the grid

the grid

Sunday 30 September 2018

September-December: Week 4

Fencing in, fencing out. What do you need to protect your garden from? What are you using as fencing materials? Are you planting a defensive row of marigolds to ward off pests, or a sacrificial line of roses for the deer to nibble so they'll stay outside of the actual garden? Are you installing an electrified fence, or a picturesque set of wooden rails (perhaps festooned with clematis, roses, or morning glories)? Do you have animals that need to stay in, or predators that you want to stay out?

Respond to the prompt if it speaks to you, or modify it, or ignore it. Let us know how you did on last week's goals, listed below. Set your goals for next week. Come back, if you have time, to encourage each other.

We had two people with Just One Goal last week: I hope you both managed to finish your One Job!

Also, I thought it was great that we wound up with 42 comments last week. Life, the Universe, and Everything.

Goals from last week:

Bardiac
work on revision, work on revision, work on revision, get it DONE!

Daisy
1) One completed section of New Paper
2) One completed data set for co-authored study, plus associated figures
3) Lingering service tasks for national organization for upcoming meeting

Dame Eleanor Hull
1) Health: keep working on getting enough sleep; walk or cardio daily; weights at least twice; two yoga classes and some home stretching; keep up the good work on food.
2) Research: work on last set of revisions; work on two translation-related tasks; keep up with languages.
3) Teaching: finish a set of grading; post more assignments and stuff to the CMS.
4) Life Stuff: plan a social thing; send that blasted form; do some garden tidying.

Elizabeth Anne Mitchell
Organize home office.
Set up new laptop.
Write 2 hours for 3 days.

Good Enough Woman
1. Finish book for book club.
2. Write 500 words of fiction.
3. Order "recent studies" article from ILL.
4. Move or toss ONE THING from my pile in the garage.
5. Start documents for funding request.
6. Grade two batches of short research papers (about 55 total). This will be difficult, but I have more coming in next week, so it would be great if I can get through them by next Tuesday.
7. Think of a new blog name?
8. Copy edits.

Heu mihi
1. Write x 5, language x 5, sit x 5, exercise x 5
2. Revise Wonder per writing group’s comments
3. Read/skim allegory book
4. Finish knitting purple sweater
5. Schedule one social thing

Humming42
1 Finish and submit Sweet

JaneB
1) put clutter in hall and sitting room into boxes and hoover, finish last of the deFurballing of the house, and make a New Kitty Shopping List and shopping trip.
2) collate, tabulate and send data for VeryLargeReviewPaper.
3) clear off my desk at work.
4) type up the patterns for the first two squares of the blanket. Either work on the next design, or start on a re-knit of the one I just did.
5) no refined sugar, make sure I drink enough fluids, and take a minute's standing break every 45-60 minutes of desk time.
6) coffee shop with pen, notebook and fancy coffee!

Oceangirl101
1. Triage medical visits to the house for my Mom and other things
2. Figure out good care giving schedule with other two caregivers
3. Read Chapter of PhD student dissertation draft and comment
4. Write student letter of recs
5. Exercise x 3
6. Outline Ch 6 if there is time

PlantGirl
1) get used to my new students this block and try to manage my stress levels in teaching a totally new class
2) balance teaching (aka current job) with applications for next year's job...TT positions seem to continually elude me.
3) work at least 2X on current book chapter.
4) work at least 4X on FL work.

Waffles
1. Two reviews I am tardy on
2. Mentee’s methods and results
3. Finish presentation for tuesday
4. Finish analyses and results for asthma paper
5. Submit asthma review
6. Work on aim 1 discussion then send to co-author

42 comments:

  1. I just wrote a post chez moi about trying to figure out my "real" schedule for the term; that's thinking about the fencing in/out metaphor from another angle. I need to protect my best hours, use the less-good ones for easier tasks, get rid of annoying things (those that can be cut out; committees we have always with us).

    I may yet get some of last week's stuff done today, but if I don't report now, I won't get to it till at least Tuesday, so let's just do this.

    How I did:
    1) Health: keep working on getting enough sleep; walk or cardio daily; weights at least twice; two yoga classes and some home stretching; keep up the good work on food. ARGH: sleep remains a problem; walked about four times, cardio once; weights once; home stretching four times, I think; food good!
    2) Research: work on last set of revisions; work on two translation-related tasks; keep up with languages. NO, ONE, YES. I think I just cut and pasted goals; I can think of only one translation-related thing I needed to do, so I did 2/3 here.
    3) Teaching: finish a set of grading; post more assignments and stuff to the CMS. YES, YES (of course now there is more grading).
    4) Life Stuff: plan a social thing; send that blasted form; do some garden tidying. YES, NO, NO.

