Busier Than My Bumblebee

I am in the midst of an exceptionally busy week - the kind I used to call a "week from Hell" - and it is only going to get busier. Strangely, I seem to find this comforting - at least I'm not at a loss for things to do.

I spent a very enjoyable Sunday afternoon over at Nathan, Stephanie, and EJ's house. We talked a bit while Nathan updated the operating system on my laptop (to Ubuntu's Fiesty Fawn release of Linux) and Stephanie worked on a book she is writing. EJ and I played some games with miscellaneous objects in the house and made up the rules as we went along, as the smell of Caribbean food wafted in through the window (everyone thought it smelled like ass, but I couldn't smell it). We ended up flopping on the futon and watching an Australian movie called "Candy" which was a story about a heroin addicted couple whose lives spiral into chaos. It was kind of disturbing, but made us all feel pretty good about our own lives. Besides, what could be better than lounging around on a Sunday with an incredibly cute two-year old curled up on your tummy?

I was in court all morning on Monday (I thought it went well) which was pretty fascinating and nothing like what you see on TV. The court rooms themselves were really small and not particularly well furnished and the people (lawyers and litigants alike) were kind of a trip to watch, both in appearance and behavior. There was a lot of sitting and waiting, but I brought a good book to read so the time passed rather quickly. As I watched the cases that went before us, it was fun to imagine what the lives of those involved were like and what their issues were. Anyway, it was all over by 11:15 and I went back to Bay Ridge to go about doing the things that I do to "stay on the beam."

Yesterday I had to get up and take a 2 and a half hour train ride to get to Bronx Community College (at 200 Zillionth Street) where I was putting on a mathematics workshop and attending a conference. After that I had to rush back to Harlem to teach my night classes. Today I am cleaning up the mess that results after two days out of the office and I have to leave early to scoop the kids by 6pm (I have them from 6 to 8). Tomorrow is another full day and night of teaching, then the week culminates in a conference at NYU on Friday, followed by a mad rush home to get ready for the having the kids this weekend. It is all good, but I am as busy as can be.