It's the Small Things In Life...Like Having Leg Room on a 2.5 Hour Trip Home. That Rarely Happens

I was given a seat in the front row coming home from Tampa on Spirit Airlines. I've only flown them one other time, and I had my knees in my chest, because they crunch so many people in their vessels. This time, however, I had lots of space for my legs and I was very thankful. So thankful, because I actually was comfortable enough that I fell asleep and it was the fastest flight of my life.

Space is good for long-legged fellows.

Meanwhile, I cursed myself, because I said, "Wow, the drive home from Hartford is smooth sailing." There was little traffic. Of course, after I got through the tunnel in New Haven, an Enterprise truck stalled and blocked the right lane, causing for a crawl all the way to Stratford. Ah, Connecticut life.

I started thinking, especially as I looked at the wide-open, domed sky above the parking lot on the Merritt, that vehicular travel is outdated and ancient. There's all this space above us, so we shouldn't have to sit for hours, when we could rise up and fly over such mishaps. I've got my Jetson-phone capabilities (FaceTime), and now I want my mini-space car to go forwards and backwards, and up and down. It's time. Highway driving is too archaic.

I am thankful to be home, however, and to focus on closing out the semester at Fairfield University. My graduate students deserve all my attention and I will give it to them.

Breathe in. Breathe out.

Here we go.

Truth Is, I Have Two Different Sized Feet - Still Doesn't Change The Fact That I'm a Book Nerd

Funny how I've wanted someone to photograph my socks for some time now, but have never had the opportunity to let the dogs breathe while wearing them. Yesterday, however, in the heat of the conference, I took my shoes off and Tess, a Syracuse Alumni, was able to take a picture. It's official. The socks purchased by my colleague Diana Hulse have officially debuted on my blog. I am a Book Nerd, and I am proud. People might not understand my hoarding of books, but I geek to with them and have a difficult time letting them go.

So, another day of the Literacy Research Conference was a success, and I can say that I sat in the sun and did foot shots. Actually, I had a productive day of doing grant reports, networking, attending talks and reminiscing with Syracuse people.

Today will be full return mode, and although I will want to sleep on the plane, I'm sure I will read a book and work on items needing my attention for the weekend.

It was great playing in Tampa, but I know it's time to fess up to the inevitable of the northeast. For those staying at LRA for a couple more days, enjoy every second of it. I wish I could stay, but I have obligations needing my attention. It was a wonderful time.

Put a Fork in Me. I'm Done. I'm Cooked. I'm Zooted. I Am Feeling the Last Two Years. And Today I Will Sleep

This is what 7 a.m. looks like...well, 7:30 a.m. - I left at 6:45 a.m. to meet these two at Starbucks before our 8:30 presentation. They were wide-awake and happy, whereas I'm exhausted and don't do mornings well. Still, we met, somehow color coordinated, and zapped together the final presentation for the LRA conference (perhaps the most solid work put together for one of our collaborations).

I owe Dr. Kelly Chandler-Olcott the world for mentoring me at Syracuse University and Dr. Liz Lewis the applause for guiding the way (she was Kelly's doctoral student before me). Now we gather from time to time, put our heads together and think strategically about the work we're doing in 3 states. That was our presentation yesterday, and it was well received.

Let's just say that the 6:45 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. pace of the day had me returning to my hotel completely exhausted. There's much to post about the entirety of the day, but for now I'm just happy with this beautiful picture - time well spent with sages, mentors and friends. The conference season for 2019 is officially over. Amazing how the 2020 people are already recruiting me for sessions next year. I can't. I am simply fried at this point.

I am, however, thrilled that it ended with these two! I look forward to revising and editing the work. This has been a spectacular collaboration.

And I failed at sleeping in. I'm up at 7 writing this post. 

What 24 Hours Mean: From Snow and Cold, to Palm Trees and a Pool. Ready for my 8:30 a.m. Presentation

With LRA, I always find a hotel away from the conference, because conference hotel costs are rather steep. I lucked out, and although I doubt I will get to the pool much (nor are the 60 degree temperatures conducive to swimming), but it still beats the 20 degree weather back home.

I used my flight to finish George Takei's graphic novel and to watch an X-Men film I hadn't seen. I also watched two episodes of Jim Carey's Kidding on Showtime which is really interesting and very well done, although the pornographic scene in episode 2 embarrassed me, as it went from kid-focused, to adult, really quickly and I was afraid everyone was wondering what the old man in the aisle 24B was watching. It was a fast scene, but enough to make me extremely embarrassed. I would think that airlines would censor such material, given the family-oriented nature of most flights.

I will slide into my a.m. presentation then regroup to figure out where I am, what's going on, and what I can do to take advantage of the short stay here.

I was lucky to find Kelly and Elisabeth, and I dropped them off at the fancier hotel before I went out for fish and chips and called it a night. Always strange to sleep in a strange bed, but I'm excited to learn and soak in everything the conference has to offer. I also scored with my hotel room, as it is has a couch, a kitchen and plenty of space to spread out.

Here's to us!

A Snow Day For Turkeys. This CNY'er Is Not Having Snowmageddon Over a Weather Report. Please

I'm out of here. I can't take the wimpiness of New England drivers and superintendents...shoot, even our University called it off. I kept looking outside for a reason everything was shut down, but I never found one. There were rumors of this and that, but not much fell. Shoot. Even the Fairfield Turkeys were busy at work, having survived the holiday and knowing this was prime feeding weather - clear lawns, worms surfacing, and no one around to bother them.

