The Year in Review 2008

So, I clearly failed at my attempt to blog each week this year (stupid resolutions). Honestly, it often crossed my mind and I even had ideas of things to write about from time to time. I could think of several excuses for why I did not live up to my resolution but none of them would be entirely accurate, interesting or worthwhile. Therefore, instead of writing about why I did not write I will instead attempt to summarize the year that was with highlights of the goings on in my life during the period. Everyday through the new year I will post a blog recapping the year. Please stay tuned!

January: January was at once a boring and challenging month. I anticipate similar times ahead. The boring part of the month is that I am away from work for the majority of the month. While I typically look forward to this hiatus, I inevitably find myself in a malaise of some sort while I try to find meaningful ways to spend this time. I inherently come up with promising ideas: work on the upkeep of the house (where is the fun in this); attempt to kill the kudzu in the backyard (but it is so damn cold out there); catch up on my much needed reading (Star Trek books for fun – plays for work and / or the sense that I am still invested in the theatre world and it isn’t just a job – Historical / Sociological books to help me sustain some sense that knowledge and education are still an interest of mine and that I am in fact interested in the world around me – Bob Dylan books because he is pretty kick ass; play video games because I should simply relax; work on designs for the upcoming semester because that way I will be ahead when I get back; spend time with the family because they also kick ass and so on… However, I often spend much more time sitting around contemplating these ideas than I do actually doing any of them. The malaise sets in, I stay up way too late and sleep way too late and overall find myself increasingly frustrated with myself. This past January held many of these traits and I am working hard to plan ahead for the coming January so that I may be able to slip out of these habits.

February: I spent much of February working with my first student designer here at Ole Miss, preparing him for the dance show that we had as part of our season. The show opened around the middle of the month which left me the rest of the month to focus on the upcoming production of The Grapes of Wrath.

During this time we interviewed several candidates for a job opening that we had in the department. I was on the search committee which meant that I got to play nice with these people while they were in town and generally had less time to spend with my family. However, I learned a lot about the department through my work on the committee. I am very glad that I had the opportunity and enjoyed the process quite a bit (I like to feel like I am in control at all times - even if I am on a committee).