Last night I had a wonderful workout at the gym with my best friend Weez, followed by a nice soak in RIT's new hot tub. When I got home and stepped out of my car, I could smell wood smoke from a neighbor's house, and could see the brightly colored leaves up and down the street illuminated by porch lamps. I took a few minutes to soak that up, feeling about as lucky as I ever have.
As I drove to work this morning, the sun was coming up over the multi-colored trees, and mist was hanging over the river and ponds that I passed. There's a hint of frost on the ground in the shady areas, and I could see my breath in front of my face when I got out of my car. (No photos, alas; I didn't bring the camera with me.)
Fall has always been my favorite season--I love the crisp air, the take-your-breath-away blue skies, the luminous oranges, yellows, and reds of hardwood leaves. I know that the shortening days and intermittently gray skies make fall a depressing time for some, but for me fall has always felt alive with possibilities. As a "faculty brat," my household always buzzed in the fall; that buzz followed me through college, grad school, and now life as an academic. Fall is a time of new classes, new ideas, new students, new projects. It's excitement and discovery and renewal. And for those of us lucky enough to be in the northeast, it's accompanied by this perfect weather--perfect for sleeping, for thinking, for walking, for playing. Cool days, crisp nights. Bliss.
RIT has a hot tub?
Yep. In the new swimming complex at the field house. A lap pool, a diving pool, a lovely recreational pool, and a 22-person hot tub.