Oh, right! That's what I was forgetting...

...the blog! Also, to answer e-mail. But that's neither here nor there.

Um.

Also, I haven't had a lot to say. But so everyone's on the same page, here's what's been happening.

I've been working, slowly, on the book. I also managed to submit a paper to a journal and do some web work for one of the organizations I'm involved with. The conference is coming along swimmingly, if the pool you're in causes you to slowly wish you'd just drown quickly. The theme, it seems, somehow must involve something vaguely apocalyptic. And people have stopped returning e-mails about details. I suspect this means all manner of work will fall out of the sky like radioactive ash sometime around Spring midterms.

Maybe "apocalypse" really is a good theme.

And it does fit here. Driving to pay my rent the other day, I saw an Isuzu truck that was tricked out in such a way that it looked like something from "The Road Warrior." And gas prices are awfully ridiculous. And the drivers here are awfully bad. If only we had a feral looking kid who'd throw razor sharp boomerangs. That'd be awesome.

My father had heart surgery - incidentally, in case you ever need to know, the phrase "heart failure" doesn't actually mean the heart has completely failed, only that it's failing. It makes a big difference, and if there are any medical doctors out there, it wouldn't be so bad to lead with that bit of information instead of making us ask. Twice. He's fine now, though: a defibrillator implanted, which makes him sort of a cyborg which is kind of cool. My father: half human, half machine.

The roommate is up for a job that would have him gone in August. I am, if you don't know, something of a planner (about some things at least), and this makes planning hard. Do I wait to sign a lease until he knows about the job? Do I stay here and try to find a new roommate? Do I abandon ship and try to find a smaller place on my own? Can I travel home for an extended trip or is something short and sweet better? Can I travel to the first meat market of the season?

Ugh.

I've played one game of Ultimate Frisbee, and I'm proud to say I still have both knees. Actually, I started back to the gym a few weeks back, so maybe that helped. I'm also secretly hoping that if I get used to using the school's gym over the summer, the possibility of having to work out when there are actual students won't bother me quite so much. And my sleep schedule has more or less switched completely to the summertime rules where I sleep late and stay up far, far too late into the evening.

But that part, at least, is fun.