll teach one introductory class this fall and a seminar based on my dissertation work in the spring. I can sign my lease for one more full year, and hunt for one more roommate this summer. And now I'll consider pushing ahead with hip surgery in the spring. There's never going to be a good time for it, but now there is at least the possibility that I could schedule it over spring break, take a good solid week off, and then only have one day a week of teaching to worry about, which I could clearly do from a seated position. It's probably the best timing that could be available to me for a while. Life is good.