This past week has certainly flown by.

My mom came all the way to DC from Hong Kong to spend the week with me, which was absolutely lovely. Aside from graduating (!!) we also celebrated Mother’s Day together and went up to the Pennsylvania/Delaware area to visit family and friends. In Pennsylvania, we got dinner with my relatives. I never realized that I rarely see my two uncles together (one lives in Chicago, one lives in Pennsylvania) so it was quite amusing to see how they interacted.

In Delaware, we saw family friends, some who knew my dad before he even met my mom, and some whose kids I grew up with. (I saw some of the kids, too ) We also drove by my old house, which was incredibly nostalgic. We drove up the road where I kept tumbling down on when I learned how to ride a bicycle, and all I could think of were the times I had in the neighborhood as a little kid. The house has changed, now – my beloved daffodils (which my dad planted) have been replaced by other flowers, the white front door has been replaced by a snazzy-looking red one. It sounds silly, but despite all the changes and not having lived there in over ten years, it still feels like my house. I wonder what my room looks like, now.

I also have big news about the “e” word (employment): I HAVE A JOB! I have accepted an offer to work over the summer at a communications firm that specializes in health, healthcare and social issues. My start date is May 29. EEEEEEEEE!

This morning, I graduated magna cum laude from American University.

That still doesn’t sound real to me. More updates on graduation later in the week!

I’ve now officially completed three out of my five classes for my final semester in college. After Tuesday, I’ll be done with all of them! (Of course I wouldn’t be finished until the last possible exam day. My life.) At this point, I can’t wait to be done with my undergrad studies. All I have left is an online exam and a final presentation, so it really isn’t that bad. My papers and projects are all completed, which is a relief!

I’ve also been starting to hear back from potential employers regarding my job applications, which is promising. Up until this past week the job search was more disheartening than anything else, but now I’m trying to be positive about the whole search. I’ve got some good leads, so hopefully something will come together soon. I will say though, if nothing else, the job search has taught me more about what I should and shouldn’t do as an employer interviewing a potential candidate than anything else! But, more about that another day.

Since I’ve started to have some more free time now that everything is wrapping up for the semester, I’ve been enjoying reading leisurely once again. I love the feeling of getting into a really good book and how, even in the intervals where you are not reading it, you’re still thinking about the characters and the story. That’s what I’ve felt like with THE DESCENDANTS, which I’m currently reading. I’m not very far in yet, but already the characters are sticking with me, which is a great sign of a wonderful novel.