    This week's goals:
    1. Health: go to bed by 10:30 every night, stretch daily, walk or cardio daily, weights 3x.
    2. Research: make plan, write 2000 words; keep up with languages.
    3. Teaching: grade two more things. Figure out what else I ought to be doing. Read a lot.
    4. Life Stuff: lump bills and form together and do it all at once. Rip out more oregano. Plan another trip to see my dad.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I appreciated your post at the blog, as I seem not to even know when my best hours are. When I worked in an office, I did my best writing between 2:00 and 4:00, times during which I now regularly teach. Your discussion helps me realize that I need to sort this out from scratch.

      Delete
    2. Ditto what humming42 said. I need to carve out some calendar time instead of just tripping through the days. This is especially true for writing and reading time. I hope you're able to make some progress on this.

      I'm glad last week was a good one for exercise and food; I hope this one is better for sleep.

      Delete
  2. Horrible stressful week, including a migraine, but on the plus side, Fluffball moved in on Saturday lunchtime (Photos over at my blog click here if you want to see).

    goals from last week:
    1) put clutter in hall and sitting room into boxes and hoover, finish last of the deFurballing of the house, and make a New Kitty Shopping List and shopping trip. sorted out sitting room, shopped for New Kitty stuff, but didn't completely deFurball (just the space Fluffball is staying in for now). It was hard. I'm already mooshy about Fluffball, who is a sweetie, but oh I miss my Furball
    2) collate, tabulate and send data for VeryLargeReviewPaper. DONE
    3) clear off my desk at work. no, it's worse
    4) type up the patterns for the first two squares of the blanket. Either work on the next design, or start on a re-knit of the one I just did.no, I went to bed early and read junk or played mindless phone games most evenings this week, I'm still not great - more anger than tears, but that's also not easy to live with - and I just... was done
    5) no refined sugar, make sure I drink enough fluids, and take a minute's standing break every 45-60 minutes of desk time. no, but no excesses. Mostly. Doing well most mornings then losing it come afternoon. Bad sciatica one day
    6) coffee shop with pen, notebook and fancy coffee! no

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Forgot to do next week or the prompt.

      Fences - oh, if only there were better filters available for the people I need to work with (and for me - I know I'm a pain to others too and although I try to work on it, I often fail). What do I need to fence out? The Bugges that go on about what they think other people might think. The Bugges that whisper that whenever someone else succeeds, it's Not Fair (life isn't fair, Bugges). Hormones and brain chemicals and all that stuff. Projects I never should have indicated I might be interested in (and definitely should haev been firmer about once the money was spent, ProblemChild I'm trying NOT to look at you but we ALL KNOW WHO I'M TALKING ABOUT, AMIRIGHT?).

      1) finish last of the deFurballing of the house and hoover ready for when Fluffball is ready to expand his range
      2) do late refereeing
      3) do straightforward research thing for FocusedWomand
      4) clear off my desk at work.
      5) type up the patterns for the first two squares of the blanket. Either work on the next design, or start on a re-knit of the one I just did.
      6) no refined sugar, make sure I drink enough fluids, and take a minute's standing break every 45-60 minutes of desk time.
      7) coffee shop with pen, notebook and fancy coffee!

      Delete
    2. Congratulations on Fluffball! By the photos on your blog, he is fluffy indeed.

      Delete
    3. I'm so sorry that you're having what sounds like a dreadful time at work--wish I had some actual advice to offer. But you have cat therapy! And he's sooooo cute!

      Delete
    4. Fluffball looks a lot like my cousin's cat, whose name is the Dowager Countess of Biscuits. They could be twins. Congratulations!

      I wish you could just block out everything at work for a couple of weeks and just hole up with Fluffball or go to the coffee shop with your pen and notebook. If not for a couple of weeks, maybe you can at least take a couple of days to unplug from it all.

      Delete
  3. For me, being on sabbatical is like being out in the open, no fencing at all. It probably shouldn't be...

