Our neighbors have just a few weeks, and they are leaving the Navy.

They are finished with their time.  They are at the end of their contract.  The jig is up, as they say.

It’s kind of shocking to hear them talk about it.  To know they’re moving back to Pennsylvania and the home they’ve been renting out for years.  To hear them discussing schools for their kids and whether they need to sell one of their cars before or after they move back.

Well, only part of that is true.

Chicago is a city. However, it is also a style of writing.

It is one of the three writing styles that are required for almost every paper that we will ever write in our academic lives. The format that is required for a research paper is usually specific to a subject field. 

Sounds easy, right? Well, the explanation is pretty much where the ease ends. And although things can get a little (actually, a lot) murkier, don’t panic. Why? Because I like to work smarter, not harder.

Tomorrow is it! Your last day to take a drag off that last cigarette; gorge on homemade fudge and sit gleefully on the couch with not a care in the world.

Enjoy it, for Wednesday, it begins. The first day of your New Year's Resolution. But will you keep it?

Not to bum you out, but according to statisticians, the answer is a resounding, no.

You miraculously finished all your shopping without the children finding your stash of presents.

You made it through every holiday dinner, gathering and festivity without bursting into tears.

You stayed up late every night to make sure the kids had treats to share at school, at scouts, made it to every party, went to see Santa, twice, and watched all the classic holiday movies on television.

You probably finished wrapping the last present around midnight Christmas eve as you hustled around to make sure everything was ready.