Monday, October 30, 2006

GULPING FOR AIR

As you know, I’m no longer a student and I’ve been trying to figure out how the next part of my life goes. Well, next steps are now mapped. There was a whole thing with a possible research job here in the UK that would have been really cool and included a three week trip to New York and stuff. But it was a year-long position and I was unwilling to stay that long and they, even though they wanted me to work with them, were unwilling to have me for half a year when they needed someone for a year. Reasonable. So instead, I’m working with that Professor I’m always on about on his part of the research just for the next six weeks or so and then we’re coming on home. I’ll be doing some interviews and research on school m.eals service in London schools (including the borough where j.am1e Ol.iv.er did his School Din.ners tv series that brought the nation to attention about the horrible things schools were serving their kids and led to such things as Morrocan slow-stewed beef and couscous on primary school menus. He notoriously made a batch of chicken nuggets with the kids to show them what disgusting things went into it. Anyway, we’ll be updating research to see what’s happened since then—what are the long-term results of the “J.am1e effect.” Six short weeks of that, which will be awesomely fun and interesting and put something relevant at the top of my resume, and then back to Seattle.

So we’ll be there mid-December. Most of you, dear readers, are in Seattle. I can’t wait to see you. And to eat at my favorite breakfast joints and cafes. And to see some quirky theatre. And to look out at the mountains. And to walk the hills and parks.

More soon. Now that I’ve stopped holding my breath about what’s next, I hope to write and post pictures and things over the next little while.