    I didn't finish my revision, but did make progress. This week is it for the revision!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. "Give me land, lots of land, under starry skies above, don't fence me in! Let me roam in the wide-open country that I love . . . "

      Delete
  4. I could definitely do a “you had one job” send up, for the paper I decided not to finish because even though I’ve been planning to write it for six months, I ended up not having enough time to do it well. I didn’t have any particular commitment to Sweet beyond finding a call for essays that lent itself very well to a conference paper I presented a few years ago. This doesn’t lessen the shame I feel about it, but it does give me resolve to figure out why I can’t complete projects.

    I will be looking at different kinds of fencing as I try to determine what needs to be kept out and what needs to be kept in.

    This week:
    1 edit submitted book review
    2 set up reading group
    3 research for online presentation
    4 find recommended sources for R&R

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sometimes things can't be completed because it's not their time. Search my blog for "MMP" if you want to see how long, and how complicated, that project was! I couldn't get it done because it was much bigger than I realized. Other times, we've moved on. I had a file of conference papers that I always meant to expand, dating from a period in my life before I spent a few years being not-very-well and not getting any writing done. When I was better, my interests had shifted, and I wanted to write other things. After a few years I just tossed all the conference papers and felt a great sense of relief.

      Delete
    2. Thank you, Dame Eleanor--I feel vindicated. I am adopting a new mantra: you don't have to do everything, you don't have to do everything...

      Delete
    3. People always talk about quitting and "giving up" as bad things, but sometimes they aren't. I hope your decision opens up a garden plot from something else to grow and flourish!

      Delete
    4. Another use for the garden metaphor: if something isn't flourishing, rip it out and plant something better suited to the space!

      Delete
  5. Wow - I did not meet my goals last week at all! I don’t even know what I *did* do last week!
    1. Two reviews I am tardy on - NOT DONE
    2. Mentee’s methods and results - NOT DONE
    3. Finish presentation for tuesday - DONE
    4. Finish analyses and results for asthma paper - PARTIALLY DONE
    5. Submit asthma review - ALMOST DONE
    6. Work on aim 1 discussion then send to co-author - NOT DONE

    Between my roommate having a guest at our small NYC apartment for 12 days, having to be on campus for 4 out of 5 days (plus saturday), and the Kavanaugh hearings, last week was pretty much a bust. Today is the first day in 3 or so weeks when I can work from home and have the house to myself all day. It is glorious. I am also back to my more typical 2-3 days on campus a week this week (it actually looks like i only have to be on campus one day, but will likely go 2 days). It is such a huge relief to get back to my routines.

    Last week I did the first interview from my couples qualitative study (on saturday). The interview was 3 hours and it wiped me out - but it feels so great to have my study started!!!

    This week:
    1. Two reviews I am tardy on - held over
    2. Mentee’s methods and results - held over
    3. Finish analyses and results for asthma paper - held over
    4. Work on aim 1 discussion then send to co-author - held over
    5. PTSD analyses write up

    There was a nice article in the Chronicle of Higher ed this morning about how to be generous in academia (see link below). Last week in a meeting of faculty, postdocs, and PhD students, the one male postdoc said that I and another postdoc had “more training needs” than he did. The implication being that he is more skilled than us (this is the same postdoc that I have described as giving a masterclass in microaggressions in his interactions with me). It’s hard to me to know whether it is better to just let these things go or deal with them head on. The other postdoc to whom he referred was not in the room at the time - and I don’t plan to tell them about it because it could only hurt them and their relationship with the male postdoc. But I’m not sure yet the best approach for me, and it is weighing on me.

    https://www.chronicle.com/article/How-to-Be-a-Generous-Professor/244581?cid=at&utm_source=at&utm_medium=en&elqTrackId=ad7a2964dc0e408c92e8a843b830f0ca&elq=59dbfb281bd745f1a22fd4a48d8adc7c&elqaid=20734&elqat=1&elqCampaignId=9797


    Waffles

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think you need to start returning the awkwardness to sender: "What do you mean?" if it seems like he could just be trying to address staffing issues, or "Why would you say that?" if it's clear in context that he means it as a putdown. "Hey, that's offensive," with a totally neutral affect, when you need to scale it up. Personally, I avoid "I feel X when you Y" statements, even though those are often recommended, because that just hands a jerk a recipe for making you feel bad. Neutral, non-reactive, deadpan I-saw-that notification is what you're after.

      Delete
  6. Right now I want one of those tall stone circle enclosures that you see in some southern Mediterranean areas that are built to protect the citrus trees from the prevailing winds... Basically a stone fort to keep everything out! A little drastic for normal operations but now it feels necessary!

