Update

It has been a long time since my last blog entry and my three or four readers have probably forgotten that I write here. My absence was related to a combination of three things. First, I got really busy. During the semester, I am always quite busy but what really killed me this spring was the addition of two professional talk (one at Norwich Uni and the other at the Northeast Section meeting of the Geological Society of America). In addition to my teaching duties- which for the spring semester included a new upper-level course that was outside of my area of expertise where enough for my to forgo writing here (even though it should really only require a few minutes out of the week.) I have alway felt that it is better to go running than to write about going running and so I used my time to go running...

The second thing that has happened in my absence from posting here is that my knee injury has returned. On April 4th, I ran a hard treadmill workout that left me with a slight limp. I backed off from running for a few days but have not been able to get the swelling or pain to subside entirely. As of now, my knee feels slightly better than it did last year at this time but I am limited to about one hour of easy running on preferably flat ground This was certainly not something that I wanted to write about at the time but I am now far enough removed from the disappointment of another season that I am ready to start writing about my extremely-cross-training-heavy workload. I will give updates on the status of my knee in the future when appropriate.

The third thing is that midway through the semester, I learned that my position at NU was being eliminated. This was unfortunate in the long run because I enjoy teaching at NU and Northfield is an excellent place to run. In the short run, however, this also meant that I needed to spend an additional (and considerable) measure of time looking for and applying for a new job. I ended sending out 13 applications for positions in 13 different states. I am pleased to announce that I have accepted a one-year visiting professor position at Washington and Lee. While I am sorry to leave New England (I have lived in western New England since the fall of 2001), I am looking forward to the challenges that await for me at W and L. Look forward to some farewell New England posts in the future...