Taking Stock

I spent the day in the car, driving through the desert and around town. Music on the stereo (the Black Angels "Passover," if you're interested, who probably sound a little like the Doors except the Doors leave me cold and the Black Angels don't), and the windows down.

In the near distance, a mountain beckoned. The sun felt heavenly, and just being able to roll through town reading street names that sounded like they'd been named not just for saints but for lost lovers was more relaxing than I can tell. One thing I think the Southwest has over the rest of the country is the names of places: San Mateo, Esperanza, Villa Maria, Soledad....I could go on.

Lunch was at a little dive: a combination Mexican plate that was to die for. It's nice to see the old travel rules still work: the best places to eat always have the most police cars out front of them at lunch time.

The trip was good; there were a lot of questions after about the presentation, and I got a chance to reconnect with some old colleagues. And, with the exception of whatever edits come on the book, this more or less ends the research related part of my school year though now I've got a paper I can try to work up to something for the start of next year and the new job, plus two presentations in the pipeline. I like having a day after the conference hoopla to enjoy the place I'm visiting, though it happened by accident this time.

Life is, I think, moving along nicely.