"Your blog is missed"

Thanks to Anonymous for those kind words. I've missed blogging...and I can't believe I haven't posted here since November 12! Things I have done since then include (but are not limited to):

1. Had Thanksgiving dinner with the GF's family, which included an after-dinner walk around Thousand Island Park. Yum and fun.

2. Completed my first semester at my new Institution of Higher Learning, which resulted in the lowest grades overall that I've ever given in my life. I was warned about this by the folks who've been there a while, but still. 

3. Seriously rethought my syllabus for English 101 for the coming semester, to help prevent such large-scale failure/dropping-out/burning-out by students.

4. Began planning two new courses for spring semester: Creative Non-Fiction (thank you in particular to Dr. Write for the use of her excellent syllabus) and Professional Writing (i.e., writing for the workplace).

5. Drove south to the GF's house just ahead of the winter storm heading north up the Eastern seaboard as soon as finals were done, only to spend the following day finishing up grading and filing final grades.

6. ...and then getting on a plane the next morning to fly to Seattle...

7. ...to visit with family and friends for five days...

8. ...only to leave Seattle just ahead of Snowmageddon...

9. ...and arriving back in central NY before the Big Dump of snow here.

So, it's been a busy few months. Christmas deserves a blog entry of its own, which I promise to provide in the next day or so. And coming up: a cruise to the Caribbean, right before classes start up again. Yes, I plan to return to the Great White (Frozen) North sunburned and relaxed and ready for anything.