Well, I sent out my solicitations to professors on Monday after much formatting and printer problems over the weekend. Twenty-three profs at thirteen universisities in nine states should be receiving my pleas for sponsorship at any time. Wish me luck.

In related news, the Fall semester begins tomorrow. I have an Italian Renaissance history class in the morning followed by a pre-birthday "mini-celebration" with my friends Jack and Diana (no, I'm not making that up). I may or may not be going to my book club in the afternoon, but I certainly will be going to my Plant Physiology course in the evening. This last is taught by one of my very favorite profs in the Department of Biological Sciences. Dr. Ray Fox is one of the most difficult instructors from whom I have ever taken a class, but I can honestly say I also have an extremely high retention rate since class is never boring. He's a funny and delightful man who's always ready with a wisecrack or a wise word of advice. He's also the individual responsible for my smooth transition into the bio department at a big university from a rinky-dink community college (he was assistant chair and coordinator of undergrad studies when I came for a campus visit back in late 1990 or early 1991). And if that weren't enough, he hooked me up with my undergrad advisor who later became my thesis advisor who will always be my hero and mentor and good friend -- Dr. Karen Brown Sullivan. Ray still refuses to take responsibility for that last, but I remind him of it every chance I get.

I'm looking forward to being in a science class again. It's my life, folks, and I miss the opportunity to keep up on the latest hypotheses. I'm a geek, what can I say?