Made it to Nashville, and this is the 2nd Time I Went with an Apartment Rental over a Hotel Room (Because It's Cheaper). No Employees & All Digital

I'm not even sure how I find these places, but I do. This is a living room, dining area, bedroom, kitchen, and full bath with a view of northern Nashville. I'm a 7 minute walk from downtown and near many restaurants. An hour before my arrival I received a code to get in, I enter, I scan my phone, and a FOB appears which gives me access to the gym, pool, and room. All via text messages. That's the way I'm contacted...not sure if there's a management hierarchy like a hotel, but there has to be some sort of pecking order. It's a nice space and I can definitely use it like a home for the extended weekend.

First things first, Sharon Clark is here for a conference, so she and I got dinner. And then all eyes were focused getting the final episode of Ted Lasso watched. Before both, however, I had to teach the four hour course. Now, anyone who's ever taught realizes how impossible that is. Of course, the summer institute is six hours a day, but that is a different animal with multiple guests and lots of participation. With this grad course, however, I divide and conquer. I give students space to get the work done, while mentoring them in small workshops throughout the evening, a few at a time.  This requires me to have the other workshops created an already online so they can go to them, while I'm meeting with others. I guess it's like being in three places at once, but it works. We're not staring at one another for 240 minutes. That would be death. 

And I'm laughing because the piece of art in the living room is a blue, warped cassette tap and upon closer inspection it says Blue Sky Mining - Midnight Oil. It's a painting and suddenly I was thrown back to 1988-1992 when I listened to this cassette non stop after hearing them on MTV's 120 minutes. That was a completely different time than it is now.

I still have that tape, too. It's in my cassette holder in a drawer of a dresser stored in the garage (not sure if I"m hoping cassette players will come back or not). But I loved my walkman and I especially loved this album. I guess music city features artists that ain't country, too.