It’s a wonderful life

JMC dinner with faculty and student media leaders, spring 2015.

… it’s been two months since my last confessi … um … blog post. It’s easier to chronicle what I haven’t been doing these past two months than to note what I have done — that list is long and getting longer.

First, what I have NOT been doing:
1. Exercising.
2. Drinking in moderation
3. Blogging.

A few obstacles have kept me from these important tasks.
1. Traveling.
2. The abundance of cheap and drinkable beer.
3. Work.

I’ll talk about the last item first. I started working for the university’s communications office right around the time I stopped even thinking of blogging. I took a position that’s called “Consulting Editor and Communications Adviser.” The job is two-fold, really. I edit pretty much everything that comes through the office — and then some (I’ve edited three or four grant proposals). I’ve edited every story in our bi-weekly newsletter. But we’ve also been publishing stories to our website daily. So it’s a constant churn of copy from, mostly, student reporters.

I’m working with several great people — two recent AUBG graduates and a colleague who took over the entire events, communications and marketing department. My small role is to help shape communications, brainstorm new ideas, and create a “media services/newsroom” mindset. We cover events, speakers, news. We write features. We encourage students to dig for stories that will help communicate to the larger world what AUBG is all about. Nice work is being done. And the efforts of student writers and interns is great. It’s been a blast.

In addition to that, I’ve been teaching two classes, which has previously kept me plenty busy (for a semi-retired guy). So, yeah, no blogging (or biking, for that matter).

Joris, Sidonja and Mark in Amsterdam.

Me with Len and Arta in Pristina.

But we’ve also traveled quite a bit this semester. We were in Sofia a few times — enjoying good food and the more lively social scene that the capital city has to offer. We traveled to Amsterdam over spring break to visit friends and a couple of former students. And when Melody made a couple of solo trips for film work, I took a drive to Kosovo to visit my friend Len Berisha and his lovely wife, Arta.

A couple of weeks ago, Melody and I, one of our friends, Tracy, from the admissions office, and a student, Dumi, drove to Romania and Moldova for a long weekend. It was an ambitious schedule. We drove probably 36 hours in five days, saw amazing sites, sampled some of Moldova’s famous wine outside of Chisinau (and bought a bunch of it), visited Dumi’s grandmother’s house a couple of hours north of Chisinau, enjoyed an Orthodox Easter feast, and then motored back to Bulgaria. It was exhausting — and so worth it. It was our last road trip — at least for a while.

My traveling companions, and Dumi’s grandmother, in Moldova.

When we got back, we sold our car, my bike, our dryer, our couch and began the process of packing up. We’re moving back to the States for a one-year leave of absence from AUBG. We’ll settle in Chicago — and we’ll still be “on the move,” I’m sure, as we sort out the next year.

If you’ve been following this blog the past four years, I thank you. But as I said at the outset (I think), this is mostly for me. I’m writing stuff down so that I remember it some day in the distant future. It’ll serve as a reminder about how amazing life can be if you let it be. … I haven’t written down EVERYTHING we’ve done and I certainly can’t chronicle every emotion we’ve felt. There has been plenty of what a once-famous basketball coach called “seashells and balloons.” We’ve had our share of frustrations and inconveniences, too, but this has been an incredible four years. … The past couple of days have really brought it all home for me and for Melody.

Me and my sweetie.

On Thursday night, our journalism students threw their annual “JMC Rocks” party. It’s a celebration for graduating seniors and it’s usually attended by current students and some alumni. Each year — in addition to celebrating student media organizations and seniors — the students single out a professor for special recognition. … Melody was honored in 2012 and I was surprised and so touched to be honored in 2014 (coincidentally while my parents were visiting). On Thursday night, knowing that we are taking a leave, these lovely students saw fit to acknowledge both of us. We were touched (and Melody cried, as she does). In a short speech, I tried to convey how much these students have touched our hearts and changed our lives. We have tried hard to make what we do here matter. We are proud and humbled by the affection that has been showered upon us. We can’t wait to see where these special young men and women will be five, 10, 15 years from now. It’s been an incredible privilege to share this part of the journey with them.

And if we make it back here in the fall of 2016 (which is the plan), we’ll start all over again with (many) new students, new ideas and new enthusiasm. We won’t say goodbye. … Instead, we’ll say “until we meet again.”