Spring in the midwest was progressing nicely, with daffodils and cherry blossom, and then we got another snowstorm. So we'll see how things go. Will there be apple blossom, or did the buds freeze?
I have been trying to focus on my two main tasks, grading (blowing up bridges) and my Kalamazoo preparations (mapping), but other tasks (leathery-winged avians) keep coming my way, with greater urgency and earlier deadlines, which is why the battle imagery continues to appeal to me. Whiz-bangy things whistle past my head and I react and somehow continue to move forward, but I'm never quite sure what's going on.
The app from Monash that I use to figure out what I can eat safely has updated and possibly I have been poisoning myself with strong tea . . . weak is okay, but I like it stewed . . . on the other hand, I've been drinking strong tea throughout this low-FODMAP exploration, with long-ish symptom-free periods, and the app also claims that coffee and cocoa powder are okay but I have found that for me they are not. Chocolate made without cocoa solids is fine. It's all very strange. Here too I wander in territory that seems familiar yet throws up unexpected obstacles.
At any rate, I keep on keeping on, and in two weeks both the semester and K'zoo will have wrapped up and I'll be able to plan the summer! I'm not sure if this is a "Yay!" or an "Aaaagh!" A bit of both, I suppose, so chin up (or head down?) and onward with the explosives and the maps while ducking avians . . . Here are your goals from last week. How did you do?
Dame Eleanor Hull
Blow up two bridges.
Continue mapping main route and alternate route.
Keep fending off leathery-winged avians.
Tend to the needs of the talking cats.
heu mihi
1. Daily things x5: Exercise, language, writing, sitting (it's an aspiration). Continue to make progress on Amy.
2. Grad student support: Read prospectus & diss chapter.
3. Undergrad support: Return papers on Thursday, attend/help with Thursday evening event, read/watch and prep All The Things.
4. Service: Various curricular reviews, update majors sheet, email reminders about various things, check in about Spring 2020 schedule.
5. Knit 5 inches or so of sweater.
Humming42
1 Really, write 500 words for Perform
2 Finish and submit book review
3 Another batch of grading
4 Do 2 paperwork batches for summer or fall
JaneB
1) self-care - continue to drink a great deal of water. Be kind to self. Make Drs appt for early next week
2) check LikesMaths final version of paper for resubmission
3) review one article
4) ten rows of square
5) mark a little bit a day
Susan
1. Grade the papers (get it done Thursday)
2. Go to show my colleague is doing in the national park
3. Finish book for paper
4. Walk three times (it makes a big difference!)
How I did:
ReplyDeleteBlow up two bridges. ONE.
Continue mapping main route and alternate route. YES.
Keep fending off leathery-winged avians. ONE DOWN (they keep coming!).
Tend to the needs of the talking cats. UM. This is my category for self-care and Life Stuff, things that can both help and hinder. I've done well with exercise but some other things are slipping. So I guess I'll give myself a C in this category.
New Goals:
Blow up three bridges and set explosives for a fourth.
Quickly plot an alternate route while also ensuring the main path is clear.
Kill some leathery-winged avians (take out a nest?)
Placate the talking cats, who are Displeased.
Well, I do wish you good luck with the talking cats, but I'm a cheerleading for self-care right now, so good for you!!
DeleteNavigating through a badly-understood battlefield is a good description of the end of the academic year. Even though I have basically hidden from everything except the grading for the last couple of weeks... it's actually been kind of nice to have a Good Excuse. The kidney stone has not obviously resolved itself - I was expecting more of a painful denoument, and probably still am - but I do feel a lot better than I did.
ReplyDeleteHow I did on goals:
JaneB
1) self-care - continue to drink a great deal of water. Be kind to self. Make Drs appt for early next week drank a lot of water. Am drinking a lot of water. Being very boring, but starting to feel a bit more human which is nice. Have not yet made a Drs appt. Sigh
2) check LikesMaths final version of paper for resubmission Done, resubmitted
3) review one article Done
4) ten rows of square not done. Didn't feel like crafts for some reason
5) mark a little bit a day YES. 15 big projects (10,000 words or so each) DONE (a couple of good ones, a couple of "I am so frustrated - you had a year to do this and all the advice I gave you and yet you turn in this nonsense even though there are so many ways to get help or more time if you need it do you really after all your time with us believe that this is actually good enough to submit, do you REALLY?", 15 project plans done, 67 long essays done.
This coming week I'm going to try and do half days for the first three days and see how things go.
TO DO this week
1) self-care - continue to drink a great deal of water. Be kind to self. Make Drs appt
2) go through the last two weeks of emails, catch up, carry over chore lists etc.
3) get on top of paperwork for the Two Big Modules (TLQ this week - TRQ next week - and don't require too much thought so may be very suitable!)
