Thanksgiving 2021: a year in review

Well, here we are, Thanksgiving 2021. Four hundred years since some of my ancestors participated in the first one, and like them I both crossed an ocean earlier this year to start a new phase in life and have much to be thankful for.

Where to begin? Less than two months ago I submitted my thesis for examination, and just today I got back my thesis examiners' reports. They were both good, with just a few minor revisions suggested (a very common outcome), so as I move towards my thesis defense in a little less than a month I can be quite confident of passing. (Intellectually confident, at least, I'm sure it'll do nothing to calm my nerves on the day.)

Moving back to Hilo and getting set up as a functioning adult again has been a major stressor these past few months, but now that I'm a little more than a week settled in my new place the worst of the stress is finally over. I've got my own car and place to live again for the first time in four years, and I'm enjoying the hospitable Hilo climate. I'm still waiting for the stuff I shipped from Australia to arrive, but while I'd like to have it here (now that I have a place to put it) I can afford to be patient a little longer. And in the absence of most of my hobby-related stuff, I've managed to take up yet another hobby or two, so expect to hear more about that before long.

Of course, this move wouldn't have been possible without the job with Gemini Observatory I currently have. I always wanted to move back to Hilo, but actually doing so was entirely dependent on finding a job here. That one showed up at the right time just as I was finishing my Ph.D., and that I got it is little short of breath-taking. (Especially since it was the only job I applied for; I know other students at Swinburne who applied for dozens of jobs before getting one.)

And finally, as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to rage (though hopefully begins to wind down), I've got my doses of a high efficacious cutting-edge vaccine. I'm also living in an area with very low spread at the moment (daily cases are roughly in the teens for Hilo right now), and am fortunate enough to have little to fear for myself. Last year at this time...all right, I don't remember exactly when the first vaccines began to be approved, but there certainly weren't any available for the likes of me! It took a bit longer to get my shots in Australia than it would've in the US, but I got 'em in the end, and I'm incredibly thankful to have so far survived the worst pandemic in a century without loss of anyone close to me or serious damage to my health.

So all in all, I've no cause for discontent this year, and look forward with anticipation to the new year to come. Who knows what it'll hold? Happy Thanksgiving! A hui hou!