Goings On

Today is Presidents' Day, one of those "holidays" that I truly don't get. It also coincides with our very brief winter break of two days "off." Basically that just means that I teach one less class this week than usual, but otherwise it's a work week just with fewer people around. I wish I had taken advantage of the time off to go away for a few days, but I decided to "catch up" on work instead, as if that ever really happens. Anyhow, here are today's thoughts during my lunch break blogging:

• The lasted USDA beef recall is yet another sign that I should return to vegetarianism. I've really cut back on meat over the last 6 months or so (and I hardly ever eat beef), but I haven't given it up all together mostly because I'm still struggling with protein deficiency. I've also been eating a lot more organic food lately, although I really don't know how anyone with kids could afford to eat organically regularly. We're supposed to be reading Omnivore's Dilemma for our campus reading project this spring and, quite honestly, I'm not looking forward to it. I've been avoiding that book because I think it's going to freak me out.

• Kosovo has declared it's independence. Once again my little corner of the world is back in the headlines. Yeah for me! It remains to be determined whether or not this will be good for the Kosovars. This region has suffered extreme violence for years, mainly ethnically motivated, but I'm not completely convinced that "nationhood" is going to solve this problem. Let's hope I'm wrong.

• I'm starting to get serious about my book project. I've made tentative plans this summer for a book retreat with a friend. We're going to spend at least two weeks in some nice location to just focus on our respective books. The goal is to find a place that's far away from our daily distractions but not too far from a good research library. So far we're considering Cape Cod/Boston, Madison, and Raleigh. Any other suggestions?