4) ten rows of square
5) mark one late big project. next big pile comes in on Thursday this week, so mostly I get to actively NOT mark and appreciate the absence of it!
6) if I feel like it, start looking at the shape of the summer and do some planning/booking of things.
ooh and rebook another session with the decluttering woman... (had to cancel one whilst unwell :-( )
DeleteI'm glad you are feeling better! When I had my two-week stone, I felt much better in the last few days--just a frequent (and uncomfortable) need to pee. And then I passed it in the middle of the night when I went to the bathroom. The light was off, and I was half asleep, but I thought I might have because it was a little pinchy, but just barely. For me, the final passing was only just noticeable. I hope things are not bad from here on out! (Literally!)
DeleteAnd congrats on all the marking.
Would folks mind if I jump in mid-season? March was a bear, and then April brought the breast cancer diagnosis, which sort of took over. I have now had surgery, which, unfortunately, showed some cancer in the lymph nodes. I meet with the oncologist on May 13 to see what is next. I'm guessing chemo and radiation are in my future--not sure about more surgery. My surgery last week was easy (lumpectomy); right now, it's the mental stuff that's hard.
ReplyDeleteBut ANYWAY, it might be good for me to continue to try to make time for what matters. That might not be writing right now, I'm not sure, but I do have some things I want to do: exercise to the extent that I can, learn some new stress-reliever strategies, eat better, etc.
This week:
1) Walk three times.
2) Try meditation app.
3) Brainstorm strategies for appreciating the present moment (more than worrying about the future)
4) Help son choose and cook a recipe for extra credit for his Spanish class.
5) Make steady progress on grading (hoping to have the big batches done before Mother's Day).
So glad to have you here. Thanks for the update--I am glad the surgery was easy but expect the road ahead will be more complicated. Sending you wishes for peace and joy.
DeleteYes, come on in and welcome back!
DeleteGreat to have you here, and cooking a recipe for extra credit sounds like a fun assignment (I vote for cake. Or Churros and chocolate dipping sauce!)
DeleteIn most cases, I also vote for cake.
DeletePlease be here to the extent that you're able and that it's helpful to you! It's good to know how things are going--and we'll be happy to distract you, too, if that's what you need.
DeleteThanks, everybody!
DeleteWe made Cuban black beans that were DELICIOUS! But my daughter made a cake last Sunday, so the cake front was covered, too!
And, yes, heu, distractions are just the thing I need these days. :) I'm realizing that seeking normalcy is hugely beneficial for keeping my mind right. :)
Sometimes the outcomes of the things you plan end up being outside of your control. And sometimes that’s not a bad thing. This week I spent a lot of time and energy giving support to a family member, and the outcome was very good, and then I got an R&R with a quick turnaround that really needs to be the focus of my life this week. So that is where I am headed, down the R&R research rabbit hole, and I expect to find interesting and useful things there.
ReplyDeleteLast week:
1 Really, write 500 words for Perform: nope.
2 Finish and submit book review: yes
3 Another batch of grading: yes
4 Do 2 paperwork batches for summer or fall: one done
This week:
1 FInish and submit R&R
2 Another batch of grading
3 One paperwork batch for summer
Congratulations on the R&R! And good luck with getting it done swiftly!
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI am learning, slowly, to let a few things slide.
ReplyDeleteLast week was super busy and the Daily Things took a bit of a hit, but nothing irrecoverable.
Last week:
1. Daily things x5: Exercise - x3, language -x4, writing -x4, sitting (it's an aspiration) -x2. Continue to make progress on Amy -SOME.
2. Grad student support: Read prospectus & diss chapter. - Read Prospectus this morning (Monday). Haven't read diss chapter.
3. Undergrad support: Return papers on Thursday, attend/help with Thursday evening event, read/watch and prep All The Things. - YES because I had to.
4. Service: Various curricular reviews, update majors sheet, email reminders about various things, check in about Spring 2020 schedule. - YES because I had to.
5. Knit 5 inches or so of sweater. -YES yes yes.
This week:
Tomorrow (Tuesday) is the last day of classes. It's all coming crashing to a halt.
1. Daily things, rendered near-daily: Write x4, language x4, exercise x4, sit x5.
2. Revise Kalamazoo paper.
3. Read diss chapter.
4. Get on top of end-of-term service things (per to-do list).
5. Buy some plants & plant them.
6. Knit like a fiend.
"Revise" Kalamazoo paper. Not "write." I am not surprised, but I am committing the sin of envy over here.
DeleteFor the first time in my life, I'm giving a paper that's pulled directly from something that I've already written. It's a glorious feeling and one that I wish to repeat. (I'm so sick of writing abstracts for hypothetical papers and then having to figure out what in the world I was thinking 9 months later....)
Delete