I woke up this morning to find two fantastic emails from old Kenyon friends in my inbox. The first was a final installment of Beth Roche's cross-America letters, a series of missives dispatched by email from various stops in a drive from Massachusetts to Washington state. I remember the last time I drove across country and I absolutely loved it – it tends to be a voyage of multiple discoveries. You discover more about America, more about yourself, and a whole hell of a lot more about the person you're riding with. If you ever want to really and truly vet a new friend or S.O., take a long road trip with them. 'Round about the 300-mile marker you start to find out what they're really made of.

The second email was from Laura Marx, telling the story of her completing the Grand Rapids Marathon in 5 hours, 21 minutes, and 47 seconds. You go girl! Laura was taking pledges for the Michael J. Fox foundation – if you're interested in supporting her or the cause, pop over to michaeljfox.org, click on 'donate' in the upper right corner, and follow the instructions. Be sure to write "Laura Marx/Grand Rapids Marathon" in the comments field!

As for myself, I've been buried in catch-up work since getting home from the conference. No joke, I had about a thousand pages of reading to do, which I've managed to whittle down to about 300, but there's still a long, long way to Tipperary. Belated "happy birthday!"s to SarahScott, Jessica and Ebo – I miss you guys, and I hope we can catch up soon!

Right. Once more unto the breach...