the flip side

I really have to build up to the expression of more substantive thoughts in prose. It's not an unnatural medium for me, but neither is it one without a certain inertia to conquer. Yet the whole point of this blog was to prevent myself from whingeing and avoid overly personal subjects, and spend more time disciplining myself to write Proper Things. Unfortunately, I have an Irish work-mate who has this amazing, perhaps pheremonal ability to sniff out Irish pubs wherever we might be (not that it's that hard in NY, but the guy is good). Moreover, he earns about three times what I do, and isn't afraid to get rounds in. Last night, focussing my thoughts to respond to Crazy's bait-and-switch post to get me posting (hmmph) resulted in me carrying on and finishing up some long overdue work and submitting it to the various and sundry who are the penultimate step in the process. As well as getting on top of things more generally, re-establishing contact with, well, various and sundry in anticipation of dog-and-pony^H^H^H^H^H^H job-and-conference season. Tonight, despite the pints, is reserved for the other side of my brain, the one that currently pays the bills. Which is rather frustrating, as there are more things to be written and submitted in fairly short order. No quandary, merely obligations that are going to have to be scaled back as I attempt to recreate the academic without the academy.