. . . Have Been Great Exaggerated

The site has not quite been dormant. Close, I know. I'm sorry.

I'll beg for a bit of understanding.

Back in October, things turned completely upside down for me at the University of South Florida. I was burned out. I felt trapped. The new regime cared only about grants and contracts -- which my team has always been good at -- and not at all about teaching or scholarship.

My emotional state slipped into depression over the summer and by October, my blood pressure soared to 180 over 100. That's when I decided, I was done with my weekly travel between Tampa and Tallahassee.

My immediate supervisor retired in July. He took a position as a resident scholar at Florida State University. I phoned him. Within two weeks, the Dean of the College of Social Science and Public Policy at Florida State University and the Claude Pepper Foundation agreed to host my team. By mid-January, I was a faculty member at FSU.

We wanted the transition to go smoothly. We tried. Very hard. There was some initial friction at USF, however. That was all pretty much resolved by the end of February.

From mid-October through December, I was overcoming anxiety and adjusting to medication for depression. January and February were busy with moving our team, getting equipment in place, getting confidential data secured from USF, and getting organized. March was busy with requests from the Florida Legislature and legacy projects from USF.

I can now say, we will be completely caught up this week. Our legacy projects, done. Our legislative requests, done. Our current contract deliverables, ahead of schedule.

Ok, a little more narcissism . . .

Matters going topsy turvy at USF last year was the best event in my professional life.

My blood pressure is averaging 110 over 70 now. My cholesterol is now low (108), so I'm off Lipitor, I expect to be off the blood pressure medication on Wed., and my glucose is down to 98. No more pre-diabetes.

Zoloft has been great! I have a more positive frame of mind. I'm the happiest in my professional career since I left graduate school. I'm no longer hypomanic. I've lost 70 pounds.

I never thought I could diet successfully. I now weight what I did in graduate school. My goal is another 50 pounds. At 198 pounds, I'll weigh less than I did in college. Even less than I did in the Army Reserves.

I was often asked, how could I do all the tools and tutorials. The simple answer is hypomania. I have a mild form of bipolar disorder called cyclothemia. It's common among creative types. It makes you very productive. Also, very irritable.

I've been so busy at work, I could not do much on this site since October. Expect videos, tutorials, tools, and tips. But, expect a bit slower pace. ;)

Thanks to everyone for their patience and kind regards these past few months.

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