Good Morning. Thanks for pointing it out.

It’s funny how a change in routine can make you feel out of the world.

Last week I was in Cleveland, Ohio from Monday morning until Friday evening. I don’t know if it was some of the longer days we pulled, or the fact of being alone in a hotel room, but it feels like a lot happened out in the world that I wasn’t really a part of.

For starters the election. I did watch some CNN/NBC/Comedy Central coverage of the results, but it’s not the same as snuggling with my soon to be wife four years ago. Early voting’s different too, and while I think it gives a lot of people an opportunity to vote that otherwise wouldn’t, there was something about it that didn’t feel right. My regular voting regime is pretty cliche, very early in the morning, school gymnasium with a lot of old ladies and very little waiting. No protesters,  advocates for candidates, just peaceful non-partisan voting. Needless to say the early voting center, at least the space outside it was a little more chaotic.

There’s always something that changes at home. This year it was rearranging the furniture for the first thanksgiving we’ll be hosting, which unfortunately has given my cat a few new places to hide. My office is the same at least, a well preserved archaeological dig that will never quite be excavated.

And this morning I’ll be back at work, finding out how I’ll be spending the next eight work days before vacations and another field trip. Being away makes me realize how much we accomplish as a group in a week, and I can often feel a little out of the loop for the first day or so, but it’ll be good to see them.

I missed talking to all of you, though I was pleased that so many of you continued to read the site even if there was no new content last week. November’s going to be a bit of a sparse month, with another hiatus at the end of the month for an anniversary vacation, but I’ll try to make the few posts this month worth your while.

Because of some 12 hour days and general exhaustion, while I did get some work on the book done this week, I didn’t get quite as much as I’d hoped. But I will try to have a cover for you this week, preferably Wednesday. It’s good to be back at least for a while, and I look forward to hearing from all of you how your week went.