the grid

the grid

Saturday 18 January 2020

Week 2: our stories begin...



Happy week 2! I hope you are finding a rhythm to your days as we settle into the new year. As DEH noted last week, the storytelling idea from last year is adaptable to everyone’s individual needs. Let’s say the weeks ahead are some kind of narrative: a television series, a film, a novel. Metaphorically, what genre do you see evolving during this session? Detective story? Romcom? Prime time drama? Sci fi space exploration? You might consider what you’re anticipating circumstantially and/or what you are wishing for as this short-run story. You don’t have to stick to your story for the whole session--as other questions come up, you might change genres completely. So if you have an otherworldy fantasy novel this week, you might your dream locale in Peru or Tokyo another week.   

Format as usual: comment on topic if you wish, consider how things went last week, set goals for next week. As ever, wishes for you to run with the stars. 

Dame Eleanor Hull
Put together annual review documents.
Finish and send in-progress article.
Plan a “personal syllabus” for the semester, showing both grading and writing.
Finish setting up Blackboard for the semester.
Open all stacked-up mail and deal with contents.
Find my calendar or order a new one (or both, since lost things tend to appear after you've replaced them).

Elizabeth Anne Mitchell
Call about the prescription service muckup.
Email the dean and the department chair for an update.
Go to doctor’s appointment.
Draft a plausible schedule--what to do when, and set milestones.
Email the research library about working on Illuminated.
Clear off one shelf of detritus.

Good Enough Woman
Work:
1. Complete prep for first week of class (finish syllabi, get readings/handouts for first few weeks to repro office, set up classes in Canvas)
2. Revise/create three handouts/assignments
3. Write/Research 2 hours
People:
4. Meet 1 or 2 friends for coffee/walk/meal
5. Send 3-5 letters/cards
6. Schedule son’s dental appointment
7. Research Math SAT availability
Wellness:
8. Walk 4-5x
9. Meditate 3x
10. Get lab work done

heu mihi
1. Prep 4 more days of new class (so that the first 3 weeks are roughly covered)
2. Get all teaching materials in order for the first day(s)
3. Finish & take notes on research-related book
4. Read/write x5, language x5, sit x5, exercise x5
5. Go through email and make sure that I'm not forgetting anything important

humming42
1 submit book review
2 write conference prospectus
3 complete syllabi
4 complete 2019 faculty report
5 complete work for online writing course

JaneB
1) re-establish the pattern of habits I had last semester (stop work at 6, bed before midnight, no sugar or bread, packing food for the day, a movement break every 45 minutes when sitting, at least one non-work non-screen thing every evening)
2) Complete the teaching and admin parts of my 'personal syllabus' (borrowing the term from DEH)
3) pick up the threads of FlatPaper1
4) arrange a Skype with co-secretary to plan out the year
5) write an old-fashioned letter to a friend!

KJHaxton
Complete external examining report
Wade through inbox and deal with the necessary stuff
Watch and give detailed feedback on student presentations
Give feedback on reflective diary entries
Mark exam scripts if available
Mark annotated bibliographies
Arrange staff coffee morning event

30 comments:

  1. Hello everyone! Last semester was a whirlwind of my China trip (amazing, except my mom might have contracted the coronavirus), faculty job applications (so stressful), and worrying about my K application and my future. It's looking like my K will get funded, which is a relief but it's not 100%. I don't think any of my faculty job applications will result in offers, which is depressing. On the upside, I was a final candidate for a position at Johns Hopkins - which was a huge ego boost. If my K is indeed funded, then I am fine for a bit and can stay where I am for 2 years. However, I really had hoped to at least move to a different department at my university so I could establish some independence from my mentor.

    At any rate - some of the other postdocs and I have been using Mirya Holman's suggestions for creating a 5-year plan (https://us20.campaign-archive.com/?u=d50101fa4524ffc556bc1243e&id=d8ace69754) to create our own. We're basically trying to figure out who we really want to be when we "grow up" and figure out how to get there. I've also made a detailed plan for the rest of this academic year and I really want to stay on track.

    Goals for this week:
    1. Revisit Latinx survey - where are we, next steps
    a. Brief cope scoring?
    b. PHQ?
    2. Need to get MST abstracts reviewed
    3. R&R
    a. Read hsieh paper
    b. Revise intro
    c. Edit results
    d. Re-org discussion
    e. Sex of partner in discussion
    4. Marriage paper articles
    5. After R&R prioritize IRIE paper
    6. Set qual meeting
    7. Figure out what needs to be done for YRBS paper
    8. Make clear list for PTSD paper

    Waffles

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Waffles! How lovely to have you back! It sounds like you've had an interesting and mostly good time lately. You never know about academic applications; they can take a long time to wend through the system, other applicants can decline after stretching out the timeline with negotiations, so it's not over till it's over.

