Yes, it has been way too long since my last post. The absence reflects the amount on my perveribal plate. But, I've not forgotten my blog followers and promise to post at least weekly for the forseeable future. So, what HAVE I been doing for the past month ~ besides packing, unpacking, mega-packing and moving too fast to even make a To Do list?
Early June: I spent three days in Washington DC. I gave two presentations at the ACHNE/ASTDN meeting in Crystal City. For those who don't know the DC area, this is a rather boring place, with mostly office buildings and half deserted underground quasi-shopping malls. And, aside from the academic-scholarly activities, I was mostly concerned with where to watch the US Soccer team play. World Cup trumped old women nurses trying to seem important. Sorry, ladies. I actually had stronger bonding with the doormen who were looking over my shoulder at the games. The amount of gray hair in attendance was spooky and foreboding for the future of public health nursing. I felt "embedded", like a reported with the armed forces. Watching, not wanting to get hurt, but still in the line of fire. Naturally, I was typically a-PC, and took a few shots. Not smart, I know, but it's frustrating to be around such myopia with such a big heart. It's a truly sad combination. Also frustrating was the lack of walking the talk, with regards to multi-disciplinary collaboration. On the up side, I had great times having dinner with my KRISP project co-investigators. I wish I could have more of those times.
Mid-June: The panic that had started at the beginning of June grew. Panic over the long list of tiny things that needed doing before the end of June when I would leave for Chile ~ At home I needed to pack, ready the house for guests, find a place for Lisette to live, put a hold on the newspaper delivery, assure that my neighbor would collect the mail, get my credit card cleared for international travel, keep up with my emails and secretary work for the Chicago MSIA Ministers, and empty the refrig through careful menu planning. At work ~ coordinate payment of summer salary from two grants and across two finance mangers, sign all needed forms for students planning to graduate in summer, keep up with grant activities like filing IRB amendments, respond to an astounding amount of email on what ought to be simple topics, and keep working on manuscripts and promotion papers. YIKES. Looking back on the list is enough to re-freak me out.
End of June: Get on the plane and arrive in Santiago, Chile. The Chilean saga will be in subsequent posts.
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