Crunch Time

This post will have to be short, as I'm at work and have a multitude of tasks to complete before I remove my corporate hat and don my academic one at 4:00 this afternoon. I wanted to address why I have been largely absent--or at least have made myself scarce--from the blogosphere for the past couple of weeks.

While most jobs spool down to mere catch-up mode this time of year, the Powers that Be, along with our clients, have decided that this is the best possible time to ratchet up their expectations of our organization and its ability to troubleshoot, problem solve, produce, and hand-hold. This, on top of the two 20-page papers through which I'm still slogging (both of which are due in six days) and the suddenly increasing demands of my students--who are beginning to realize that they cannot sleep through my class and still earn a satisfactory grade--has rendered me not only close to comatose due to lack of sleep, but also unable to indulge in the activities that I love, such as writing (blogging) for pleasure, spending time with friends, and napping.

I hope to be temporarily back to form by next week, although I will be leaving the country in mid-December for a short while, but I will leave that as a topic for my next post. I also saw a surprisingly phenomenal concert on Saturday night, but alas, that review must also wait for another day.

For now, I leave you with the latest Football Interlude:

The Bucs are humming along at 8-4, having defeated the threatening Saints in New Orleans on Sunday, despite the absence of MVP quarterback Jeff Garcia. Backup Luke McCown substituted amply--even heroically--and our defensive playmakers took advantage of the Saints' coaching miscues to secure a victory and a commanding 3-game division lead over New Orleans and the Carolina Panthers with just four games remaining. The numbers don't lie--the Buccaneers can clinch the division title this weekend with a win at lackluster Houston and a little help from their friends in New Orleans and Carolina.

Big Ten Update: Ohio State is playing LSU (Should have been Hawaii in this game, but again--a topic for another time) for the National Championship. Although my allegiance lies squarely with the Northwestern Wildcats, I will honor certain family ties to OSU. Go Buckeyes!