The First Year of this Blog in Review

Tick. Tick. Tick.  The sabbatical clock is running out and I’m waking up most mornings with a ‘I didn’t do enough’ complex.  This blog was an attempt to fix that.  Among other things.  So I’m adding this page so I can look at a list of what I’ve done in one place.

Professional Writing

• Written and published 2 book reviews (2,040; 1,945)
• Written and had accepted for publication a chapter in an edited volume (12,339, about half  derive from a previous public lecture)
• Drafted five chapters of the book (9,476; 11,247; 26,114; 5,525; 9,146)
• Written up for later follow up 2 extended notes on coin topics (1,380; 930)
• Written and had funded an internal grant to support a collaborative commentary project (1,846)
• Written a keynote talk (4,482)
• Completed revisions of a chapter for an edited volume
• Corrected proofs for another chapter in an edited volume
• Written 247 posts for a blog that has been voted a ‘numismatic excellence award’ by Forum Ancient Coins (Thank you!)

Total word count to date (excluding this blog obviously!): 80,301  and still counting…

Professional Development

• Completed 80 hours of intensive Turkish instruction and received a first class mark on the exam, proving to myself that under the right conditions my dyslexia need not prevent me from learning a modern language.
• Visited archaeological sites related to my future research and teaching: Nemrut Dagi, Karakuş, Arsemia, Side, Selge, Sillyon, Telmessos, Phaselis (x2), Olympia, Myra, Limyra (x2), Nysa, Tlos, Kolophon, Notion, Sanctuary of Apollo Claros, Ephesus, Petra, Patara, Xanthos, Pinara, Nicaea, Letoon, Magnesia, Priene, Aspendos … in no particular order, more are likely to come to mind. 
• Accepted positions on two PhD candidates committees and am chairing another
• Attended two conferences solely to derive benefit from the other presenters
• One conference resulted in meeting my new collaborator on a joint project.  To push that forward, I’ve proposed and had accepted a new graduate seminar tied to my next project, as well as secured grant funding for research materials

Personal Developments

• Pack up and moved continents, including navigating a residency permit process
• Hosted at our home in Istanbul 12 sets of visitors for periods of 3 nights to two weeks
• Life changing travel unrelated to Classics: Rainforests of Puerto Rico, Diyarbakır, Wadi Rum, Wadi Mujib, Dead Sea, Urfa, Gobekli Tepe, Cappadocia, a few crusader castles, and more mountain tracks and coast roads than I can shake a stick at
• Two (minor) surgeries and four months and counting of mood altering medication
• Got up the courage to resign as chair
• Can now eat a half portion of most meats without ill effects (I was raised a vegetarian)