kpjoyce.com

quiet

I am back in my office on the U of I campus, where things are unbelievably quiet. I thought that I would drive back here to get myself settled and working on research work before the next semester started, and intended to do that last Sunday. Soon before I started packing, I thought I would double-check the academic calendar. I was surprised to see that my vacation was actually a week longer than I had assumed. My already low stress level dropped a few notches, and I have been taking my time.
I seem to have taken a bit of a hiatus from the site over my break. This is not good -- I don't want to only write when I am spending countless mind-numbing hours in a soft LCD glow. Of course I don't really want to break out the laptop when I'm having fun with family and friends either. I'm sure a balance will be reached eventually.
I saw my apartment for the first time since the break-in. This burglary was an odd one. The perpetrator broke in to the apartment by destroying the deadbolt, but did not damage anything else, even the door. The lock was simply in pieces on the floor. Only two things were taken, my television and the remote for my multimedia PC (likely by accident.) Items that had been sitting on the television were neatly placed on a nearby windowsill and everything else was undisturbed. Several other possessions of obvious value were left untouched. I suppose somebody wanted a nice television for Christmas. I made a few phone calls, but discovered that I was on my own to replace the stolen items. The deductible on my renters' insurance was too high to be of any help, and Visa only covers purchases for the first 90 days (if only the TV had been stolen for a Columbus Day gift). This is not a story of all bad news, however. Ostensibly as a reaction to the breakin, my landlord has chosen to work on my apartment in my absence. There have been a number of security updates, and surprisingly enough, new fixtures in the bathroom. At least I assume that it was the landlord making these updates and not the intruder.