Free time

I recently answered some questions for The Lance concerning what I do with my free time on the weekends. Free time has been at a premium lately as this tends to be one of the busiest times of the year for a teacher. However, it got me thinking about those hobbies that we all have that we don't get to participate in as often as we'd like. You know what I'm talking about...those things you really enjoy doing but due to your schedule you just never seem to be able to find the time for?

I go through spurts where I really enjoy photography. The great thing about it is that you sometimes surprise yourself by capturing beauty in a seemingly ordinary object. Take for instance this shot of a random tree branch that happened to be in my way...

What do you do in your precious free time? Is there anything you wish you had more time for?

Top albums of 2007

Most of my students have already figured out that I'm a big music freak. Around the end of each year, I can't help but think back at the year gone-by and recall what some of my favorite albums and concerts were.

2007 was a good year for classic rock albums. John Fogerty came out with one of his best solo discs in decades, Revival. If you enjoy the old Creedance sound, grab this disc for sure. Bruce Springsteen also returned with the E-Street Band to release Magic. While I think it lacks some of the energy usually found on E-Street albums, this is still a great release. The Eagles also didn't dissapoint with their first new album in nearly 30 years. Long Road Out of Eden is a double-CD with some songs that have that classic Eagles sound and also some tracks that sound very "new."

I also really enjoyed Ryan Adams' "Easy Tiger" album as well as the interesting duet album with Robert Plant and Alison Krauss. David Gray, Crowded House, Spoon, and Levon Helm also came out with great albums this year.

Is there anything from 2007 that you would highly recommend?