Time to clear out some of the moth balls

I haven't posted in quite a while. It's not that I have nothing to say, or no news to report. I am simply buried behind so many projects and activities that recording my own thoughts seems a luxury that I cannot afford.

This semester has been an uphill battle. I doubled up on my three-course load at SMU because it just seemed ridiculous to have my heavy semester in the spring, when I should be engaging in more intensive research. But as a result, it feels like I've been on the grindstone forever.

And my teaching duties are not the only source of exhaustion. Amazingly, I have put out two research pieces for publication consideration and have just started a third. I have recently been more active in the public sphere (my three lectures on "Christ and Culture" and my recent presentation to the American Marketing Association can be found in my podcast directory). And the SMUDailyData is, as usual, a cruel mistress.

But in addition to these regular activities, I am still recovering from our recent move (LONG story). And I have recently undertaken a project to redesign and reconstruct the Skillman Church of Christ Web site. Add in my SMU Faculty Senate duties, a revamp of the journalism curriculum, various technology committees and a sprinkling other campus committees, and it's amazing how little time I have to calmly reflect on anything.

But here's the interesting thing (I did not write all of this to simply whine about how how packed my schedule is): I have been writing, just not publishing.

Blogs are funny things. I am able to write half-constructed thoughts out and save them for later without publishing them. I literally have several thousands of words stored for future attention (I am WAY behind).

I guess the dilemma that strikes me about some of these entries is the dating of them. I'm not sure that if and when I get back to some of these posts I shouldn't fudge on the post date. After all, how do you date information that was mostly written months before it was finished? In journalism, the publish date is the day it appears for consumption. But much of my unpublished material is dated. For example, I have many words from our honeymoon (July 2005) that have yet to see the light of blog. But when I do publish those accounts, should I back-date them to make them appear on the day I began writing them (or even the day they happened?)?

I'm going to have to think this through. The end result may be that suddenly my blog make it look like I haven't been on this long writing hiatus. I can't decide which is the most honest solution.

Well, at least I won't be making this decision soon. After all, I'm so busy ...