Destinations Real and Imagined

 I think I mentioned recently that I was booted out of my long-time campus residency in Aiken Hall, which is being turned back into a dorm after many years of being the home for the Core Division. I've now moved across the quad to Wick Hall, which is definitely a step down. I'm not taking it too hard, actually, because while some of my colleagues have only known Aiken, my new office in Wick will be my sixth office in four different building over the last quarter-century. I'm still sharing an office space with my great friend Erik, which means more daily discussions of film directors we admire and film actresses we love. We both could have chosen single offices, but we get along so well that we decided to keep with a double. Initially we were considering moving down the hill to Coolidge Hall, but it was actually a terrible fit for my declining health. Of course, I was too vain to see that, but Erik, being a great friend and and an all-around good guy, gently proposed that Wick was better for his schedule. Clearly, he was looking out for me, which I immediately picked up on and appreciated. It was a more politically astute equivalent to Mike Kelly, in response to me carrying a couch through the side yard when we were moving me into the cabin, saying: "Don't be an asshole." Truthfully, I appreciated Mike's honesty, and that's become a go-to phrase when vanity needs to be dispelled.

When I arrived in Wick I found a set of clocks in the hallway, which was clearly the work of Erik (all clever and anonymous schemes are designed by him). I love that Rising Sun and Lisbon are recognized. It warms my heart to think that my friends care enough about me to figure out the time of day for me in Portugal, even if they, at least temporarily, will begrudge the fact that while they're trudging off to teach nitwits I'll be sitting at a cafe reading and drinking sangria.

My aunt Connie asked how people know that I'm from Rising Sun (or at least I claim Rising Sun for my hometown) and I told her that I've built that up into such a mythology over the years that everyone knows it. Of course, she played an active, if innocent, role in that mythology by sending me so much Rising Sun swag over the years.