I am currently in the process of adopting as a single woman, and my future child may never have a Daddy.  I haven't completely ruled out the possibility of getting married someday in the future - I have an aunt who got married for the very first time in her early sixties, so I know it can happen - but it's just not super high on my priority list at the moment.

Back in 2006, I decided that it was time to finally do something about the 40 pounds I had gradually put on over the course of the previous ten or so years. One of the main reasons it suddenly seemed much more urgent to lose the weight is that I had just recovered from skin cancer. The extra 40 pounds probably hadn't caused the cancer, but it certainly hadn't helped the situation. I was determined to get my health back on track and losing weight was an obvious place to start.

On Friday I saw my dermatologist for my annual skin check. Everything looks good.  I go to the dermatologist every six months or so at this point, with the skin check once a year. For a while I was seeing him every two or three months.  In 2006, I was diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma - skin cancer - so I take my appointments with the dermatologist very seriously.

One of the things I do in my job is to manage a computer learning center. We have free open access to computers with Internet connections, and a group of volunteers who teach basic computer classes and do some tutoring. Since we're open during business hours, most of the people who use the center are unemployed for one reason or another.

I recently applied to a graduate certificate program in Dispute Resolution at UMass-Boston.  Part of the application process was writing two short essays about how I have found myself in the role of negotiator or mediator in my recent employment, and how the program will help my employment. There are definitely things that I have to negotiate or mediate in my job right now, especially since I supervise people as part of my job, and I am enrolling in the program as one of the steps in my plan to escape the daily nine-to-five grind.