Mostly, I was an awful blogger in 2011. Busy, busy year.
The grandest canyon of all
In hindsight, this year will be remembered for the family trip to the Grand Canyon.
We packed up our lives and headed toward our first foray into camping at Mather Campground at the South Rim of the Grand Canyon National Park. Although I had great trepidation about our “roughing it” skills, the trip was far better than my greatest hopes.
Despite the chilly nights, the girls took to camping and demonstrated great appreciation for the natural world.
That was my greatest hope, and the park’s outstanding Junior Ranger program helped tremendously. Thank you, National Park Service.
The girls went on hikes, listened to stories, sought out information, and left the park wanting to be park rangers when they grow up. For a dad who worries how to endear science to his daughters, this was outstanding.
Sure, we cooked by the campfire less than intended, taking full advantage of the Canyon’s many eating establishments. As a first camping trip, however, I cannot recommend the Mather Campground more highly. It was ideal.
The camping trip also allowed me to peek at another great passion of 2011, the cosmos. Without the right equipment for my Rebel T1i, I could not do true time lapse photography, and focusing on infinity is a little trickier than it seems. However, one night as the girls all slept, I snuck outside the tent and took a few shots.
And we managed a quick stop at Four Corners National Monument on the way home. After almost a week in Northern Arizona, we nearly wilted in the 100+ degree heat.
Graduate students moving on
Bittersweet goodbyes also marked the year, with three bedrock lab members moving on.
Leslie Moya finished her master’s degree — with a superb thesis — and decided that she’d had enough grad school … for now.
Original Texas Tech Communication & Cognition lab member and stalwart, Wes “Tiberius” Wise, moved on to life as an assistant professor. Joining him was three-year lab veteran Curtis Matthews. Our loss is the Wildcats’ gain.
Note: My lack of a picture of the gents is proof that advisors are always in graduation photos yet scarcely subsequently see them.
Love what you do
I embarked 2011 as the Interim Chairperson for the Department of Advertising, effective as the New Year’s clock struck midnight. The interim tag was dropped on Sept. 1, and accepting this position marks one of the great decisions of my career.
It is my pleasure to work with the greatest faculty, staff, and students I’ve ever met, so the many hours have been met with even more fun.
There were work trips to Tech’s Junction campus; Mesa, Arizona, for the American Academy of Advertising; St. Louis for the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communications; and Orlando for the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools’ Commission on Colleges.
Man, I hate Abilene
The very worst thing ever happened with Emily spending the first five weeks of the year out-of-town from Sunday afternoon until Friday evening to train for her new job. That almost killed me. Somehow the children survived.
Man of honor
A final highlight of the year came in my service as Man (rather than maid) of Honor for my former master’s student (now Ph.D.) Jessica Freeman’s wedding.
She and her groom are amazing people, and the entire wedding weekend was a delight.
Let’s hope the Mayans were wrong
In all, 2011 was a heckuva ride. Cannot wait for 2012!
Unless we all die, of course. Then it can wait!
I'm a cognitive scientist and communication scholar who manages a psychophysiology lab at Texas Tech. I teach courses about the cognitive processing of media messages and research methods.
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Sounds like a pretty good year! Hope your 2012 is just as good, if not better.
Thanks, Rob. It was a winner. I’ll take another just like it!