the long summer is nearly over

On July 10, 1999, I set out from my hometown with a U-Haul and vague notion to become a scientist. I ended up in the Arizona desert. (Where else, right?)

On September 11, 2006, I will repeat this journey in reverse. I will be heading to parents' house on my way to a new job, a little beyond.

Seven years, two months, and a day.

What is different:

--I am now married to my favorite person in the world. Getting there was rough--in the intervening years, I had a string of relationships ranging from good to bad to downright destructive. The older I get, the more I realize how utterly ordinary this is--and probably necessary, too. On this front, I could not be happier than I am now.

--We have a dog. The significance of his presence in our lives became apparent to me when I realized the feature of the house that we decided to buy that cinched it for me was a dog door. I'm not kidding.

--I have a PhD. This is much less significant to me than I thought it would be seven years ago.

--I have more muscle mass, and less hair. I'm visibly older, but I also take much better care of myself. I feel better. I sleep better. I can run a 45-minute 10K on a good day. I've largely lost my taste for starch and sugar and cultivated one for vegetables and lean meat. I'm very much a work in progress on this front, and I always will be, but I can't complain about the directionality of changes.

--I've been to Europe 4 times. Canada 3. Mexico more times than I can remember. Seven years ago, I had been to Toronto for a day once.

--I've read at least 100 books since then, probably more. I might try to count them up as I unpack them on the other side. I actually have a pretty good memory for placing what I read at the point in my life that I read it.

--Strangely enough, my short-term memory isn't what it used to be. My wife points this out to me all the time. When I don't write out a shopping list, I usually regret it. I am especially bad at remembering appointments and other scheduled events. I don't think I've always been this way. But maybe I just don't remember that either.

Anyway, all of this is to say that things are changing, and fast. I do not expect to have much of an online presence until the end of the month. Until then,

B