How did it get to be November so fast?

Can it really be that I haven't blogged in nearly two months? Apparently, I've become so busy that time doesn't fly by like a bird or an airplane, but rather it breaks the sound barrier. Forget about upload and describe, I haven't even taken a photo since my birthday. I know I owe many of you emails. I promise I think of you all, often. I just haven't had a spare moment. Let me give you a sample:

My day begins with a 5:30am alarm. By 6am, I'm in the car negotiating the BQE, then the LIE, then the Cross Island, and finally the Southern State. On a good day, that trip takes 45-50 minutes. On a bad day, it's been as long as 2.5 hours. I work from 7am-4pm most days, although frequently there are meetings that run until after 5, events that don't even begin until 7:30, and nights that ultimately, I get home well past my bedtime. Also on a good day, I manage to scarf down some lunch at my desk in the midst of juggling three other things. Sometimes, I just have to hit the candy jar for some sugar-based sustenance. The days are usually pleasant, but there is no denying that by the time I get in the car to contend with the evening commute, I'm tired. My drive home could be its own separate blog post; no, it could be a bad episode of a sitcom. Some days I take the LIE back to the BQE, a decision I almost always regret. Other days I take the Belt Parkway. Oh yes, I am that much of an adrenaline junkie (or moron, depending on whether you're a glass is half empty or half full type) that I brave the Jersey drivers, the construction, and the Gowanus Expressway, which is perhaps the most misleading name EVER. Then, of course, there are nights like tonight when the Belt is bumper to bumper. I went 3/10 of a mile in 12 minutes. Therefore, at the suggestion of my GPS (with whom I do not always have a good relationship), I exited the parkway and took local Queens and Brooklyn roads. Needless to say, I was wound pretty tightly by the time I arrived home nearly two hours later. But the fun wasn't over yet...I still had to find a parking spot. Fortunately for me, after 15 minutes of circling the neighborhood, the parking gods saw fit to bless me with a spot on Court Street, which will make tomorrow's predicted wet and cold walk a little more reasonable than it has been lately.

By the time I arrive home, many nights around 7, tonight at 8:30, it's all I can do to scavenge for food (my delivery bill is staggering), and stumble into bed. Every day I think about all of you guys and plan to email, call, blog, Morse Code...something to send a life sign and maintain our friendships, but I never seem to find the time. If you actually need to speak with me, calling while I'm in the car is your best bet. May as well maximize my productivity on my commute. I can't grade papers while driving in traffic, and unfortunately, audio books just don't do it for me. (And speaking of grading, holy cow, I find it ironic that the year I only teach two sections, I am more buried in grading than ever before.)

I keep thinking things will settle down, but as I look at the weeks ahead, I just don't see when that will happen. My best guess is July, which if things keep going they way they've been, will feel like it arrives in about two weeks!

This brings me to my formal apology for the negligence of this blog and my correspondence. You are in my thoughts. Nancy, I am reading your blogs and I thoroughly enjoy your photos and emails. B, I'm sending healing thoughts your way. M&T, can't wait to visit you in Billyburg! J, OMG, when are we EVER going to Skype??? J&M, I can't believe how long it's been since I've seen those boys, though I do follow J's fb updates about their hilarity! S, seriously? You dragged yourself all the way out to the Bulgat but can't manage to send a text? And C, are you and B still considering a trip to NY at Xmas? How's school? So much, so much...all of you, tell me everything!

I hope to have new pictures of my office (I have an office!) to post soon. I also hope to have some time to go somewhere or do something cool and to take pictures of that for you. (While I'm making my wish list, I'd like some time to watch my favorite TV shows, to read some pleasure books, to sleep, and a tree that grows money.) If all else fails, I still owe you some posts and pics from Vegas. For now, it's all I can do to get the occasional tweet or Facebook status update out in a timely fashion. But hey, I made a website for my students that I update regularly. Gotta give me credit for something!