archaeoprof

More than thirty years ago, when I first began solving the NYT Xword puzzle, every puzzle was a challenge. As the years went by, my skills improved, and eventually I was solving all the way through the week. Now, with the onset of Alzheimer's, I find myself slowly moving in the opposite direction. Fridays and Saturdays are increasingly difficult, and today I was able to fill in less than half of the grid. But here's the good news: I really enjoyed that half of the grid!

As I contend with a recent diagnosis of Alzheimer's, my solving skills are now beginning to show clear signs of erosion. After years of climbing through to Saturday success, nowadays I find myself slowly sliding in the opposite direction. Today's puzzle, for example, was largely opaque to me, with broad swaths of blank squares. But you know what? I still enjoy it.

On many trips to Germany, I have often enjoyed solving crossword puzzles in German. But this one might as well have been in Swahili.

As I continue my slow and steady battle against Alzheimer's, I am getting used to the fact that the puzzle stumps me more often than it used to. When I crashed and burned on this one, I thought, "Well, this is the way things are now." So it came as a nice surprise to see that many were somewhat displeased with this puzzle. On to tomorrow! (what day is it, anyway?)

AQABA is, in my experience, one of the most strikingly beautiful places on earth. Desert on one side and shimmering blue water on the other. and Jordanians are remarkable people, kind and strong.

Now I'm going to have to live with the fact that I didn't know INCOGMEATO. But you know, I think I can live with that.

"Average, in golf" is most assuredly _not_ PAR. PAR is a standard, and a very high one at that, which is achieved by only a very small percentage of golfers. But isn't that the charm of golf? If it was easy, everyone would be good at it!

In the parts of the South where I have lived for thirty-four (34) years, folks say "That dog _won't_ hunt." So I had one writeover today!

Shortly after I was TENURED, a senior professor told me, "It's not really job security; but it does mean that from now on you can tell administrators what you really think."

DNF/DNC (Did Not Finish/Did Not Care). I still do not understand why every now and then I totally lose interest in a puzzle. All at once it feels as if I'm in a faculty meeting again: tedious, boring, flat. Now that I am retired, I don't have to put up with that. Glad that others enjoyed it, and I will look forward to tomorrow!

Another Dolly Parton fan here!