Today was a rather relaxed day from a scheduling standpoint. No morning appointments. No early afternoon meetings. The only things scheduled were a late afternoon induction and the theology, religion, and philosophy reception.1
In many respects, it was nice to have a slower day. I struggled greatly when it came to sleeping last night – finally managing to fall asleep around 5am and waking at shortly after 7am. To put it mildly, I didn’t feel like doing much of anything. So I made a cup of tea, got a shower, fired up my iPad and started reading through a dissertation. After an hour or so of dissertation reading, I moved on to a book and then another.
The next thing I knew, it was 2:30pm. Induction was at 4pm and I needed to get to campus. Google Maps indicated the trip would take 45 minutes, which I knew meant that I should allot an hour. So, I started walking. Much to my delight, the weather was beautiful, the sidewalks were even, and the neighborhoods were delightful. The hour-long walk ended up only taking 25 minutes.
I arrived on campus early, sat in a chair and proceeded to knock out another section of the dissertation that I had been reading.
Induction was what one would expect. The reception provided a nice atmosphere to talk with colleagues, chat with new friends, and network.
Now, I sit in my room and wait. I wait for 7:30, the time when we will head out to dinner.
Tonight, there will be no little reading. It will be a night of fun, a night of conversation. It will be a night with food, and food that is not of the room service variety. It will be a night of Indian cuisine, prepared by people from India.
- Incidentally, the reception is still under way. A few of my colleagues and myself decided we had enough and returned to our hotel early. ↩
