* * *

Like all good things, my sabbatical had to end sometime, and I suppose that I'm as rested as a body has a right to be. So, I decided to take a more active roll in expediting my own interests.

Giving that ball a little nudge to see if I could get it rolling, I found that a nudge was all it took -- it's back to the books so to speak, on Monday. After two months of waiting patiently, I finally called my counselor to see what was going on. I guess my brother was right, you've got to keep prodding them or nothing will get done.

And speaking of my brother, he got a job! Congratulations, and good luck, Kevin. I was beginning to think that he would always be a student, but after earning an Associate Degree and two Bachelor's Degrees, he's at long last landed that first "real" job. Shocked, Joe, the head of the Center For Students With Disabilities, at Northcentral Technical College (NTC), and my former boss, had to sit down when I told him about my brother's two job-offers in one day.

I had a nice chat with Joe this week when I stopped in to visit with my former co-worker, Alan. Joe said that next week would be the perfect time for me to start with the blindness-related courses and that I should give my counselor, John, a call to see if he could set it up. So I called John and told him what Joe said. Well, John called Joe and they agreed it was time they did something with me, and when I called John back he told me to be at NTC bright and early Monday morning. And so, once again, the teacher becomes the student, and the workplace becomes the classroom.

I suppose I'll have to cut down on the mudding now that school is in session, but that's just as well, anyway. Springtime is upon us and my computer usage has always dropped off as the snow had disappeared. Moreover, I no longer have the ear of a god. Thomas (a.k.a. Blackheart), has resigned his position as a god of StarMUD and is moving to London. I hope that the MUD will survive his departure because I don't want to quit mudding entirely, and I don't really want to start over on a new one, either. It's hard to explain to non-mudders just how real this cyber-world can be, until you present them with examples such as my friend, Audy, meeting his future wife in a computer game, which is running on a computer in Sweden. And in yet another such example, my cyber-friend, Thomas, to whom I have never even spoken in the traditional sense, may be coming for a visit:

Blackheart tells you: What do you think about me
visiting you when I go to the states in July?

Are you kidding? I'd be honored. I tossed him a virtual beer and I'm looking forward to tossing back a couple of real ones with him in July. If he's still living in London when I make my trip to see Guy, perhaps I'll even get the chance to return the visit someday.

A little closer to home, my youngest sibling, Bob, called this week to see if I noticed his entry in my guestbook. He was at a friend's house the night before, where he got his first taste of the internet and my home page. While there he tried to sign my guestbook, but unfortunately, it didn't take. Bob, if you make it back here, try again. I know that the guestbook works, because Timothy -- another cyber-friend to whom I've never spoken -- signed it the next day.

Well, I guess that's about it for this week. I've got to figure out what I'm going to wear on Monday -- hmm, I wonder what's for lunch?