Biking

We pooled our Christmas money and bought new bicycles this year. (We purchased Raleigh bicycles, of course.) Due to our busy schedules and inclement weather in January and February, we had not yet been able to try out the new bikes. But now the weather is beautiful, so on Monday, after Kirsti got home from work and before I had to go off to teach my calculus class, we took a ride. It wasn't a long ride—just a few streets into Scripps Ranch and back. But we had a great time and we look forward to longer rides once our schedules lighten up a bit.

Tas gets to ride along in a super-swank trailer. Here she is, getting strapped in.

Piano lessons

One of the games Tasman likes to play is called "piano lessons". First she asks me to sit down at the piano and then to help her up into the tall stool I use when I teach piano lessons. Then she commands me to play while she counts, "One and two and three and." (Apparently she likes an andante waltz tempo.) Sometimes she likes what I choose and she bops her head to the music. Most of the time, though, she says, "No, not that one!" I choose a different piece. "No, Daddy, not that one!" This usually lasts a few minutes.

When she tires of this, she asks to get down so that she can join me on the piano bench. Sitting right next to me, she pushes a key and asks me what it is. I'll play the same key several times while singing its letter at the right pitch: "C C C C." She'll repeat after me while playing the same key. Then she'll pick a different key and we do it again: "F F F F."

Today, after several key identifications, she asked me, "Daddy, I wanna find the W."

CBS is getting desperate

Normally, I don't have really vivid dreams; at least they're not vivid enough for me to remember when I wake up. But I had one the other day that stuck with me and made me laugh in the morning.

So here's my dream. I'm watching TV and CBS is airing some promos for its upcoming lineup. The big show of the new season is called What the Hell, I'm Madonna! It stars Madonna in a reality show in which ordinary people dare Madonna to do crazy things. For example, they show one guy who challenges Madonna to go to Supercuts and get a crappy haircut. Madonna thinks it over carefully, and then utters the eponymous catchphrase, "What the hell, I'm Madonna!"

Sounds like TV gold, if you ask me.

New job

I suspect there are few people who haven't already heard our news. But for the sake of completeness, allow me to announce officially that we are moving to Utah. Westminster College in Salt Lake City has offered me an assistant professor position next year in the department of mathematics. For those of you who know me well, you'll know how ironic it is that I'm moving back to Utah after 13 years of not having lived there. Despite our early reservations, however, we are truly excited about the move. The job is awesome: the department is amazing and the school is exactly the kind of liberal arts school I was searching for. The fact that it is in Utah will allow us to be close to both my parents and Kirsti's parents. They, in turn, are excited at having their granddaughter so close.

Now I have to finish my dissertation. The permanence of my position at Westminster is contingent upon me having Ph.D. in hand when I start next fall. So my adviser and I are working hard to try to finish up in the next few months. My last class at Miramar College will be a calculus class this summer which will finish in early August. By late August, classes start at Westminster, so we'll have a few weeks in between to get moved. Fortunately, Westminster is offering me a generous amount of money for moving and start-up expenses.

We'll miss sunny San Diego. We'll dearly miss the many friends we have made here. But I suppose we always knew that our stay here was temporary. I'll be glad to be finished with the ordeal that has been grad school. Real world, here I come!