i seem to only blog on the train…

Which means once a month. I happened to look at my archive links in the sidebar a few days ago, and if you compare the number of posts each year - it's kinda pathetic what a shadow of its former self this bog has become. Bleh.

Anyway, I'm heading into the city to meet with some students. I put in an application for a pile of student assistant money through the Provost's office, and actually GOT IT, so I have $2000 with which to bribe student minions to do my bidding. I have a project lined up for them and need to meet with them to get them started on it. Which also means I have to squeeze in about a dozen other tasks that can only be done on campus and which now pile up for a month until they can justify the $24 round-trip train ride.

Besides the usual work-related stuff, I need to get to the Apple Store to fondle an iPad, and then over to the over-priced but service-oriented running store to get a decent pair of shoes. My return to running has been marred by an ill-fitting pair of mail order shoes, and I'm just going to give up on them, as much as it pains me. I need to just get over it and accept that decent shoes cost $100.

So in order to accomplish all this in one day, I managed to drag myself out of bed by 5:30 to catch the 6:00 train, which is better than I did last time I went in to the office. It feels really unreasonably early. The sabbatical is totally spoiling me. Going back to work full time in September is going to be a serious shock. I'm not looking forward to it!

Meanwhile, the writing is moving along, if sporadically. Some of the decrease in pace is planned – I had given myself a week off for the kids' Spring Break, and then a couple of weeks off to work on "other projects". Not that much is getting done on the other projects, but I'm trying to do a little looking ahead to my fall courses. I am still planning my week-long "retreat" at some point in the next 2 months, and I got approval from my Chair and my Dean to spend the money from my research fund on a bin in the woods. I think I found the perfect place - only 90 min away and with a piano and a very airy great-room that's perfect for yoga. It's not ALL about the writing. If I can reserve the last week before Memorial Day, I plan to use the retreat to actually FINISH the book. Then come June, I can hand it over to the wife for copyediting. So, the project is still basically on schedule, which is… well, surprising, to say the least.

I think I'm going to spend the rest of the train ride dealing with some student incompletes and other nagging issues. Stay tuned for a giddy iPad mini-review on the way home.