Wow, it’s hard to believe, but I’ve reached the half-way point of this sabbatical.  What does that mean?  Well, for this post, it means a little looking back, and a little looking forward.

Looking back:  In an earlier update, I mentioned how I wish I had started looking for a place to spend my sabbatical, and especially external funding, much earlier than I did.  I still feel that way.  However, I am really (still) happy with how it worked out to come here.  I’m still enjoying my work, which is progressing, and being in Tucson again after 20 years is still a blast.

One other thing I wish I had done before coming – agreed on my teaching load for next academic year.  The past couple of weeks have been taken up with load related issues that have been a distraction from sabbatical.  It wasn’t enjoyable.  A big reason I was looking forward to sabbatical was to escape from my normal academic life.  So if you’re reading this, and thinking about a sabbatical, I advise you to plan your teaching load for the year following the sabbatical before you go on sabbatical.  Unless, of course, you like being reminded of the institution you left.

Our daughter has been a real trooper, and has had to give up the most to come on this adventure.  Fortunately, her life has gotten much better since the last update.  She moved from class 7B at her middle school to 7A.  Two important changes went with that – she moved up to a higher math course (algebra rather than pre-algebra) and into a smaller class with students who care more about academics.  She’s made some friends, although none as great as the ones she has at home, who she continues to miss.

My better half (by far!) has really enjoyed renewing friendships [1].  It seems like almost every day she’s off to talk with a friend from high school, middle school or even elementary school (and sometimes all three).  It reminds me of what a sacrifice she made when she followed me to Bloomington, Waltham/Salem/Cambridge, Conway/Myrtle Beach, and finally McMinnville.  I promise that we don’t plan on moving again!

Our pup has mostly enjoyed walks and the dog park.  He’s very easy to please, which is one of the things we all love about him!

Looking ahead:  In the next nine weeks, I’m trying to figure out how to make as much progress as I can.  I’m working on aspects of the research that no one else has before, so I’m going to be doing a lot of literature searches and brain storming.  At the moment, I’m trying to incorporate Au nanoparticles into silica nanosphere arrays in any way I can.  Once I’ve done that, I need to learn about how to handle hydrofluoric acid (HF), which is particularly nasty stuff.  I’ll be using it to (hopefully) dissolve the silica spheres, leaving 3-D networks of Au nanoparticles.  We’ll see how this goes.  I’ll also get to learn how to use the Keck instrumentation center’s atomic force microscope (AFM), which should be fun.

We look forward to doing things with old friends who live in Tucson, and visits from those who don’t.  In November Dayna will fly to the bay area for her grandmother’s 90th birthday celebration – hope Katie, Tahoe and I manage to find something to do.  Oh yeah, the Ducks are coming to play UA that weekend…

[1]  Actually, I have too.  I just have fewer friends than she does.  Told you she’s my much better half.