movin' on out

I'm not going to delete this blog (lest it get taken over by porn ads, like 1B*'s old blog did), but come over and play at my new digs.

I'm all for being an informed citizen ...

... but good lord are confirmation hearings boring.

Seriously?*

What are the chances that me and my childhood friend would end up closing on our very first homes on the exact same day?

Seriously,* I have to think the odds are slim. Nonetheless, that's what will happen tomorrow morning.


*(Yup, I'm a big fan.)

calm before the storm

It's dusk, on one of those tenatively grey evenings that's cold around the edges. The house is both picked up and clean (an unfortunately rare coincidence in our household), and even Doggie is freshly bathed and, consequently, hilariously fluffy.

In a little over a week, I'm headed to Asis--a trip that includes stops in the Country with a DMZ; the Country Where the U.S. Got Stuck in a Quagmire; and the Country with the Prime Minister who Made Anti-Semitic Speeches. (Sorry to be so long-winded, but, you know, just trying to make myself un-Google-able.)

The timing of my trip overseas is such that the day after I return, Woodstock leaves for five weeks of teaching at a university in Former Communist Country. He will be leading workshops for students and working professionals, offering his skills and insights to a place where freedom of communication is just emerging.

Rain is imminent, but now, now it's calm before the storm.

slightly tipsy blogging

It's been a long, long week. We've had week-long on-campus training in conjunction with restructuring, all of which was capped off with a work-sponsored happy hour, from which I just returned.

So, I'm happy, and a little tipsy.

In other news, a cool 10k has been wired from our savings account to the title company. We are all set to close on the very first home of our own on Monday morning.

In a few minutes, I'll meet up with Woodstock to attend the year-end departmental awards shindig, complete with booze and appetizers. I know it's easy to complain about this stuff, but I actually like hanging with Woodstock's students. They all adore him, and it's cool to see the tangible benefits of the graduate degree. As a bonus, his colleagues don't treat me like an idiot just because I'm a staff member.

Speaking of Woodstock, this week we found out that one of his films has, unbeknownst to him, been making the rounds of small, competitive political film festival. It must be nice to get substantive lines on the CV without even trying.

For long-time readers of this blog, EFB is now an uncle. Talk about another planet heard from ... I got an e-mail from him about it this week.

Something to consider before you quit your faculty job:

If you join the corporate, nonprofit, or staff side of higher education, you will be trained within an inch of your life. This is a guarantee.

In theory, I appreciate the focus on, and support for, professional development. In practice, I find most training consists of obvious platitudes and tangential stories.

Can you tell that I've just finished Day 2 of all-week-long training?

things that are good:

• a new dress! on sale! perfect for two upcoming trips!
  
• Battlestar Galactica--against my will, I really, really like this show. My favorite line so far (we're watching season one right now): "No more Mr. Nice Guyus." Oh, Dr. Baltar, you make me laugh.
  
• Woodstock's newest film. It's insightful, funny, and beautiful to watch. I think it's one of his best yet.
• In small university town news, a new Middle Eastern restaurant has opened. It offers not just excellent fare but also wonderful atmosphere. In Bailiwick, this alone constitutes an upgrade in quality of life.
• Spring here emerges gently, with all manner of green showing itself slowly and shyly.