Friday, September 25th
We're finally starting to dry out down here after the rains of Ranchipur over the last week or so. At least we're getting a good test of the new French drain we're having put in to protect the basement so we can proceed with the remodel down there without having to tear it all out again when it leaks. Parts of suburban Atlanta are still underwater but Birmingham hasn't fared too badly, except for the steambath humidity and the mold everywhere.
Spent most of this lask week running around WV and KY on my quarterly trip that direction. Not too much exciting going on other than continued expansion of our services to beneficiaries of the United Mine Workers Funds in Appalachia. The programs seem to be working. The region is in better shape economically than it was ten years ago. I'm glad I don't have to do too much driving off the beaten path after the local population has been whipped up into a frenzy by Fox news against the government and Obama. Expect more incidents like that of the lynched census worker.
We've got a fairly quiet weekend. I have to keep writing a murder mystery for next month and we have an opera event to go to. Otherwise, I think it's more of the same on cleaning out the basement. I am getting somewhere finally and have gotten rid of boxes and boxes of detritus.
Wednesday, September 16th
One bright spot in all of the doom and gloom surrounding UAB and clinical geriatrics: I received my promotion from associate professor to full professor effective the 1st of October. This is probably about as high as I am going to go. I am unlikely to ever be considered for a Department Chair or Deanship as I do not do research to speak of and there remains a large amount of institutionalize homophobia that isn't likely to go away anytime soon. It's still nice to make it to the top of the tree. I guess I have to order new business cards.
The less said about the battles of clinical geriatrics, the better; let us just say that I am bruised and bloody but am unbowed and continuing to fight the good fight. I need to get out my Don Quixote poster and put it on the door. It has made it difficult to do anything extra so no theatre forays will happen until after the first of the year. I have neither time nor energy. I do have a murder mystery to write for October and I am doing the cabaret emcee thing this weekend for a brunch for the annual Equality Alabama get together. I'm not sure if they're ready for me and I have to brush up a lot of political jokes.
Tommy and I went to New Orleans for Southern Decadence over the Labor Day weekend and stayed with friends in a very nice condo on the quieter end of Bourbon Street. We had a nice time and only drank a little too much. Did some gallery hopping and saw any number of things we would have liked to purchase but, alas, the household budget will not allow for new art at this time. Maybe in a few years after Tommy gets out of school.
I am off on Sunday back to the mountains of West Virginia and Kentucky to play with the coal miners for a few days. Back here on Thursday, just in time for an all day conference on Friday on authoring web modules on geriatric education. A few days away should help me get in a better frame of mind regarding the ridiculous state surrounding what I do for a living. And don't even get me started on 'health care reform'...
