Summer

Well, late spring anyway. It's already started, though: the busy time of year when there's an absence of (teaching) work which leads to an abundance of other activities. We just got back from Omaha, where we saw the Malcom X birthsite (a vacant lot that has some greenspace added), Children's Museum, Henry Doorly Zoo, and the Botanical gardens. Ate at McFoster's Natural Kind cafe and Jane's Market. Omaha isn't a great town, but it's not bad -- at least not as bad as I had imagined. The areas around UNO are pretty nice and despite the lack of recycling, there is a growing bike trail system. So, it's win some, loose some.

Still on deck for this summer: thesis committee & defense (I'm 3rd reader), submit "Toward Sustainable Literacies" (article) to editor, meet with local writing project director, teach my summer section of College Research & Writing, Solon's birthday, camping at Backbone State Park, 3-week level-one course through Iowa Writing Project, finish Comp theory syllabus, locate and revise master's thesis into article (yes -- after 8 years!), research English Department mission statements and organize for first dept. meeting, organize Brown Bag topics for fall semester, meet with Digital Arts Interdisciplinary committee, oh and find some time to write somewhere among all this!

Whew!