Dear Family, Friends, Musicians, Dancers, Writers, Artists and Lovers of the Arts, Science, History, Nature and Outdoor Enthusiasts, Opportunists and Volunteers,

Happy New Year! I enjoyed a quiet and restful holiday vacation. But, the last couple of weeks, I've been really busy tying up loose ends from the fall semester and preparing for the spring semester, which started this week. So, I'm already ready for another break! Many of us will be getting the Martin Luther King holiday off next Monday. It will be the last holiday we get off for a while - until Memorial Day, I believe. (And, wouldn't ya know that I scheduled an appointment for Monday, not realizing it was a holiday! And, it's too late to reschedule,too. Bummer! Oh well...)

One of my New Year's resolutions is to try and not spend so much time on my "OUT & ABOUT" e-mails. As much as I enjoy writing them, they have been eating up a huge chunk of my personal time. I've been thinking that I need to delegate more - or at least learn to ask for help. That is where you come in. I would like to be as accommodating as possible to those of you who send me event info. It would be so very helpful if you would send the info in this font and as close to this format as you can. Also, send as many details as possible, including contact info. Write out your event the way you want it to be read. I will still be doing some editing, but it would save me a lot of time if I could cut and paste rather than retype everything. Also, I am learning that perfection - although a good thing - can be a problem for some of us. So, I may have to let go of some of the formatting and grammatical stuff...to a point, anyway.

Well, the new year is starting with a bang! With college back in session, we have more cultural events to choose from - and plenty of extra traffic! Not only do we have First Fridays, we have Third Thursdays, Second Saturdays and now, Third Mondays! (Keeping these straight will be a challenge!) There will continue to be Martin Luther King celebrations over the next several days. Also, Tibetan Monks are coming to town!