I got 4th in the VOCT2-far better than I'd anticipated (though I admit I'd hoped to win it, having gotten that far!). I won't lie that it knocked the wind out of my sails for a little bit, but I quickly got over it.

The reason there haven't been any new stories (not even an unnofficial ending for Lillan's story in the VOCT2) is quite simple:

Graduate school is kicking my ass. In less than a month, I have my preliminary exam and qualifying exam. One is an oral exam in which four professors grill me for an hour and a half on everything I learned in undergraduate physics. EVER..

The other is a hour-long-presentation on the direction of the research a plan to do. Both of these determine whether I get put on the PhD track or not. Now, I do get *two* shots at both, and no one here has ever failed both, but.. it's a tetch nerve wracking!

I promise that I have *not* abandoned the field research series, the little stories I've promised people to hone my skills, or the other ideas bouncing around my head. =) Those *will* get done.. hopefully, time will teach me how to work on these stories on the side better. I'll certainly need that skill if I ever want to take commissions for stories!