End of the Week Sunset Before a 3-Day Weekend. Okay, Maude, I'll Take It. Reminds Me There Is Good in the World

Was at my laptop until 5:15 pm yesterday then dropped off grilled sausage links to Pam and Oona, before heading back home to catch an evening kiss across the blue sky. There's nothing like a sunrise or a sunset to help pitter-patter the rhythm of life more profoundly. Driving along I-95, too, was gorgeous. I couldn't take my phone out, but the sky hit the Long Island Sound and river fronts beautifully.

Ah, but now it's Saturday and rumor is that we'll be celebrating Kaitlyn's birthday today (although it was yesterday). It's also an engagement celebration as Dominik proposed. Woot Woot. Wedding bells and birthday cake.

I also finished the last bit of trim on the porch and now need to simply have the electricians do their part. I'm hoping they'll hurry up because I want to start reading and writing out there. It's a small space, but perfect for what I intend to use it for.

But right now, I am thinking kayaking. The sky is going to be blue all day with a high of 80 so I am thinking the water will be calling for me...and the sand...and perhaps a couple margaritas to celebrate the engagement and birthday of Kaitlyn.

Woot woot. Saturday.

Looking Forward to Sleep (Please Please Please) Without the Sinus Pressure Caused by Ragweed Right Now

I think it always happens when the humidity is about to break or it is about to make a return. It never fails. 2 a.m. hits and I wake up with my ears, nose, forehead, and eyes pounding. The pressure is too intense.

So, I do the saline wash, take a shower, pop a couple of Advil, and wait for it to thin out so I can at least fall back to sleep.

Last night was weird though, because I got one nostril cleared and was like, "Phew," but almost instantly the other nostril clogged up and then became a runny nose. I couldn't win, and I didn't fall back to sleep. Hence, drowsiness and an inability to think.

I just don't get the pressure and how it can be so aggravating. Evolutionarily there has to be a purpose for such bodily adaptation. Perhaps it's a way to say, "Humans, move from here. This isn't a good space for your breathing."

The only saving grace is that I know that it is not the Ohio Valley of Louisville where such a season is almost 300 days of the 365 possibilities. I hated the headaches of Kentucky. Here, they only come once or twice a year.

I think this is my third, however, and it's simply annoying (and painful).

Okay, it's Friday so I'll quit my whining. But I wish there was a hose I could stick up there to clean everything out. It hurts. And I hate it. 

It's the 2nd Day of a New Semester and (Smarmy Shrug) I'm on Sabbatical (Well, Trying to Be)

CWP summer programs ended mid-August, and I've been working on POW ever since, as well as tying up NWP bits and pieces as I head into a Fall sabbatical. I realized on this 2nd day of classes, however, I'm still answering campus emails, working through grant and site reports that are due, and finalizing the 7th edition of POW! Colleagues and I officially sent 4 items off for publication this summer, and THE WRITE TIME is going in full-force.

Still, I am pushing and moving everything to the side so (a) I can take a small break/road trip with Chitunga for an extended weekend and (b) return to CNY for a short bit to write there. It seems, however, every time I get something moved out of the way, another layer of musts arrive and they are always late and important. I can't wait to get to the place where I'm in the groove working on the research project that has been underway for the last 7 years. I want to drill into the data.

It will come. I can feel it, and I do feel guilty, especially given the period of time we are living in. Even though the University used its faculty every day of this summer to TALK about the Fall, the Fall actually arrived and, alas, it was as predicted. Unpredictable. I can say that 2-days in there are two things I don't miss: 1) meetings that are pointless and 2) teaching. I love teaching, but when one is given space away from planning, presenting, and assessing, one is given hours upon hours back to them. Sometimes I think administrators forget how much work goes into every class an instructor offered each week (and the same is tenfold for K-12 educators).

And it's already Thursday. I definitely need to read today, and am proud that I got ahead on some of my NWP work for the Fall. I'm simply clearing the path so I can focus on my intent.

What is that? Well, there's what I presented and was awarded, but then there are all these other items I can't wait to dig into. We shall see what comes of it all.

Oh, and going back above, there's also another, so (c) I can visit Amagansett, visit my grandparents where their ashes reside, and see the waves and 'tives. Hoping to make that happen, too.

Finished Editing, Finished Grading Late Work, Finished Painting, Got Groceries, Then Said, "Hey, I'm Wearing My New $30 Sneakers." Wusah.

After a terrible dose of Saucony's (who I am very loyal to, but needed a short break after the disaster of a last pair), I moved to a temporary fix with $30 Adidas on a clearance rack. Anything is better than the Saucony's I ordered online. These simply feel great and offer support...

...not like running in geriatric clogs....

I actually tried to get a shot of my legs which look like they were bleeding because of the Mahogany stain from the new porch, but the sneakers stood out as more exciting. Of course, when I got back to the car from getting groceries, I realized I had the stain all over my forehead, too. It was kind of like the time my mom went grocery shopping with one of those stick-on thermometers in the middle of her noggin.

And just like that it is Wednesday. I need another day of editing, another layer of polyurethane, time to read for Friday's interview, and to de-hair the house (as Glamis infiltrates every spot with her pin hairs). Even as we painted the front porch her hairs were straying and getting in the way. It's a lot.

