The Year in Review: Thirteen things

Robbert van der Steeg @CC

The year had far more than thirteen graces to gather up, but here is a start.

1. I wrote two articles for Slate magazine on chemophobia and doing science outside the lab.  Best parts?  Listening to The Boy do a dramatic reading of the comments on the chemophobia one, and staying up till all hours to write them with Crash for virtual company.
2. Revisiting the Spiritual Exercises in Lent, for this project at DotMagis.
3. We had two car crashes in twenty minutes.
4. I have a new red MINI Cooper.  (4. is not unrelated to 3.)
5. Getting to experience James Turrell's Perceptual Cell at LACMA.
6. Retreat.  Silence.
7. Retreats.  Preaching them.
8. The US Open came to town.  I rode my bike and went for a day with Math Man.
9. Traveling with my students — both through space, from Wernersville to Japan and back — and through time, from the desert fathers and mothers to Merton and Annie Dillard.
10. Writing for Homilists for the Homeless.
11. Watching The Boy sing The Modern Major General.
12. Picking up Crash at Wonderful Jesuit University after his first year.
13. Going to the ACS meeting in New Orleans with The Boy.