    That was a complete bust of a week! The big event was great fun and very satisfying and really worth all the work that went into it. And then I promptly got miserably sick (because that is what bodies do after long periods of stress and not enough sleep and lots of welcome back to school viruses), and spent the last three days of the week in bed doing absolutely nothing, only crawling out to go teach for one of the mornings (and only because my usual back-up person who offered to cover was just as sick as I was so I didn’t want to inflict that on him!). I can almost talk again… Still a bit woozy but making progress. I guess the silver lining is that I got lots of extra sleep!

    Last week’s goals:
    1) One completed section of New Paper STARTED and got a few paragraphs but basically NOTHING…
    2) One completed data set for co-authored study, plus associated figures NOTHING
    3) Lingering service tasks for national organization for upcoming meeting NOTHING

    This week’s goals:
    1) Work on one section of Northern Paper (better name than New paper…)
    2) Check on former grad student and help if stuck
    3) Make one new figure for Norther Paper
    4) One completed data set for co-authored study, plus associated figures now TRQ unfortunately
    5) Lingering service tasks for national organization for upcoming meeting now TRQ unfortunately

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Get well soon! It's so true that the body insists on collapsing when the stress passes.

      Now I want to move to the Mediterranean and live inside a citrus compound.

      Delete
    2. Sounds like a doozy of an illness. I hope you're on the mend and that you have a good week inside your stone fortress that protects you from rough winds.

      Delete
  7. Appropriate prompt for me in that we're having an animal invasion right now. We've got a chipmunk trapped in the kitchen; it keeps darting under/behind the stove, so we can't shoo it out the door, but TM is home today and I hope that his innovations with the (humane) flying squirrel trap will imprison our interloper soon. AND there was a mouse in the bedroom last night; luckily we caught it (again, humanely) within about 15 minutes. Mice are easy. I deposited this one in a new forest home this morning on the way to work.

    That's a literal take on the prompt, but it's all I've got in me at the moment.

    Last week:
    1. Write x 5, language x 5, sit x 5, exercise x 5 - Yes: I only exercised x 4, skipping one run for a combination of very good reasons, but on my next run I went 5 miles (almost twice my usual 3), so I'm counting that as two sessions.
    2. Revise Wonder per writing group’s comments - Mostly done
    3. Read/skim allegory book - Done
    4. Finish knitting purple sweater - Yes--a few more ends to weave and the blocking to do and it'll be wearable.
    5. Schedule one social thing - A social thing fell into my lap, as it were, so I went to that.

    Next week:
    1. Student stuff: read chapter; prep questions; rec letter
    2. Write x 5, language x 5, sit x 5, exercise x 5
    3. Schedule WtW event
    4. Block purple sweater

    Visiting family this weekend, so I'll need to buckle down through Thursday if I'm going to stay on top of TRQ/teaching stuff. Time to get started!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sounds like a great week! I am amused that even now that you are out of the fields, you're still sharing your living space with wild animals. Chipmunks are adorable but better out than in.

      Delete
    2. Your critter battle reminds me of an incident from the book "All the Way Home: Building a Family in a Falling Down House," a great memoir in which David Giffels recounts fixing up an old house with his wife in Cleveland. When squirrels take up residence in his attic, he uses giant speakers to try to scare them away. (This one goes to eleven.)

      A purple sweater sounds fabulous, like just the thing. I need to ramp up my knitting game and spend more time on it. I've mostly just done scarves, shawls, and blankets. Maybe a purple poncho.

      You have inspired me.

      I hope you have great family time and that your purple sweater fits perfectly.

      Delete
    3. That sounds like a book I would enjoy! At least we don't have squirrels in the attic (yet/that I know of).

      Delete
  8. I think I need to use my planner/calendar to creating "fencing" that will keep my writing plot protected and keep my teaching and family (lovely as they are) out. At one of the workshops I attend, a book publisher was speaking about writing, and she specifically addressed the women in the room, saying, "People will always want you around more. Your family always wants you at home, sitting with them, cooking for them, watching TV with them. They don't like it when you go do other things." Of course, I nodded vigorously and felt so *seen*. My students and their papers also want into all of my other garden plots.

    I don't know if my family and students are predators, or just fast and greedy plants that send out runners in every direction, trying to grow wherever they can.

