*YAWNS*

It's about time to get back to work. My trip to San Francisco was great if it didn't include my stay with my parents. Sorry but I don't have that kind of a relationship with my parents that makes you feel warm and fuzzy. They push my buttons, and I am more than happy to return the favors. At any rate, it was nice to get away from the frigid temperatures of Iowa and to enjoy the warmth of the sun, and the comfort of great food and friends. Here's a quick summary of my vacation highlights:

1) California Academy of Sciences: closed due to earthquake damage and reopened in September 2008, the newly redesigned and refurbished museum is simply AWESOME. Smaller than before but nevertheless a great exhibition on conservationism, environmentalism, history, science, astronomy, biology, and ecology.

2) Asian/American/Modern Art: Shifting Currents, 1900-1970 at the de Young Museum: this is probably the first comprehensive survey of ASIAN AMERICAN artists featured at a major fine arts museum. There's over 100 works by 60 artists that spans nearly 70 years. A very fine exhibition.

3) Maya Lin: Systematic Landscapes, also at the de Young Museum: Just right after the Asian American art exhibition was Maya Lin's new exhibition which was ... okay. Basically, it's taking computer generated wire framed topographies and transforming them into large scale physical pieces. Some were cool; others ... well ... it just didn't work for me. It doesn't help when I still have this ambivalence about Maya Lin and her racial/gender politics during the Vietnam Veterans Memorial controversy. Meh ...

4) Would you believe that I saw two of my former students from Loyola Marymount University? These two were the better ones, not the screwed up ignorant elitist kids. I was pleasantly surprised and glad to see that they've graduated and moved on with their careers. One was a graduate student in urban planning and the other received her teaching credentials. It was awkward considering that one caught me at a cafe reading a book and the other called me yelled out "Professor Leung!" at the de Young Museum. I was embarrassed, but I was so happy to see both of them. They were my favorite students.

5) Great movies to watch: Doubt and Slumdog Millionaire. Dumbest movie to watch: Bedtime Stories. My younger brother and his wife wanted to see that one. Really, they did.

6) Read a few chapters on a cultural theory and popular culture in preparation for my classes in the spring. That was somewhat productive.

7) I brought my camera with my and photographed The City to my heart's delight, and I also got an opportunity to do a photowalk at the Mountain View Cemetary in Oakland. Very cool.

8) On a sad note, I found out from one of my former students that Randy Senzaki passed away on June 13, 2003. I was shocked and utterly speechless. I remember Randy when he was the director of Equal Opportunity Programs at San Francisco State University. He was one of the few APA administrators who was extremely supportive of student activists and worked tirelessly on issues of social justice. I'm still shaking my head.

My back to work "to do" list includes:

• finish my syllabi
• send back final papers back to students
• two letters of recommendations to write up and send off ... maybe three
• check my emails
• write up my section for the sociology departmental self-study review
• rework the Sociology Department website
• confirm the retreat meeting for AAC and ASIA

And a few long term ones that include sending out more applications for a few more positions, preparing two conference presentations, and writing/submitting an article to a journal and another that is co-written with a colleague of mine.

It's going to be a busy semester.