800...

This is the eight hundredth post on this space since it came into existence in July of 2009. The frequency has been diminished of late, but I find myself drawn back to type in these little boxes from time to time, even if the time for typing is kind of restricted these days. It is nice to have an outlet for my musings, and I can occasionally show it to students to show that they can keep a journal of their thoughts.

I would not pretend to think that this is the home of thoughts profound and portentous, and I never intended it as that. It does stand for me as a record of sorts of this directional shift that I have undergone in my life, and some of the struggles associated with that shift. I have purposely done some censoring of entries since those from my first year out here-I am now aware that more people read this thing, or have in the past, than I ever thought would happen when I started it as a sort of record for family and friends as I prepared to come to Alaska.

Things have gotten better since then, with time, experience, and perhaps some wisdom. But it is still a struggle-the stresses are significant, and they continue even up to these last days of the semester. So much is behind, but there is still so much to do, and that often weighs heavily on my mind, usually at 3 am. For some reason, I have the affliction of insomnia, as does my wife. The fortunate part is that we often get the chance to have conversations about the challenges that we face in the middle of the night, rather than tossing and turning alone. The bad part is the lost opportunities for a decent night's sleep. I strongly suspect that we will be sleeping long and hard come December 21, our last day of the semester. We will have a couple of days to catch up after it is all over, but I am reasonably certain that it will not involve an alarm clock...