Musings of Professor Fox

I had to take a test. Writing this memory in the middle of a pandemic makes me remember fondly how easy "hard" things were to get accomplished not that long ago. As part of the application materials to get accepted into Graduate School, I was required to take the Graduate Record Examination or GRE. I mentioned in my last post that it had been decades since my last standardized test, and I was quite nervous about it. Nonetheless, online I went to select a testing center and an available date. The closest available option was about 120 miles away and three weeks or so away. I put in my information, entered my credit card number, and my adventure was set. Now, how to prepare?? A quick Google search revealed any number of study guides and aids, but I opted for the free download from the GRE site itself and worked carefully through the examples. Very quickly, I proved to myself that I had forgotten quite a bit of information from my last academic adventure. Forge ahead I did thoug...

Deep into the summer of 2016, my wife and I were sitting on the back porch, enjoying the view, talking about life, and sipping our respective beverage of choice. I had been struggling for years with the decision about whether or not to go to Graduate School and earn a higher degree or be satisfied with being unsatisfied with my job. Really, many things were on the table and she finally just said: "If you are going to do it, now would be the best time. Figure out what to do and do it." At some point, I think I had just hoped that someone else would make the choice for me and the clouds would open up with the booming voice that said, "You are going to do THIS." That moment never happened, but I did start to move forward with some planning.  Many years ago, I made the decision to pursue industry certifications instead of advanced degrees mostly because I felt they were more useful to my job. In hindsight, and if you work in a University setting, go with the advanced de...

I am by no means a baking expert, but I do enjoy finding new recipes and eating the creations when finished. I probably get this from my grandmother (either one actually). Both of my grandmas had many hand-written and print recipe books. Some of the contents handed down in the standard way from mother to daughter, and then mother to daughter again.  The only way to keep some of these family traditions alive is to continue the chain. For those recipes we enjoy as a family, we have taught our children how to make them, keeping that connection to the next generation alive. I imagine that most, if not all, families do something similar. I am reminded of the days, weeks, and months after my wife and I got married. She had favorites from her family, and I had favorites from mine. Funnily enough, we both disliked a fair amount of the other's contributions.  Working through this, we created our own "culture" and maintain the joint things we both like to eat. Now, when one or the ...

 once upon a time  time was a figment figment of a people  people who loved loved to engage engage and inspire inspire the spark spark of a dream dream of a world world in a pen pen on the page  page to the end end of the time time that was once 

 the night flew by without notice conversation engaging as the barriers disintegrated leaving each other  open and vulnerable to chase whimsical transgressions into the dark horizon  over five-minute hours as dawn faraway broke gently into their soul-baring revelry 

 the trees in the forest  are placed ever so  delicately by random chance offering  umbrage to the smallest traveler on the unmarked  paths winding and twisting  over and under deadfall old becoming new  with natural sincerity

One major adventure that poses a challenge during this time of year: the ice and snow covered sidewalk. How best to navigate the landscape, stay upright, and reach the destination safely. I generally fail at one, two, or three of those options and end up staring at the sky wondering how I got there. I have bought a pair of the Yaktrax for my shoes before, and I have also considered buying a pair of weather walking sticks (they look an awful lot like ski poles) just to be on the safe side. All of this makes me wonder... If anyone is reading this, do you have a particularly successful method for preserving your butt during this season? If you have something that is your go-to and works, leave me a comment. I would love to hear from you. It's funny that on the opposite side of that coin, I love to go sledding and throw all caution to the wind and look for the iciest, steepest section of the sledding hill. "If he dies, he dies," to quote Rocky IV.