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I dragged myself out of bed at 7:36am, four minutes after my alarm rang. Why did I set my alarm at 7:32? No, I did not. I set it at 7:28, and it would ring every 4 minutes after the snooze button was pressed. Why 7:28 instead of 7:30? Hmm.. I felt better in my head if I could wake up before 7:30.
It was so dark, as dark as last night when I went to bed. While dressing up, I heard the ring tone of a text message. I thought someone somewhere had experienced the first sunset of 2010. It was Naureen who delivered the first sign of the severe weather. She said she would be late to work because of snow.

I centered myself in thick clothing and had my coffee mug in hand and was about to open the front door of my apartment building. That was when I saw snow. Lots of snow. No surface of roads could be seen. My memory of February and March of 2007 came immediately into my visual mind. Oh, no. I breathed deeply and came back home, turning on heat and the computer. I am going to work at home and be productive.
By 10am, I had emailed out three messages that would be discussed in the lab meeting (oh, yes, we had a lab meeting on the last day of the year) and received information about two coworkers who have stuck in traffic since 7am.

Do I love my job?
Comparing to Vince, I should be more qualified to work in a university department of Occupational Therapy. And he actually is more qualified to work in a department of Neuroscience than me. The postdoc chief of the Research Center before me is currently a professor in Occupational Therapy NYU. However, I have not thought about applying a position in an OT department anywhere. Vince has. He is going back to Taipei for teaching in an OT department. My first reaction was not what a friend should behave. I was shocked and felt betrayed. But like Zabeth said: we are running behind an ideal that is not existing and life is short so it might be better to just go after what you know you want the most...even if it means that you are not doing what you always thought you would...

So true. I am now in a path that most cog psych PhDs would not choose: I am working with patients. I love the topic that I am doing research on. Spatial Neglect is fascinating, especially when I see it happening in front of my eyes. The other job contents were not expected in my life-long student years, but now I have learned how to do all those and hope doing them well.
How many people work in the exact same field as their highest school degrees? I would say less than 30%. It is because most jobs out there in the real world do not match a degree title. When they match, there are thousands of people compete for them. We do what we can offer. We do what makes us happiest.
I chose to stay near Manhattan because I could not stay away from a big city anymore. Life quality is prior to career development. This is in my blood of a city girl. When I was desperate looking for a living, mama said to me you do what makes you happy, my girl. My life accomplishment are my work and my children. However, I wish my biggest accomplishment was myself. At the end, only what makes you happy matters.
It is always easy to say so to others. I thank her for being unconditionally supportive.
I had said similar things to mama and others. But when it comes to myself, I struggle. Sticking to a goal that may conflict with other goals is so .... like a religious faith: You just wish the goal can be reached even though other goals may be sacrificed.

So do I love my job? Yes, because I love my life.
Winter is cold and snowy here, but I love seasonal changes. Like Millie said, we complain but we love it. It is so pretty. It makes you feel thankful that you can appreciate Nature in daily life.

HAPPY NEW YEAR's EVE
Stay warm and drive safe. Love yourself and your life.
See you next year.