I am in Chicago at a Multi-state Regional project meeting. I was a member of this project for 19 years and am now the Administrative Advisor. One of the members commented yesterday that some days drag on forever; I have not experienced this over the last three years. But sitting in this meeting, I can imagine that if I were still in my former position, I would experience that feeling regularly. Perhaps I jumped to the other extreme, but I prefer my current situation over the alternative.

The topic of the meeting is livestock farm nutrient imbalance. For much of the meeting, we worked in small groups (not my favorite thing to do). The conversation reminded me of a photo that Michelle Hammer Coffer sent me.

I still have one dossier to review for a merit review. It has been the only review remaining for over a week now; I'm unsure what has prevented me from reviewing it. Given that my flight back to Sacramento is delayed three hours, one would think I would have no reason not to complete it today. I will find a reason.

Assuming my flight departs tonight, I have a few Zoom meetings tomorrow. There is no need to prepare for them because I cannot remember what we will discuss, despite a description in my calendar. Friday is the first meeting of the Blue Ribbon Panel that has been assembled to provide a more external perspective on critical investments into the RECs. A strong appreciation for how different each REC is from the others is necessary for the Panel develop their recommendations.

Over the weekend, I need to start reviewing supervisor, ad hoc, and peer review committee comments and recommendations on merit and promotion packages and then upload my remarks and decisions. Depending on weather and level of motivation, I may knock out an MOU or two that have been sitting on the 'to do' list for a couple of months. Next week is full of travel, so it is unlikely I will do much more than stay on top of my email.

There won't be any days dragging over this 3-day weekend.