Ah, but with new sneakers, I get new miles and that excites me. I don't know what I'd be if I didn't have my hour each day to get oxygen. So important.

But now, time to work. 

A King, An Actor, A Teacher, The Writers, The Ballers, The Humanists. Yes, THE WRITE TIME for @gerduany

For over a year, Kristin Shultz of Random Penguin House fame, has been teasing me about a memoir to be published that she knew I'd want to read (and vet). I was given a very, very early top-secret version of the draft so I could begin thinking about creating a teacher's guide and start advocating the book in my circles. She knew it was perfectly aligned with all that I do

I've already written this - what a coincidence.

She was right. I've been gifted, and now I can share this gift with others.

Tonight, THE WRITE TIME airs with an interview of Ger Duany, where teacher William King will asks questions about his memoir. Ger Duany's book WALK TOWARD THE RISING SUN is a recollection of how he moved from childhood soldier into an international peace activist. Over the last few weeks, Ger, William, and I have enjoyed getting to know one another and to learn of people we know mutually (sorry, Reese Witherspoon, Ron Howard, Dustin Huffman, Lily Tomlin, and Jude Law - those are Ger's people). Now, Emmanuel Jal, I know! Valentino Deng, I know. John Dau, I know. Lopez Lomong, I know. Movie stars? Nope.

Kueth Duany? I don't know, but will. I promise. Too big of a Syracuse fan not to make that happen. Mark Crandall? Ger doesn't know my cousin yet, but he will. Kueth, Ger, Mark, and I will be together as soon as we can. It will be  a Duany-Crandall bonanza. Promise. But that's an aside.

THE WRITE TIME airs on FaceTime tonight at 7 pm EST / 4pm PDT.

I have been excited about every interview of THE WRITE TIME to date, but this one, with Ger Duany, is extra special. It unites soul-work, passion, drive, and a love for humanity. I've been inspired by Sudanese people for over 20 years through work in Louisville, Syracuse, and Connecticut. It brings great pride to share Ger Duany's memoir with a National Writing Project audience and educators all across the nation.
William and Ger are the perfect match, and it is just the beginning.

As Ger noted during our first meeting, "We all have our beards now." I guess that means we've grown up and it's time for a mature conversation.  (Yikes, I currently shaved mine off...mid-life stuff...trying to look younger).

WALK TOWARD THE RISING SUN is a boo everyone should read, simply to know more about the world  (and its extreme inequities). I continue to walk side by side with individuals like Ger Duany, because through them, I gain perspective, insight, and wisdom.

I cherish these opportunities when they come my way.

And It Was a Total Beach Day. That's What Happens When I Get Out of My House Early

I brought a book, lunch, snacks and say, "Okay, let's do this sunny day before they go away to snow flurries and ice." I sat with my feet in the sand from 12 until 6:30. Well, the sand and then the water and then the sand and then the water.

I needed that day. Mindless relaxation and sunshine. A treat before August comes to a conclusion (which is right around the corner)

And back to Monday. Window installments part two today, and back to work we go. Edit, edit, edit.

I am sad that these days will fall to the side rather soon. One of the benefits of living near water is getting out to clear and ease the mind.

My one goal was to finish the book I brought, but the company was too good, so not much reading was accomplished. The worst part of the day - Chinese food for dinner. I absolutely don't get it. It's so gross on so man levels.

Okay, time to make the donuts. Bye sand. Bye beach. Bye Day of Letting Go.

And Then There Was the Trim. Hmmm. Painting a Room From Scratch is Harder than Paint by Numbers.

Next up on the new front porch was the ocean white trip, which we did around the windows, ceiling, and floor. You'd think that it would take a few minutes because the areas are small, but the truth is, taping up the areas took my energy out on Friday, and painting took my energy out yesterday. It's meticulous work, and now I need to think about the wall paint (although I'm inclined to decide only when I figure out the window treatments, either shades or curtains). What I do know is that I am going to spent a lot of reading and writing time in this space as it's already calling to be out there.

Perhaps that is my nosey neighbor tendency. Actually, it's because I'm always drawn to natural light and the porch has this all day long because it faces south towards the Long Island Sound.

My Saturday started out slow. Like most people I know, it started with shock about Chadwick Boseman, Howard University grad, icon, and hero to so many I know. Leo was trying to figure out who he reminds him of and I said, "He kind of has Lossine and Abu in them...a cross between the twins. But, much better looking (ha ha)."

And I was thinking of seeing the movie with Chitunga when it came out, missing Marcelle, her son, and her husband by just minutes (as they were exiting as we arrived). I only realized this later from Facebook posts.

And I am thinking of idols, role models, influencers, narrators, story-tellers, and magic, and how T'Challa brought all of this to the world generations way too late. Ask why such a film wasn't made previously, and you get everything that is wrong in the United States. The timelines tell the story. History has its chapters.

Today, we tackle the next phase of the porch, which I think is going to be a light smoky gray stain. We shall see. It might be nothing at all. We shall see as the day unfolds. That's the way I'm allowed to roll these days and I will take it.