the End!

Never has the end of summer looked so good to me. At last, I can say that I have survived my first year on the job! My summer program ended last week, and although there were a number of bumps and hiccups along the way, we all managed to make it to the end in one piece. It was a hard slog (as evidenced by the recent dearth of posts). Looking back, I was probably overly ambitious in deciding to take on learning and teaching a new curriculum at the program at the same time as I was also directing for the first time. Ah well. I think it was worth it, and next year will be better all around, I expect.

Now that the program is over, I can look ahead and rejoice in the months to come. Dave and I found a beautiful new apartment, just 1.5 mi from Stephen and Grace. I can walk to a train station with a great train schedule, and Dave will have convenient highway access for his driving commute. We'll both still have long commutes, but we'll see if we can make it work. Dave doesn't start his new job full-time until November 1, but we'll be able to be back and forth together sometimes, which will make things much easier. Our apartment has a guest room and plenty of space, so, loyal readers: come visit us, please!

Here are a few snapshots from my summer program:

Caffeine was necessary. My mug is on the left; my colleague's on the right. Do you like my "Mr. Tea" infuser? I kept by my vow to stick with tea (not coffee) all summer!

 We discovered the über-pretzel at Reichenbach Hall. It was as glorious as it looks.

 Students compete with faculty in our annual verb-conjugation throwdown.

 Students decipher the text on a manuscript.

Students check out the real deal at the Morgan Library and Archives.