Gathering up my scattered thoughts

Sir William Gillies, Wet Weather (1961)

Since returning from the conference I've had hardly a moment to collect my thoughts. There's been so much to do that I have felt overwhelmed at times, though in fact everything's gone pretty well. In the twenty minutes or so that I have before I leave for the meeting of the bishop search committee, I want to think back on -- really, just inventory -- what's gone on in the last couple of weeks.

I bought the painting that I used as the image in my previous post. It's hanging in Edinburgh until the exhibition closes in three weeks, and then it will be shipped here. I am truly excited about this.

I reviewed applications, and then reviewed them some more.

I did four classes on Berkeley, each weirder and wilder than the one before, and got fantastic questions from students.

I celebrated the Eucharist and preached on the High Priesthood of Christ.

I confronted a student about some egregious plagiarism and became so genuinely worried about him that I referred him to Counseling Services.

We kept our friends' dog for a week and had a blast.

From this we concluded that we should try a dog of our own. A few hours in, when she had drawn blood, we began to suspect that this was not the dog for us.

I co-led a webinar with a colleague on the Lord's Prayer, the colleague having mercifully done all the work.

I co-taught classes on liturgy at our Diocesan School for Ministry, including producing elaborate (excessive, really) sung liturgies, the music for which I largely botched on the strange organ-like instrument in the back of the chapel.

I sang Evensong at the Cathedral, the music for which I mostly didn't botch, though I really have to get a mask that allows me to breathe better. A gasping precentor is not a happy precentor.

I led a Latin reading group in which everyone did surprisingly well on material that I thought would be a train wreck.

Things calm down noticeably after tonight.

Oh, and our friends' dog is coming back to stay with us again soon. Yay!