Stumbling Back Home Again Fragments

Well, what can I say, I've been away from the blog for a while. 

Pandemic life peaked and we had an unexpected snowstorm that shut down pretty much the whole state. We got vaccinated (as well as our two oldest children) and of course, things are starting to get back to normal (albeit at a slow and steady rate). 

In the meantime, I toyed with the idea of starting a Spurs podcast (focused on re-watching old playoff series/old games a la my blog of the 2007 championship, in particular, my deep dive into the 2007 Suns series). I did a ton of research into Spurs, podcasting, etc. recorded half an episode and just felt like it was boring and no one in their right mind would listen to it. I abandoned the project, although it honestly might come back as a blog at some point. I dunno. I have a hundred different ideas for future projects, so I just can't say. 

I honestly struggled this last semester, it felt like every day was a Groundhog Day and like most people, I felt stuck and circling down in a swirl, with the drain nowhere in view. 

A few bright spots along the last few months:

• The fam. Despite the fighting amongst the younger two, I take much pleasure at being a "Dad" or "the husband" definitely a way to escape your own brain for a while and focus on caretaking.
• As stated a few months back, I have really taken to cooking. My favorite dishes include New Orleans (BBQ) shrimp, Chicken Paprikash (Hungarian) and Karachi Chicken (Pakistani). There are more but those are my faves off the top of my head.  
• I planned out a big trip out West this July. We are headed to Colorado, Utah and Arizona. I'm looking forward to a ton of it....so many highlights. I'll have a blog series/post on that (probably). 
• I finally presented my research at an academic conference this week.....and it went really well. I wish we had been able to be in person but it was still a great experience overall. I may look into publishing my research but time will tell. 

I had the last two weeks off and I don't really think I have taken advantage of it in a big way. I thought about painting but just ended up doodling, I thought about a "real" blog post, and ended up writing this, this past two weeks have been restful but also in-between and indecisive. It has been nice to not have a grading or other stuff hanging over my head. This past week I spent gearing up for my summer classes (starting next week) and for the conference presentation, so it wasn't wasted. 

I may do some blogging this summer, I have an art post to get to of a painting I did a few years ago but never got around to sharing (I also lost it during our move last year). And I will at least get back to blog a bit about our travels. 

In the meantime, look up a neat recipe on Youtube and give it a shot. Oh, and text an old friend this week and say hi.