      Delete
  2. Last week was pretty brutal - there were some good bits, but it was a long hard slog!

    Complete external examining report - DONE
    Wade through inbox and deal with the necessary stuff - PARTIAL
    Watch and give detailed feedback on student presentations - DONE
    Give feedback on reflective diary entries - DONE
    Mark exam scripts if available - DONE
    Mark annotated bibliographies - DONE
    Arrange staff coffee morning event - PARTIAL

    I also finished the arrangements for an outreach event and ran the event.

    I'm experimenting this semester with marking on the day work comes in. We've moved to 10am deadlines so I try to put my deadlines where I can literally just start marking at 10.01 am. Previously I'd wait 7 days for late work but I don't really see the need. I can at least mark then return. Unfortunately this coming week has 3 deadlines!

    This week:
    Wade through inbox and deal with the necessary stuff
    Mark the articles, reflective diaries, group project reports
    Finish arranging, and run the staff coffee thing
    Tidy up after the outreach event
    Write feedback on student questionnaires
    Finish course admin and first session teaching materials for sustainable module, rearrange first teaching session as attending funeral.
    Write presentation for conference
    Try to survive several meetings
    Do expenses for external examining, outreach, conference

    I suspect I'll be very short in patience this week as I must get this stuff done because the following week is taken up with travel for a conference and a family funeral - it's turned into a 4 day round trip.

    Am still contemplating the story genre. I'd probably be most drawn to an alternative reality/near future type setting. I honestly feel like I'm operating in a parallel universe so far this year and 2020 always felt like it would be so futuristic when thinking forward to it over the past couple of decades. By 2020 we'd have so much sorted/things would be different. Uhm...how wrong were we?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Lots of DONE, excellent! Partial coffee . . . I suppose that means it's partly arranged, but I'm imagining coffee but no biscuits, so not really a proper coffee meeting.

      Sorry to hear about the funeral and difficult travel.

      Delete
  3. At 6:30 p.m., just returned from the library, finally packing my bags so I could head out for the hour’s drive home, I sighed when I heard a light knock at the door. I opened the door to a young woman in Doc Martens and, mercifully, a short skirt over the ubiquitous leggings (it is a principle with me that Leggings Are Not Pants, or Trousers if you’re British). “Oh, good,” she said, “you’re still here. I’m sorry it’s late, but I did hope we could speak privately for a few minutes. Do you mind if I close the door?”

    Suppressing another sigh, I returned to my desk chair and indicated that she also might sit. “What can I do for you?” I asked, as brightly as I could after a ten-hour day.

    “You are Dame Eleanor Hull?”

    I blinked. I do not advertise the connection between my real name and my blogging pseudonym, so my reply edged away from bright, towards dry. “In some circles, I’m known by that name.”

    “Okay! I’m Charlotte, and I work for the Library.”

    “I just came from there; is there a problem? It’s kind of you to come yourself, but surely an e-mail . . .”

    “Not the LRU library. I am a Servant of the Library,” she said meaningfully, but the meaning was lost on me. “You’re the Librarian-in-Residence on this world,” Charlotte said.

    ReplyDelete
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    1. I really love this and I have NO idea what it means for your life! Is there some intriguing new development? (Or perhaps you're just having fun setting the scene?)

      Delete
    2. Stay tuned! (For my life, probably less exciting than you might think . . . but this may give a new point of view.)

      Delete
  4. DEH, I really appreciated your Friday round-up of week one, and I loved all of the topics/themes you gleaned from our posts. I'll be happy to think about any/all of them.

    This session I feel like I'm in a Dorothea Benton Frank-type of novel without the divorce or fixer-upper house. You know, the 50-ish woman starting over, trying to figure out what's next--how to start anew, how to have a new chapter, how to figure out what's next.

    Work:
    1. Complete prep for first week of class (finish syllabi, get readings/handouts for first few weeks to repro office, set up classes in Canvas). MAKING GOOD PROGRESS.
    2. Revise/create three handouts/assignments. DONE.
    3. Write/Research 2 hours. DONE.
    People:
    4. Meet 1 or 2 friends for coffee/walk/meal. DONE.
    5. Send 3-5 letters/cards. DONE.
    6. Schedule son’s dental appointment. DONE.
    7. Research Math SAT availability. DONE.
    Wellness:
    8. Walk 4-5x. DONE.
    9. Meditate 3x. NOT DONE. Only 1x.
    10. Get lab work done. DONE.

