Closure & thank you

Last night I attended a party that UNL threw for the people who achieved tenure and/or were promoted this year. It was a very nice affair and I got a chance to actually enjoy my achievement. For a while now it seemed that it was nothing more than a proverbial pat on the back, a "that's nice" and then a "get back to work", but now I feel like I've actually acomplished something worthwhile. Granted, it isn't offical until the Board of Regents puts its stamp of approval on it in September, but unless I do something really stupid, I'm done with the process and I can really believe it when I say, "I'm done and I'm proud of what I've done."

Thanks to all you who have offered support either through your comments here or in emails. I especially want to thank my family who have been there for me as I was stressing out about the whole process for about a year now. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Scott the social butterfly

Remember earlier when I mentioned I should get out more? I think this week will change all that. Tonight I've got a jacket and tie event at the university celebrating my impending tenure & promotion. You know ... refreshments, hors d'oeuvres, fancy pants. Tomorrow night there's another jacket and tie event for the Ms. Wheelchair Nebraska program. That should be fun as well. In fact, if you are free tomorrow night you may want to attend. How often do you get to see me in fancy duds? Hmmmm?

Finding old friends in new places

Last night, while Julie & I were running around town, I ran across a classmate of mine from library school. It was great to talk for a little bit and catch up. The funny thing is, she reads my blog so I didn't have too much new to tell her! {grin}

What's that saying? If you sit at the fountain long enough, eventually everybody you know will walk past. I may not be sitting at the fountain, but staying in one town can do that for you as well.

Sue, it was great running into you. I'll talk with you later!

The 80's return...

I know that since I'm in the Midwest, we get fashion trends a little late, so if you've seen this phenomenon already, just humor me, OK?

Today I was walking over to the campus publications office to get my photo taken, when I was overwhelmed by the shear "80-ness" of some of the student's wardrobes. Big, volumous hair on some of the girls. Hot pink was the major color on shirts, tanks, flip-flops, backpacks, as well as a not-quite-lime, not-quite-kelly green. Most importantly, I saw two, yes two, gals wearing a solid color tank-top, a gauzy blouse, a denim miniskirt, and most importantly neon biker-shorts.

I swear, I felt like I was in highschool again for a moment. Then I realized that I now probably looked more like my English teacher than any student. Jeans, check. Button up shirt, check. Tie, check. Scruffy beard, check. Bad haircut, nope - I just got a decent one two days ago. So I'm safe. For now.

Reconnecting

Lately I've been trying to get back in touch with old classmates, friends and family that I haven't talked with for some time. I don't know why I decided that this was something I wanted to do, but it just felt that this was the time to do this.

For example: Last night, my grandmother (on my father's side) was in town as she was going to have some tests done at the hospital. I haven't seen or talked to her in a while, probably over a year. Same with my aunt and uncle who drove her down for the trip and my cousin, who lives in same city I do. Why haven't I driven the three hours to see her?

Lately, I've tended to be somewhat anti-social once I get home. If I'm already outside the house for work or something, I'm fine. Once I get home though, I don't want to leave. I want that time to myself. A little bit of time is ok, but since I have recently picked up the nickname "hermit crab", I think maybe I need to get out a bit more. My rather introverted wife has more social events than I do these days and I am (or at least was)a rather extreme extravert.

Is it my job? There are plenty of sterotypes of "anti-social geeks". Maybe I am becoming one of those IT people who get more satisfaction from making a machine run than having a happy co-worker. Have I recently become sick of people? Is that I'm just tired and need a vacation, away from work, away from the house to recharge my social battery?

Whatever it is, I hope to combat it by continuing this attempt to get back in contact with people from my past. If I haven't gotten a hold of you recently, maybe I lost your email. Send me a line and I'll get back you withing a month or so.