Starting over

Clearly I'm not much better at electronic journaling than I ever was with pen-and-paper journaling. I lost count of how many diaries I bought (or was given), wrote 2, maybe 3 entries in, then left to gather dust until they were permanently lost or thrown away.

Even though I haven't posted here for almost a year, I haven't completely forgotten about it. I've tweaked my profile some, and organized (and re-organized) my links, I just haven't posted any new entries. My goal for this year is to post at least once a week, hopefully on Mondays as I gather my thoughts and hopes for the upcoming week.

This being Labor Day, I'm looking forward to the start of classes for both me and my son. It's hard to believe he's entering eighth grade. We both have high hopes that this year will prove more academically challenging, especially with the accelerated math program he's enrolled in. Last year was a snoozefest for him, which made the transition from private to public schools (and all that entails) all the more difficult. Odds are likely he'll return to a private school next year, even though no matter where he enrolls it will probably only be for a year, as I expect to be done with my degree and moving on during the summer of 2009.

As for me, I'm really looking forward to the coming semester. The classes I've enrolled in (Sex and Crime, as my supervisor says) look intriguing, although one seems to be more focused on a later period than I would prefer, and I was given my first choice in TA assignments, taught by a professor I'm very eager to be working with. I doubt I'll have a paper proposal ready in time for the Congress' CFP deadline, but this winter there's a conference on Benedictine monasticism during the Carolingian period with a proposal deadline in October that I might be able to meet. If I do, and my proposal is accepted, it'll be my first conference presentation.

All in all, I'd say the outlook, for the next few weeks, at least, is promising.