    I did fairly well. I haven't gotten as much prep work done as I would have liked, but there was a lot going on with kids, so I'm calling it all a win.

    This week:

    Work:
    1. Prep sufficiently while not prepping incessantly. I keep wanting to get SUPER PREPARED and organized to make the semester easier, but then I end up spending twice as much time on stuff as I would have if I had to cram it in the hour before class, which means I feel more prepared but I work more hours to get there.
    2. Research and Writing for 2 hours.
    People:
    1. A friend proposed we have a "high tea" together, so I want to schedule that.
    2. Get together with one friend this week--maybe M or C.
    3. Send out 3-5 cards or letters.
    Wellness:
    1. Walk 4-5x
    2. Meditate at least 3x
    3. Skip evening treat 2x

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Lots of DONE/progress! Congratulations. I know the genre you mean; maybe think about the last time you started a new life? I was surprised how much had changed in the last ten years when I really thought about it.

      Delete
  5. Introduction:
    Since I’m a week behind I will do the intro here… I’m an early mid-career (tenured a couple of years ago) associate prof in a physical science discipline. I teach at a small primarily undergraduate university in a cold, isolated place with beautiful scenery. My classes the last few years have been huge so I’m struggling to keep my head above water, but my research is fun and inspiring and interesting so I’m really lucky there. I’ve done this group before and have missed it (but followed along when not officially in it) so I’m happy to be back.

    Story: For now I think detective story is a good analogue… Not a quick 1-hour procedural though… One of those really slow noire type shows where lots of little things happen but half the time you don’t notice them because they are so little and you keep trying to figure out where the actual plot is? That’s kind of what my head feels like after the first two weeks of term… Lots of atmospheric wide-angle camera shots of the heroine staring at the snow storms looking slightly puzzled… Will she figure out what the next step should be? Will the next piece of data be the one that helps or the one that makes everything more confusing? Will she find that set of image files that her former self labelled in a really dumb way and hid somewhere safe on a hard drive? Will she succumb to the very strong urge to just chuck it for the day and go skiing rather than go to the office?

    Session goals:
    1)Keep teaching in its place, do not let my 200 students take over every part of my week. How? Well… Some weeks will be teaching only (marking periods and exams etc.) but for most of the term I want to limit teaching (prep/lecture/admin/students) to two days of each week. I have my schedule set up to have two days completely devoted to teaching stuff, with one morning extra for overflow. This may be completely wishful thinking but I’m trying anyway! The first two weeks of term already included two snow closures so I’m so behind in lectures I had to rearrange the whole first month of the term to accommodate…
    2)Finish 2 papers as first author – those projects are completely mine and I need to get them done because they are holding up other projects.
    3)Prepare for possible sabbatical by thinking about long-term goals and projects and funding. One of those is easy, I have projects that will keep me busy from here to 2050, but need to think about strategically funding some of them, and I need to think about how I want my work to go over the next 10 years… Also think about sabbatical logistics and how to balance work and renewal? I heard that’s a thing…

    This week’s goals:
    1)Check both papers for current state and decide on concrete tasks to get them going again (actually I just did that and I’m horrified that one of them has not even been opened since last October!! On the bright side, there’s some good stuff in there I guess??)
    2)Pick one of them (closest to done?) and work on it!
    3)Do outline of conference talk for me
    4)Make figures for other peoples’ conference talks (co-author stuff)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Welcome back! I love your slow noir detective story. I have a group of friends with whom I've watched a LOT of classic noir, so I know just the sort of thing you mean.

      Snow closures, ugh, they really mess things up. I hope you won't have any more unless it happens just when you need a day off!

      Delete
  6. Hi All,
    I missed last week as well so here is my introduction. I am a early mid-career Associated Prof. at a SLAC that is also a state school on the East Coast (U.S) working in the social sciences. I have been struggling the last three years to get my book for Full promotion completed. I do not like writing books (love writing articles) and have had some deep personal losses (deaths of both my parents) in the last three years. So I share many of the same themes of DEH - I see my story as navigating a new sci fi world- some things are the same (research, lab, advising graduate students, teaching) but some things are new and at times feel unknowable (navitaging a post-family world, making new friends at 50, becoming Dir of Grad Studies for my dept next year). I look forward to navigating this semester with everyone here. My session goals are to complete Ch 7 of the book, to plan for summer fieldwork, to try to remain balance in my personal life with exercise 3x a week and doing social things 1-2 x a week, and to continue healthy eating and weight loss.
    This week's goals:
    1) write/work on book, but mostly Ch 7 3x a week, for 2 hrs each- will involve some number crunching, creation of figures, writing and some revision of Ch 3
    2) exercise x 3
    3) meet with undergrad students/grad that I am advising on lab projects/independent studies etc.
    4) finish syllabi, start BB sites for two courses

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    Replies
    1. Hello, Oceangirl101! Great to have you back! Your goals sound very balanced and sane, so I hope you can meet them all.

