Friday, December 13, 2013  ..and back again.  Back again with a
lot to say, and perhaps just enough good judgment not to do so.
I've been told to start to revive this thing and talk about real
life again, to continue the thread of this series on being a
returning PhD student entering into academic life. To avoid the
dominant facts of the last three years would be somewhat
dishonest.  I'm now divorced, a single dad. Two of the last
three years have been extremely painful to say the least, and
now the third year finds me in a new relationship quite
unexpectedly, not to mention against my best efforts. But her
persistence in making the relationship work overpowered my
persistence in ruining it, so here we are.  I try to be thankful
when it occurs to me, now as one-half of a small academic
department, trying to revive an entire major. Some would run,
but somehow a chance to start something over is appealing for
more than the obvious reasons. At home, breathing new life into
old things, old machines, and even mes