is the big ten overrated?

41-14 ? go gators. as a kelly-come-lately who arrived a little late to the big ten scene, might i type: oh how i hate ohio state.

in a chat about reading, shelley recently observed that i don't type so much about my reading habits. fair enough. no judgment, i know, as she said it. [at least, i didn't hear judgment as she said it, but maybe others could have and i should have?]

i am in the midst of reading wangari mathai's book on the green belt movement. not her autobiography, unbowed, but this sweet little lantern book on how over 30 years, african women she worked with planted 30 million trees. you may know of her because of this award she collected in 2004?

at any rate, tonight, i bumped into jonathan, my chairperson who was back from an "eyeopening and eyepopping" trip to india to research transportation planning with a coven of super smart, SMART colleagues from michigan's center for studying complex systems. anyway, jonathan and i made a little chatter [in english] about the start of the new term, and he made reference to the mountain of books and papers i was ferrying from floor to floor. i am not sure quite what prompted me to foist upon him mathai's book, but i mentioned how i heard she was meant to be coming to western michigan later in the month. and i suggested that we should go along to listen. his reply, "maybe i should try to get her to come here?" i started going on about her work, and naming potential partners who might co-sponsor a visit. he said, yeah no i know it would take money, we can work that out. i mean i wonder if she's available. let me see whether i can find a contact for her on-line and see what i can do.

this is why i like working with and for jonathan. he sees the connections i am making without having to plot it out on the dry erase board. and this is why as overrated as the big ten might be, this is why i have been lucky to land here as my first job.