      Delete
  7. I want my story to be a comedy of manners, because that feels like the best way to keep the (really very minor) irritations of my department etc. in perspective. I haven't figured out how to transpose my life into this genre yet; however, classes start tomorrow, so maybe some ideas will present themselves!

    Last week:
    1. Prep 4 more days of new class (so that the first 3 weeks are roughly covered)
    First 2 weeks are covered, but the 3rd work is stuff I've taught a million times (although I can never find my notes on this book! I need to recreate the file and label it in a really obvious way and then save it into every single course folder, I think).
    2. Get all teaching materials in order for the first day(s)
    More or less. It's weird how unconcerned I feel about the start of the semester. I should probably reread my syllabi and put them up on Moodle, at least. Haven't done anything for Wednesday's seminar (other than the syllabus and stuff), but it's the third go-round and I haven't really changed anything, so I think it'll be okay.
    3. Finish & take notes on research-related book
    Done
    4. Read/write x5, language x5, sit x5, exercise x5
    x4 for all of it--Bonaventure had Friday off school, which threw things off.
    5. Go through email and make sure that I'm not forgetting anything important
    Done

    This week:
    1. Read 50 pp for research; incorporate 2 sources into Wonder; look up MS history
    2. Sit x4, exercise x5, language x5, write x4
    3. Service stuff: email re. workshop, letter of rec
    4. Activism stuff: email D & A re. upcoming event
    5. Good citizen stuff: PTO proposal for a water bottle filler
    6. Upcoming travel stuff: Arrange details with driver, find remaining hotels, attempt to make train reservations, follow up re. visa, contact doctor re. vaccinations--did I mention that we're all going to India for two weeks in March?

    That looks like more than enough!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. India, wow---that'll be an experience! I don't think you have mentioned it before. Re: comedy of manners, I'd suggest thinking up clever names for your colleagues, or figuring out who maps onto which character from Jane Austen (or your comedy of choice). I know just who is Mr Collins in my department!

      Delete
  8. TOPIC: Like last time, I'm in volume two of a three volume epic fantasy, still hacking around in the woods in search of a MacGuffin and a path - I think we're into the second act, as there's change on the horizon regardless (hopefully this semester is going to be WORSE than what follows, as the major rewrites will be done, but by the end of this summer we will also have more clarity about just how doomed our department and its allies are (are we looking at just a hiring freeze, or at job cuts, or at a forced merger, or closure, or... well, who knows. Any one of those things is possible, and this isn't me catastrophising, it's the nature of UK academe in a squeezed middle not very well managed university...). So there will be a CHANGE then, whether it's The Catalyst or the Dark Night of the Soul (Yeah, I got Save The Cat Writes A Novel for Christmas....). Another possible source of change this summer - between you, me and the gatepost - I have a job interview for a lower-ranked job at a much better university later this month (I applied back in September when the ordure met the rotating blades and we lost both administrators and the technician, and I was very, very surprised to get an email just before Christmas). I alternate between freaking out and assuming I'm just filling a diversity slot or two. And I don't know if I'd take it if offered (can I meet "R1" equivalent expectations after 20-odd years of meeting regional all rounder ones? Can I face a longer commute and a much more urban place, or possibly moving? Could I handle being the BoringPlacePerson (everyone else in my potential section works in very exciting exotic places and I... don't) and being new and not knowing what the eff is going on (hang on, I don't know what goes on HERE any more!) could I make ends meet on a more junior job salary with a longer commute?).

