I’ve been gone for some time, I know, and had pretty much given up blogging for the most part. There are many good reasons for this, not the least of which was the fact Mike ran into trouble getting something published in a journal because the editors found a small, very small, part of it on his Myspace blog. While that worked out for him in the end, I worried about losing the ability to publish on other, bigger and “more legit,” venues if I continue to publish here. I also worried that I wasn’t spending enough time revising my work, because writing a blog, even a good blog, isn’t as demanding as writing a kick-ass essay. There is no built-in system for revision, for example, and nothing to push a writer to keep getting better.

I still have those worries, but I am, for the moment, bypassing them in favor of posting about a new going-on. Mainly, that after several years of discussion and pie-in-the-sky dreaming, it looks as though my desire to take a long road trip with the Things through the US, and then write a book about it, will come to fruition. Because, as of right now, New Slang Philosopher and I are planning a 6-7 week journey through much of the contiguous United States, beginning around July 6.

It’s a huge trip, and it won’t be easy. Right now, I’m teaching an overload of classes in order to save money. I took my tax refund, and a bit of savings, and paid my entire rent for the summer, too, as a means of avoiding the terrible dwindling of cash flow that always hits around August. I’m actually doing mildly okay this year, primarily because I’ve been so careful.

So, I’m reviving my blog here to chronicle the planning, the purchasing of many and sundry items, and the actual execution of said event*. So far, we’ve decided to go as far Chicago, but we’d like to make it to Pennsylvania, and then head down to Florida, cutting across through to Texas, then up through Utah and Wyoming and Colorado. There will be more to come, maps and plans and much wringing of hands, I'm sure. There is still no guarantee that it will all go through, but I'm laying better than fair odds in favor of it happening.

And I'm pretty excited to be writing it, sharing it, here.

*tm

*I think “execution” might be the best word. Holy crap, what am I doing here?