The Bounty of Summer

Summer in Ann Arbor is beautiful. I was here once before, for debate camp in high school; my fondest memory from that trip is of benign armies of thick white clouds, hanging in formation across the sky. We don't have clouds like that in the Bay Area, or fireflies. For me, lightning bugs in the evening imbue everything with a glow of simplicity and innocence.

On top of that, it is summer, and I have so much freedom. I got a conference pass to the University of Michigan athletic facilities (courtesy of the School of Education; thanks, guys!), and I swam every day this week except Wednesday! This is amazing, considering that the last time I exercised on a regular basis was when I was stuck in a studio apartment with Wii Fit. My first three swims weren't that enjoyable; they felt like moral but not really physical triumphs. This last time was really nice, though, and I feel like I'm progressing toward fitness. I started with 1/4 of a mile, and I'm able to do it now under 10 minutes and without feeling tired at the end. It's my goal to keep swimming regularly once classes start at the end of August, and I think it should be possible if I make it a habit to get up at the same time or maybe even a little later than I would have gotten up for work this year. There are certain conditions that are conducive to me exercising, and at least a few will be met: swimming will be free and it should be easy to get to a pool; I'll have an exercise buddy in Na'amah, who was great at getting me to go cycling with her in college; and I'm hoping to sign up for a yoga class, and if I do, I'll definitely go to it.

Besides general summery-ness and getting good exercise, I am having a wonderful time here because I'm surrounded by great people at work and at home. I'm staying with an old friend of Patrick's and her husband, and they are totally my speed. We felt lazy today (Saturday) and instead of doing a touristy thing as planned, we stayed in and baked cookies, quiche, and stromboli and made amazing sushi with sweet potato fries, spicy mayo, avocado, cucumber, eggs, and shitakes (not all of those went into every roll), all while listening to Louis Prima.

At the university, I've been working weird hours but getting fed extremely well and getting to know some cool people (including a guy who plays the accordion in a punk band!). There's a research team from Berkeley, so I've enjoyed meeting people I'll work with there. I'm also connecting with the people in math education here at the University of Michigan, and I think there's a good chance that we'll do more together in the future. I can't say enough good things about Deborah Ball; besides being incredibly brave about making her teaching public, she is really, really sweet and caring. She sent me a text message today just telling me she's glad I'm here and hoping I'm having a nice Saturday!

There have been plenty of interesting discussions, and the students are doing a great job. More about all that later.