More weeks have gone by. The news, as bullet points, is as follows:

• I along with all professional staff at Boise State have essentially been given termination notices. This is largely a legal maneuver since the state budget is not yet in place. Obviously you cannot issue an employment contract if you don’t know you have money to fund said contract. So, like the post office used to do, the university has “fired” all the professional staff and will then selectively re-hire them once the budget is finalized. This is uncomfortable to say the least and is acting like slow poison on the culture of the university. The message from the administration remains mostly “trust us, we’re doing everything we can,” and i have little doubt that’s true. But it is, in equal measure, irrelevant since “trust” will not pay my mortgage. I’m taking what steps i can to minimize my exposure to, uh, unemployment in Idaho.
• Annette’s position at Visiting Nurse Service NY has officially been eliminated. She will be rejoining me out here in the banana belt of Idaho permanently on or near May 15.
• Spring, the most beautiful season here, is in full swing.
• I’m awaiting a delivery from Nippy Norman’s in Britain: a BMW oil-filter wrench and a fancy LED tail/brake light that will hopefully decrease the odds of being rear-ended by the increasingly stupid drivers Idaho. I’m unsure if there’s an underlying cause, but i have seen more close-calls involving people on cell phones in the past few weeks than in all of last year. I think the sour economy is making everybody more scatter-brained.
• Julie has announced she’s taking a new job at Red Sky PR and will be leaving the office of Communications & Marketing.

Looking forward i have no idea what this summer will bring. I am certain having my wife actually living in the same house with me will be a good thing and i am looking forward to various camping trips as time permits, but i’m unsure if this summer will bring any major direction changes. I remain curious about Philadelphia. It is just about as different as different can be from Boise. Port Townsend remains on the list of places to at least return to for a visit. And of course the idea of running a bar in the Azores continues to wax and wane. I suppose my head is also experiencing a kind of spring… the feeling of potential is strong, but the direction of that potential is foggy.

Here’s the view from Bonneville Point… just a short drive East.