    Last week's goals:
    1. Finish book for book club. DONE.
    2. Write 500 words of fiction. DONE!
    3. Order "recent studies" article from ILL. I TRIED. It's not available through my ILL. I'll have to find a colleague elsewhere to get it, or else pay $20.
    4. Move or toss ONE THING from my pile in the garage. DONE!
    5. Start documents for funding request. NOT DONE.
    6. Grade two batches of short research papers (about 55 total). This will be difficult, but I have more coming in next week, so it would be great if I can get through them by next Tuesday. HAHAHA! I graded about 15.
    7. Think of a new blog name? NOPE.
    8. Copy edits. DONE!

    Not a bad week. The weekend writing conference took a lot of time, but it was inspiring for me, and it was an amazing experience for my daughter and her other friends that attended.

    Several speakers talked about realistic goals and how unrealistic goals set up up for failure and the impulse to quit. Hearing that made me realize that doing 50,000 words of a novel in November might be unrealistic for me, but another writing goal might motivate me and perpetuate success.

    This week's goals:
    1) Tailor my daughter's dress for the dance.
    2) Take son on an outing? If not this week, then next.
    3) Write 15 minutes, 6 days. Figure out writing schedule (a.k.a. build fencing).
    4) Keep a steading pace on grading, 6-10 essays per day, depending on day.
    5) Get rid of one more thing/pile in the garage.
    6) Hang pictures in office.
    7) Read chapter of SF or c18 crit.
    8) Start funding request docs.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Your family is oregano! Or something else in the mint family.

      E-mail me the details of the article you need (dame DOT eleanor @ mail DOT com), and I'll see if LRU's library has it!

      Delete
    2. DEH, thank you so much! I sent an email message. Just wanted to check to make sure it really is @ mail and not @ gmail. Cheers!

      Delete
    3. That's right--Google's hegemony is not yet complete. The article should be in your inbox. Enjoy! :-)

      Delete
  9. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Hmm so I'm trying to think creatively and engage with the prompts this session. So I guess I might say that I'm trying to fence out negativity and despair...which is very hard to do this time of year, I find. I have a number of positive things going on, but a lot is up in the air and I'm getting a bit overwhelmed. I'm also just tired, all the time, and can't make space for healthy things like exercising. So I suppose my ideal fence would give me time/space to run a bit, and keep out the panic, but neither is working thus far.

    My goals from last week:
    1) get used to my new students this block and try to manage my stress levels in teaching a totally new class -- pretty well. They're actually a good group for conversation and their first papers were solid.
    2) balance teaching (aka current job) with applications for next year's job...TT positions seem to continually elude me. -- I've managed to make time in the mornings to work on these applications, but that means I have very little time for the next thing...
    3) work at least 2X on current book chapter. -- I'm actually very upset to report that I didn't get anything done on this last week, or so far this week. The proposal is actually under review at a press, too, so I need to get my butt in gear on finishing the manuscript, but I just never have time or the headspace.
    4) work at least 4X on FL work. -- This I did accomplish, which is good because I was pretty lax about that during my internet struggles and I need the money.

    Goals for this week:

    1. WORK ON CHAPTER EDITS
    2. Send in two more job applications and a fellowship application
    3. Enjoy time with family this weekend
    4. Get in some FL work, 4X ideally

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Also, I forget who asked me last week about critical plant theory but I would say:

      Michael Marder's "Plant Thinking" is a really good place to start.
      Jeffrey Nealon has also written something called "Plant Theory: Biopower and Vegetable Life" which I like and can be helpful if you're going theory heavy.
      Luce Irigaray has co-authored a book with Michael Marder that can be a handy way of thinking about the topic, but isn't necessarily something you'd cite.
      There is also apparently a series of edited collections called Critical Plant Theory which I haven't read but could be useful.
      Hope that helps!

      Delete
    2. I hear you on the tired all the time! Is there one thing with a deadline or end date that you could focus on finishing, and then dial back a little so you can add in running and more sleep, in order to be able to cope better with the rest?

      Delete
    3. Plant Girl, it sounds like you're facing a lot of stressors. A recent move. A new marriage. A new job. New classes. Job applications (in a daunting market). The prospect of another move, perhaps. There is also so much going on in the news that is exhausting.

      Is the fatigue coming from not getting enough sleep? If so, is there a way to get more sleep? I tend to skimp on sleep, and I've been amazed how much difference an extra hour per night for a week can make.

      I hope you're able to find a time to focus on your book. That might be rejuvenating. And I hope you have a great time with family this weekend.

