Friday, November 30, 2012

My Groove Has Been Less Rapid

Until a few months ago, I had been blogging a few times a week, most weeks, for well over a year. Then, a few months ago I lost access to discretionary time. I gave up writing this blog, reading for pleasure, cooking, playing the piano, and seeing friends. And I did it willingly!

What has taken the place of those activities I enjoy is the time I now spend on graduate school. Though I work as a staff member at the University of Pennsylvania, as of this past summer I am now also a student at Penn. I'm in a program at the Graduate School of Education pursuing an Ed.D degree in Higher Education Management.

The program is at least in part designed for people aspiring to the post of president of a university or other very senior university administration positions. I'm really not looking to become a university president, which is good, because I'm also not qualified to be one. But I really do like being a contributor at a university and would be glad to know a lot more about how they function beyond the areas in which I usually work.

The course work is demanding, requiring several hours a day every day just to keep up with the reading, research, and writing. But it's really interesting stuff, including the history of higher education, public policy, academic governance, strategic management, and much more. My experience is that it has been fun to be pushed hard intellectually in areas outside my comfort zone.

But what about the blogging I've left behind?

Honestly, I don't know. I started the RapidGroove blog at a time when I had a lot less to do. I could throw in the towel now that I'm otherwise occupied. But I don't want to. For one thing, there are still plenty of topics I want to write about. I stumble across a few great topics every week.

Here are a few I've thought about lately:

  • climate change, 
  • the "fiscal cliff"
  • the lottery, 
  • evolution of payment systems, 
  • robot news,
  • oysters,
  • and the ever exciting "tech predictions for 2013"

Can't say when I'd get around to writing about any of them, so I'm thinking about the future of RapidGroove. The obvious options are (1) squeeze in a blog or two a month, (2) find some other writers to share the load and/or help me write up some of the ideas I have, or (3) call it quits.

Since you've been kind enough to read this far, how about leaving me a comment with your thoughts on what should be next for the RapidGroove blog? I'd appreciate your input!