Swinging like Blue Monk

Fog! I really like morning fog like we have this morning.  This isn't the horribly thick can't-see-in-front-of-you fog that makes getting around downright scary, just normal run-of-the-mill fog that settles in and softens the lines of houses and trees, shortens the horizon to something less than a block, and swirls in front of you as you pass through it.  It was just heavy enough (read: bearing sufficient wetness) that I had to pull the top up after a couple of blocks to avoid the settling condensing wet moving into the car.   Not particularly cool this morning (the weather, that is, I've never qualified as "cool"), and we're set for a sunny day with a high of 72 F.

On campus today is the official welcome back ceremonies, speeches, and other sessions.  Faculty and staff who have been away for some or all of the summer are drifting back in and getting prepared for the start of classes next Monday.  The campus, which has been largely still and quiet the past couple of weeks, is suddenly coming back to life.

My iPod was also extra lively this morning, selecting and offering a series of tracks designed to set my hands tapping on the steering wheel.

• Terence Blanchard: Flow
• Annie Lennox: Precious
• Phil Keaggy: Caliente
• ELO: Confusion
• Fountains of Wayne: A Fine Day For a Parade
• Big Head Todd & the Monsters: Dinner with Ivan

The Thelonious Monk Quartet is whipping out his signature Blue Monk as I write this over my morning cuppa of yerba mate.  After I finish this post and probably before I finish this first mug-o-mate the workday will officially kick off.  It's good to have folks back on campus, and I'm looking forward to seeing some of my colleagues who have been away for a while.  Sure, it's going to get crazy, and lots of last minute requests will start to pour in as folks realize all the things that they haven't yet done before quarter start up, but for now its time to come back together, greet each other, and square up together for what promises to be a year of difficult choices in the face of dire budget projections and further promised budget cuts.  We will need these times together to keep us cohesive and focused on what is most important: continuing to serve our students to the best of our abilities with whatever resources we can scrape together.  Like Blue Monk, it may be the blues, but it is still up-tempo and swinging, and that's the way I hope we will work through this challenging new academic and fiscal year: swinging.