2012 is one-fourth over. That seems impossible. I guess time has been flying while I've been having fun.
The first three months of the year have intense but enjoyable. In mid-January, I was lucky enough to see two lectures by Noam Chomsky, both of which were fascinating and inspiring. Andrew had an intense work trip to France's Loire Valley for a week with another instructor and 26 students. He had a great time, but he was pretty exhausted when he got back. While he was gone, I cleaned and organized the kitchen. It was a serious undertaking, but it's been generally successful, so it was worth it. We visited Louisville during the President Day weekend and had a great time visiting Maddi and the Carter crew during a quick visit. Our combined gang and Emily and her two kiddos went to The Eggroll Machine for an epic dinner. It was a fun time. Since February, I've been actively observing the movements of the planets in the night sky. It's been really awesome to see the universe's treasures, watching their movements, and feeling connected to the human collective past in marveling at the the beautiful sights in the night sky. At the end of Spring Break, Andrew and I went to St. Louis for a couple of days of fun centered around the Radiohead concert for which I got tickets at Christmas. We had a great time including a life-changing visit to the City Museum, a fun food foray on the Hill, and a stop by Woodhenge and the Cahokia Mounds, not to mention the excellent show. Immediately upon return to Memphis, I helped host the Japanese scientists during a quick visit to the city. It was a hectic visit, but their objective of scouting potential research plots in the area was met. It was also fun to see my old friends and daydream about future collaborations. I've had some other fun times sprinkled in there too, like seeing the public launch of our friends' business enterprise, Dickey Heirloom Farms, at the Botanic Garden plant sale, going with Sam and Justin to see a Phil and friends show at the Brookhaven, going to the National Ornamental Metal Museum, attending a lovely reception for our friends, Sean and Anne, and hanging out with Maddi here in Memphis during her Spring Break. She loved her room renovation which turned out pretty awesome. We had a great time having her here, even if it was too short.
