Collegium

I just returned from the 2007 Collegium. Collegium sponsors annual summer colloquies for faculty from its member institutions and for advanced graduate students from universities throughout the United States and Canada. The colloquies provide a collegial environment in which participants from diverse backgrounds, faiths, and disciplines can discuss the sources and implications of a Christian academic vocation. There was small and large group discussions, presentations, a retreat day, as well as many opportunities for socializing with faculty, graduate students and administrators from across the country.

It was a very interesting time, and I was happy to meet and interact with such a diverse group of colleagues. Being together in a relatively smallish group for a week provides the opportunity to forge bonds of various kinds. I still have a lot of thinking to do based upon these discussions. I'll make some posts over the coming days, as I took a lot of pictures while I was there. Above you can see the main building in which we held the majority of our small and large group discussions, as well as a view of the river from the University of Portland campus. The campus is quite lovely and had a truly collegiate feel to it. There will be more to come.

Getting away on some form of retreat, be it religious or otherwise, is a great experience that more people should avail themselves of. I was able to slow down a bit from the go-go pace I had been working at before.

Well that was a close one...

As I was driving to work, this guy in a van ran a red light and plowed into me as I was crossing an intersection. I bring in the car tomorrow. I was shaken up a bit but not hurt. As I saw him about to hit me, I felt I was going to be very hurt indeed, as he was not moving slowly. He clearly breaked enough to avoid catastrophe. I'll see how it goes. I don't think this will total the car, and if it did, I wouldn't get a lot for it and would then be looking at car payments. I hope it can be fixed for a reasonable amount. I can't get out of the driver's door, so it was a pain getting around. But it could have been a lot worse.

RIP Moselle

One of Jerry and Karen's cats, Moselle, succombed to cancer recently. She was a delightful little cat. She chose her friends with some caution, but I was fortunate to be among them. She'll be missed, even by Cosmo.

IFPE in Toronto

I attended my first board meeting for IFPE (International Federation for Psychoanalytic Education) as chair of the research committee. Getting across the border to Canada was a "trip". Never have I been asked so many intrusive questions (Who is paying for your room?). After a few days of board meetings, one's brain is swimming. But the meals were great. Here's a nice picture of the modernity of Toronto, a nice city to visit, although getting there was an Inquisition. I also visited with a friend, Titaina. We chatted at a nice restaurant, Pure Spirits, in the Distellery District.

Graduation

We had great weather today for the UDM graduation ceremony. And we had no honorary degrees and no special graduation speakers--yeah, baby. So the whole thing took a bit less time than usual. It's a lot of diplomas to go through. I brought something to read while they went through various schools. The official year comes to an end. But I'm teaching two classes of summer school, so the beat goes on.

137

Well, I received my first royalty check for Tantalizing Times. I have officially reached triple digits in sales. I know about 70 of the 137 are for libraries around the country and elsewhere. Come on buying public, how will I ever get that house on Lake Michigan at this pace? You mean the country isn't clamoring for an analysis of American society using a myth as a starting point. American Idol is almost over for the season, perhaps the public will turn their minds to this then ;>).

Faculty and Student Research Symposium

Hey, it's been a long time. Yikes, over two months since a post. The word busy doesn't do it justice. But I'll not whine, simply try to get back to more posting as I enjoy the process and missed having the time to do it.

These are pictures from last week's UDM Faculty and Student Research Symposium and Poster Fair. I am on the Faculty Development Team that helped put this together. It was a really nice turn out, as the Student Center was crowded with presenters and onlookers. Next year should be even bigger, as many people coming through seemed impressed with the whole deal. and we had free food too!