So good to hear from you! Life is rather strange right now. Being out of school (which is a huge release of stress), and having every opportunity ahead of me... is daunting. I'm at the crux of a few decisions - where to live, what job to work, what grad schools to apply for - that will decide a fair amount about the next bit of my life (which is a whole other bag full of stress). It's liberating, but scary. For the most part, I'm excited and it feels good, but every now and then a doubt creeps in.

I really want to work again: academic work. I was explaining my research interests to someone the other day

(how psychological stress affects the body, thru what mechanisms, why this should be so, etc; how pigmentation is linked to personality/stress response; how domestication/stress/pigmentation are related and why; how animals use their eye whites in nonverbal communication, and how that developed, and why....etc etc)

and it made me really excited to learn how to do the work to find out. I think academia is definitely where I want to be in the future. I can't picture myself in a job where I'm not figuring out something new about the system we call Earth. I want to know all of it. and then i want to teach people what i know.

and i feel really good about having made that decision, which is the biggest of my life.

so, now part of it is just making moves to get there. like this paper. i'm really excited to hear your comments. i need to read through it again, because i'm sure i also have a vastly different perspective because of my own growth since then.

so that explains the abstract. the concrete of the last few weeks was working mornings at a horse farm doing easy work and spending afternoons working at a mental health practice as a secretary (and doing easy work). i've also been at the beach a fair bit for a few days at a time. i spend 3-4 nights a week hanging out with my cousin and his fiancee (my best friend) in norfolk, both to have social contact and to get away from my mother.

have seen a few guys since being here, but most men can't deal with intelligent women. and those who can, i can't stand or i don't want.

i really want a copy of the new book. where can i order it?

jonah