I'm heading to weather in the high 70s with colleagues from Syracuse and Pennsylvania. Granted, they might be in snowier conditions than me, and if I have to, I will represent for us all. But Tampa, here I come.

The dog-sitters are on their way and the chili is spicy enough for the strongest of stomachs.

Yes, I went to the office anyway. Why? There was work to get done, including the inevitable disaster of Workday and the budgeting crisis that occurs on a weekly basis - I just want K-12 teachers to get what is theirs...the bureaucracy of our system at the University is an absolute impediment. Now I know why so many of my colleagues across the nation say, "Keep your budgets off campus. Set up a 501c account. Manage the money as it works best for kids and their teachers."

Nope. It's a full time job to argue with powers that be that CWP's funding belongs to the schools we work with. Ugh. Shaking my head.

I did get off campus early, though, and went to a few stores. No one was out because it was supposed to be treacherous. It barely sprinkled. So, I got the stores to myself and was able to accomplish a few things on my list.

By this time tomorrow, I'm hoping to have some Floridian snapshots. I am flying the Walmart of airlines there and back, and if my memory serves me correct, they basically strap passengers to the floorboards with your luggage in your lap. They were direct flights, however, and the 2.25 hour flight was appealing.

When I was their age, we used to snowmobile 15 miles in 18 inches of snow to get to school. Please. What has happened to America? Yesterday was just dumb.

Wow, December 2nd. Look at You Bringing Us Ice. Didn't Stop Me From Meeting My Goals, Though.

I had two goals for my Sunday and I am happy to say that I met them both. The first was to hit the 'submit button' on a collaborative piece teachers and I have been writing, trying to make an earlier deadline than we anticipated. The second was to upload the 31 days of not shaving photos to YouTube to see how my beard is growing in.

Here's a truth, when I couldn't grow a beard, I'm sure the hairs were brown and black. Now that I can grow facial hair, the majority beyond my goatee grow in white. I channel my father's hunting days as I always remember that was the month he looked like a ruffian and smelled like cold deer carcass and outdoor turkey poo. As I've grown older, I've missed that smell and although I don't hunt, I like the idea of not shaving. In fact, it caused me to consult with several of my fully-bearded friends on how (and why) they choose to groom facial hair. It's a pain in the ass.

But I will go with it, because I look better in a Santa hat. I still have spots, however, where no hair grows. I am racking my brain onto whether or not there was a childhood accident to cause this.

I should also admit I took two breaks on Sunday, one to hit the grocery store to stock up for Glamis-sitters #2 this week (that is, I made chili) and the second was to take said dog for a 4-mile walk. It was wet, windy, icy and cold. I loved it. She didn't. It was a break to stop editing.

Oh, and I did laundry.

I'm not sure how this day will go due to the weather, Burt I have back to back meetings and then need to pack the bags for Tampa - collaborative work between colleagues in New York and Pennsylvania.
I hated that Chitunga chose to leave early because of his own impeding workload, but reflecting on it today, I realize he and I are the same....just get the work done.

It's Monday, the first in December, and I'm hoping my mind will soon transition to gifting. Something tells me that when I finally get a break, I simply am going to sleep for weeks on end....(as if breaks are coming my way).

Needless to say, I feel accomplished (sort of). In academia, we just never know. Even so, I try...I try...I try.

Time to fly.

Okay, December, Bring On the Snow (Well, Until Tuesday). Our Charlie Brown Tree Is Ready

After a late Friday night, plans for a productive Saturday sort of got side-tracked due to impeding projects for the Masters student and, well, a pretty significant storm likely to make Sunday travel pretty challenging. So, as we gathered together in the a.m. to lay out a plan of action, Chitunga said, "I think I need to head back tonight. I still want to shop and help decorate the tree, but I need to hit the road."

Ah, Syracuse. That is the way you are.

It's sort of a ritual to see him hanging the ornaments on the hand-me-down-Monroe-Pam tree we use. I never put up trees before (real or fake), but since Mt. Pleasant, I kind of enjoy the ritual. It looks pretty frumpy and pathetic here, but once everything is up and the lights are on, it's actually a wonderful tree that I love staring at while working on my laptop at night.

His frustration with graduate school is a 'been there, done that' phenomenon that is hard to coach. He's ready for it to end, but has one more semester. He hasn't tasted the fruits of the hard work, so he's wondering, "Why am I doing all this? What is is for?" I remember thinking that over and over again with all my degrees, but one can't see what it is for until they are on the other side of the sacrifice. As I told him before he left, "You'll be 24 years old with a Masters degree. That is something to be very proud of and it will help you in your career. You'll see."

Writing papers, taking tests and doing projects doesn't translate to the work he'll be doing once it is all over. I told him, "K-18 schooling is 19 years. A career is often twice as long (and you can't get out of that...be thankful you invested in yourself young)."

With a quiet house, I believe I will edit a commentary invitation I've been working on for a few months, and finish the LRA slides for our presentation in Tampa. Of course, I also need to return the lights I bought to replace the lights that went out over the winter (because I accidentally bought blinking ones. I hate those). I also have to restock the house for the dog-sitters before I leave again (hoping this storm blows right through).

And let me say something about leftovers. There are none. I sent guests with their own containers, and Chitunga does his best Spencer Ripley impersonations and continually finds room for more plates (and he packed the last of it for his return to school). When I went to get dinner last night, there was only a few pieces of dark turkey meat and a lump of potatoes. Fine dining, I tell you.

And poor Glamis. I think she hates his departure as much as I do. She looks for him in the bay window and keeps sniffing at his door. I love the way the two of them bond when he's able to be in Stratford. We'll be up in Syracuse soon enough.