      Delete
  11. For my work garden I need to protect it from tiredness that comes from caregiving for Mom. I should try to write first thing in the morning before she is up even if its just for an hour. But even that I find a struggle now. So I am reading and taking research notes instead, it feels like a cop out but its all I can do, its all I can do. For caregiving for my Mom, and myself, I need to fence out difficult family members. It is an ongoing struggle and one that I need to talk more to my therapist about, as my Mom's decline is bringing out some nastiness that has me shaken.

    Last week was ok:
    1. Triage medical visits to the house for my Mom and other things YES
    2. Figure out good care giving schedule with other two caregivers YES
    3. Read Chapter of PhD student dissertation draft and comment YES
    4. Write student letter of recs YES
    5. Exercise x 3 YES
    6. Outline Ch 6 if there is time NO

    This week one real way I am going to tend my garden is to try to exercise 5x- it is the one thing that is really helping my stress right now. I also am thinking of little things I can do for Mom to bring her joy- finding audible books, getting a tv moved into her room etc.

    1. Meetings with Mom doctors to figure out when to transition to real hospice
    2. Research- take notes on readings for book, organize Ch 6 and Ch 3 if have the head space for it
    3. Send emails to get replacement teacher the help he needs
    3. Read diss chapter of graduate student and make comments
    4. Exercise 5 x
    5. Get Mom's tv moved into bedroom

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Care-giving is legitimately exhausting, both physically and mentally/emotionally. Take care of yourself. Reading and taking notes is excellent. Over a decade ago (OMG I am OLD) Tenured Radical recommended that as a way to keep moving forward in otherwise challenging situations: https://tenured-radical.blogspot.com/2006/12/what-would-paul-fussell-do-first-thanks.html

      Delete
    2. Despite the challenges of caregiving, it looks like you did pretty well with your TLQ goals. That probably means you're doing a good job of being realistic with your goal setting. I hope this week, you're able to get in the five days of exercise and that you find it beneficial.

      As for the research and writing, don't forget that notes often turn into significant writing, so, as DEH said, they seem like a good way to maintain forward movement. Also, freewriting in a notebook might seem less daunting that typing on a computer--and an easier "head space" to move in and out of.

      Best wishes for you and your mom this week. And I hope there is a strong force field that keeps out any nastiness.

      Delete
  12. Topic: I would love to have a force field around my garden that would protect all my projects from the demands of my very dear family and my less dear colleagues. It wouldn’t deliver an electric shock right off the bat, but warn that one was entering a restricted area without a previously arranged appointment. Then a countdown clock would begin, and the intruder would have limited time to ask a question, less time to assign a task, and even less time to complain about something that neither I nor she has any control over changing. A bell would ring 30 seconds before the shock would be delivered, so no one can claim she was shocked unawares.

    Last week’s goals:
    Organize home office. A beginning, but only a beginning.
    Set up new laptop. Yes, although I need to learn more about Windows 10.
    Write 2 hours for 3 days. 2 hours, but for only two days.

    Analysis: Last week heralded an uptick in pain and sleepless nights, so the laser lithotripsy (which happened yesterday as I write this), was welcome. I did manage some time in the home office, as well as making a large dent in setting up the new laptop, which is fast, light, and overall, just plain enchanting. I didn’t manage a 3rd day of writing, due to falling asleep with hands on keyboard.

    In somewhat unfortunate news, the procedure was not entirely successful, in that there were six large stones instead of one, and the surgeon couldn’t blast them all even after doubling the time she was scheduled for the operating room. I will have a third procedure in a week or two, to blast the final stone into bits.

    Next week’s goals:
    Get through lithotripsy and recovery.
    Pull together realistic plans for the last three weeks of the sabbatical.
    Write for 2 hours for 4 days.

    I hope everyone is nurturing their gardens, preparing for the shorter days of autumn. Float like mist, everyone!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. 'm so sorry to hear that the procedure wasn't able to take care of all of the stones. I hope that you recover quickly and then are able to get back in there to blast away the last one. And I hope the bits aren't too difficult to pass.

      Also, your force field sounds quite intense and totally possible to invent. Maybe you can rig something up from your new laptop or incorporate something into the reorganization of your home office and your campus office(s)?

      Best wishes for some rest, and good luck with the computer.

      Delete
    2. I am much taken by your force-field, and I think that you need to join JaneB as a creative writer: you do academic science fiction, she does academic fantasy . . .

      Delete
  13. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete