Tomorrow I am officially on-leave no more, which makes me sad. I still remember one of the profs in my department seeing me before a colloquium and saying to me, "You look so happy!" He then paused and continued, "You're on leave. You haven't been around. Of course you're happy."

I am thankful that my class meets in the evening twice a week because it will minimize the amount of time I have to spend in the department. It will also minimize the amount of contact I must make with people in the department.

I suppose that I should revel in my last day of freedom and not think about how much I dislike the particular monkey cage I currently inhabit. It won't be as bad as I think because it never is. The year will pass more quickly than I would like. But then? It will be over and I'll be free to explore another monkey cage.