Hello, hello!

I don't know that anyone checks in here anymore, but just in case... Aside from just having too much going on, I've not been real inclined to write as I've been living in what I think of as Limboland. But, here's the upshot...

For the 2011-2012 academic year, I will be "commuting" between Minnesota and New Brunswick. I've said, all along, that I was fortunate to be able to immigrate and not have to quit my job in the US. As a tenured, full professor, I can't get a job here - at least not in academia. But, I knew that. It's one of the downsides of a union environment. And, while I'd be happy with a number of other jobs, for a whole lot of reasons - not the least of which is a terrible economic situation here - that's not an option right now. But, neither are we prepared to give up, uproot, and move back - lock, stock, and barrel.

So, I've arranged my teaching schedule - I'll be teaching Tuesday through Thursday - so that I should be able to do something like spend three weeks in Minnesota, one week at home, three weeks in Minnesota... and so on. Not optimal, but better than having to leave - or not being able to put food on the table. If we lived in Toronto, I'd be able to come back almost every weekend. Alas, we don't live in Toronto. Between Labour Day and the middle of May, I should only have to be gone for a total of about six months. E.g., I can come home the second week of December and not go back until the first of February. It will be interesting. Heck, some people travel that much for work even though they still "live" at home.

P, an employee of the provincial government, attended a briefing today on the sorry state of the province. They pretty much outlined what is contained in the above link. I.e., An aging population with fewer and fewer younger folks sticking around and too great a reliance on money from Ottawa. I remain convinced that there must be some major corruption - or at least stupidity - for such a small province to manage things so poorly. Something's gotta give. I think there's also a mindset that is, in some way, several decades behind the times. But, that's another story for another time. Okay - one little thing. There's a big meeting coming up regarding the future of 9YO's school. When, you might ask? Why, on the first night of Hanukkah. Yes, that would be the meeting that's a couple of weeks before the Christmas concert. Yes, Christmas concert. Okay, enough on that.

We love much of what we've encountered here. No, not the crooked contractors, the lousy lawyers, the lack of future-oriented thinking... But, we do love our neighbours. We love the landscape and the pace. I love the non-profit community in which I've become involved. 9YO loves his school, his friends, his neighbourhood. But, we've gotta eat. Okay, yeah, I could eat less, but I've still gotta eat!

Because of the way academia works, there's a good chance that I'll do the same thing for 2012-2013. But, depending on what's happening with P's work, we may all end up spending that year in Minnesota. In the fall of 2012, 9YO will be 11YO and in grade six - how did that happen? Anyway, that's kind of the point at which we leave or figure out a way to stay.

I've no idea what will happen, but I thought that since I now know what is happening next year, I'd post a note sharing that info.

In other news, things are going well with my work in wrongful convictions and efforts to roll out the new organization. In addition to my two classes online, I'm teaching two classes here next term. I'm looking forward to a trip to Ohio in April for the Innocence Network conference and a trip to Arizona in May for my mother's 80th. But, first? The holidays and winter! Bring it on.