This note is going to be short, although I have been writing it in my head for the last two weeks.To be blunt, I need some time off. I've just come out of eight months or so of incredibly intense, deadline-filled project activity. I've finally polished off several major research projects and other client engagements, and suddenly I can look up and see white spaces on my calendar.At first, my sudden lack of focus scared and depressed me . . . but then my dear friend and Very Wise Person Candace Fitzpatrick reminded me that I used to be a full-time college teacher, when I could spend every summer slowing down, reading, thinking, and designing or conducting research projects (... I became much more a journalist and much less a teacher during those times).Candace then posed a simple question to me:"Why don't you spend this summer like that?" [More]
