That whooshing sound

...was the last two weeks flying by. In somewhat chronological order, that time has included:

• a review at work, for which I had to write all the reports, organize the documentation, etc.
• the kids' spring break. Because of bullet #1 above, I couldn't get away until late in the week, so we took a flying trip to Seattle for what turned out to be as much art and culture as we could cram into three days: the Seattle Art Museum (Roman art from the Louvre and Ghiberti's Gates of Paradise, and a bit of the new Olympic Sculpture Park); the Opera (Gianni Schicchi and The Enchanted Child); and just hanging out at places like Uwajimaya and the most noncommercial mall ever (live jazz! endless chess games!)
• the visit of an online friend from the east coast, prompting a great dinner in the Seattle area (which I was late to, again because of #1, but at least I didn't miss it entirely)
• an overnight train trip (and back) to somewhere in the middle of a very large state, where I spent several days at a tribal college. Managed to get off the train and into a location with a TV in time to see the second half of the women's NCAA final (and its unfortunate conclusion)
  
• soccer season started for Daughter; Son's lacrosse experience continues and he has added the school swim team (bringing that group up to four members!)

Some of this is really worth writing about; I also haven't reviewed March's books, so I have catching up to do. I should be staying pretty close to home for the next few weeks, so I'm hopeful that I will get some posts up. In the meantime, I'm still feeling sleep-deprived. Train travel was enjoyable in many ways, but I found it almost impossible to sleep (even with a "roomette" in the sleeper car). It wasn't the motion so much as the constant noise; using earplugs for the noise didn't work for me, though, as when the sound was muffled the motion was just too disorienting. At least I've experienced overnight train travel now, and know I'll need a different approach if I ever plan an extended trip.