I chose the title today because it seems relevant to my life since school started about a month ago. August and September are always busy for me, because the University opens and I have to hustle to prepare for classes and keep ahead of my students. This year was more so because (1) I had some summer projects that aren’t quite done; (2) I had some health issues; (3) I have a magazine I am trying to put together.
Let’s start with #3 first. I am editor of the Southwestern Spirit, the alumni magazine for my university. As such, I am the guy who is responsible for either writing all the articles or getting someone else to write them. Fortunately I have a couple of qualified students (whom I trained) to write articles, but they can’t write everything. I have so far written three articles for the magazine. The good news is that I have only one more short one to write. The bad news is that it is due Oct. 1. But I am optimistic, since I have gotten the tough stuff pretty much out of the way.
Now #1. My project of remodeling my wife’s kitchen continues. The floor is finished, the lower cabinets are in. I am hoping Shelly and I can go visit Home Depot tonight and make arrangements to put in counter tops sometime soon. And I have decided–after some consulting–that I will try to put in the upper cabinets myself. I hope that happens soon. After that, it is a matter of buying an island and a table for the kitchen at Ikea, and painting the room. But it looks I will keep busy for a while.
Finally #2. As you might know, I had an incident right before school started where I collapsed at a baseball game in Fort Worth. After a trip to the ER, and subsequent tests and doctor’s visits, they still don’t know why I conked out. Frankly, I blame sunspots–it’s as easy to blame as anything. But for the most part, the doctor’s visits are done for a while. But it was interesting to look over as they did a Doppler exam of my carotid and see and hear my pulse on the screen.
Yesterday, I played hooky from class to get my colonoscopy, which, when you get over 50 they expect you to do every five years. The preliminary verdict? I’m alive, but I need to eat more salad. With my wife recently turning vegan, that shouldn’t be much of a problem. All I know is that my life has been busy, and being out for the procedure is some of the best sleep I have gotten in the past month.
A few more obligations, and I am ready to start thinking about writing again. NaNoWriMo, anyone?
The Great Adventure 