Here I am after crossing 12 state lines, back in Washington (ok, there were some states that were double-counted - if you want to know the details, see the comments below). All I can say is whew.

And of the 8 flights I took, only two were on time. That is not a good record for the airline industry. Some delays were more trying than others. From Providence to New Mexico, we had to change planes in Nashville. Our connecting flight to Albuquerque was delayed over three hours, so they rerouted us through Phoenix. It seemed silly to fly past our destination only to head back to it. If only we could parchute out. This inconvenicence was more trying because both Sara and I were sick (Sara much more than me). Our flight to Phoenix was late and we had five minutes to make our connection. Somehow we (and more amazingly our bags) made it.

Despite the trying delays, I do have to say the people at Southwest were all very nice and really tried to be helpful (and went out of their way to make sure our bags made all the necessary connections).

I can't really breathe yet. I head back to New Mexico on Friday. So I only have three days here to catch up on everything that has piled up, get what I need to do this week, prepare for the conference next week, and try to get ahead for the the following week. I also had to keep my motivation up even though I was welcomed back here by a big pile of rejection letters, including a very impersonal letter from the school I interviewed in Southern California. Moreover, I am carless since my car is still in San Diego with the dog, so even the routine errands take much longer since I have to walk everywhere. Nonetheless, today was actually quite productive, so I am off to a good start.

With all the flurry of activity and having just spent a nice period of time with Sara, you would think that I would not miss her as much as I do. But I do. I can't wait to hop yet another plane (and another and another) to be with her again. June, when we will both be back in the same place, is two months away. It will be fascinating to see how long and short that period can concurrently be.

I don't know if I will be back here this week. I certainly won't be once I am back in New Mexico. I wonder if I will ever get all the junk that is nesting in my head out in writing. Hmm...we'll see.