    GOALS FROM LAST WEEK
    1) re-establish the pattern of habits I had last semester (stop work at 6, bed before midnight, no sugar or bread, packing food for the day, a movement break every 45 minutes when sitting, at least one non-work non-screen thing every evening) Ummm. maybe about 50% here? Just Don't Want To. I am busy resenting everything and doing a LOT of grading. I am giving myself a pass on pushing for perfection until the marking is all done.
    2) Complete the teaching and admin parts of my 'personal syllabus' (borrowing the term from DEH) teaching yes. In many many colours and three different formats. I may have a procrastination-through-planning issue. I also still lack most of the information to set up the admin part of said personal syllabus. SIGH
    3) pick up the threads of FlatPaper1 hahaha no
    4) arrange a Skype with co-secretary to plan out the year no, she's been off sick
    5) write an old-fashioned letter to a friend! yes. SAdly, a condolence letter, as I just heard that a friend's mother died over Christmas, but a real letter on real paper with a real fountain pen

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. THE COMING WEEK: well, the started week. On the one hand, AARGH, I have so much teaching prep to do, AND I haven't finished grading (I hate online grading systems that make everything take 2-3 times as long. Also students who ignore instructions are pretty unpopular right now, as they keep causing meetings and consultations about where the boundary between poor practice and misconduct lies, and it's very tedious AND stressful, both at once!). On the other, I'm giving a seminar on the other side of the country on Friday, and as the route is within half an hour of my sister's house AND Friday is my brother-in-laws monthly Boys Night Out, I get a movie night with my sister and niece out of the trip (Fluffball gets to go to the cattery, from this trip until the interview is done...). But I also have to write the talk for the interview some time...

      1) aim to hit most of these habits most days (stop work at 6, bed before midnight, no sugar or bread, packing food for the day, a movement break every 45 minutes when sitting, at least one non-work non-screen thing every evening)

      2) Completely prep next week's teaching and make a start on the week after (6x 1 hour classes, 3 tutorials, a lot of paperwork, 3 x 2 hour classes, some bits and pieces. Only about half of it is new...)

      3) pick up the threads of FlatPaper1 (optimistic)
      4) arrange a Skype with co-secretary to plan out the year
      5) have fun with Niece and Sister!

      Delete
    2. Sometimes 50% is doing well---give yourself credit for making inroads on your habits! I'm crossing fingers for you on the interview; even if you aren't sure you want it, I hope you get the option.

      I think I might want your Christmas book for my birthday.

      Delete
    3. Congratulations on the interview... it's always nice to have people interested in you!

      Delete
    4. One of my interviews was at a place I was certain I'd never fit - and that would never really be interested in me. In fact, a colleague suggested they were interviewing me just bc of the diversity I would bring. I didn't get offered the job - but the interview was an amazing experience and the feedback I got from the department head after she gently told me I wasn't being offered a position was really heartening. Do what you can to psych yourself up for it - and just enjoy meeting with potential colleagues to talk about research! They may surprise you and offer you enough to make it worth it. And it sounds like a change could be good?

      Waffles

      Delete
  9. How I did:
    Put together annual review documents. 3/4 done, and the 4th isn't due till the 24th.
    Finish and send in-progress article. NO, still in progress. I have worked on it every day, though sometimes in tiny increments.
    Plan a “personal syllabus” for the semester, showing both grading and writing. YES.
    Finish setting up Blackboard for the semester. YES.
    Open all stacked-up mail and deal with contents. NO (but I did open two bills and pay them).
    Find my calendar or order a new one. YES: ordered new one and started the set-up. Still no trace of lost one.

    New goals:
    Daily stretching, exercise, 8 hours sleep.
    Finish and send article, or at least keep writing.
    Finish last doc for annual review; some other administrivia.
    Grade one set of short papers; write syllabus (due dates, mainly) for independent study.
    Open and deal with all the stacked-up mail.

    ReplyDelete
  10. I'm also jumping in late, and put a belated introduction in the first week - bur given it is unlike people will read back - hi! I'm in my summer (southern hemisphere uni) and trying to use the time and headspace to set up well for the year where I hopefully have a physically possible workload.

    In terms of genre, I think Kafkaesque satire of bureaucracy would be a little too close to home, so I'll take a leaf out of the Doctor Who New Year episodes and go with a spy thriller. Will my course amendments sneak past Doctor No? Or will the top secret weapon hidden under ice (supposedly forthcoming new assessment policy) destroy it all?

    Goals this week:
    -run x 3, yoga x 2
    -write/add 330 words daily Mon-Fri
    -reclaim sound equipment and have a play
    -have draft briefing, rules, schedule paperwork for course E uploaded to share next week
    -get mini greenhouse out of shed and put seedling trays in, finish direct sewing and put in bird protection

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's great to have you back! And a spy thriller sounds like a good addition to our storylines.

      Delete
  11. Topic: Upon arriving at work that first day, I was handed a key. “Take care with that key--it opens almost everything.”
    “Umm, okay.”
    “Here is the combination to the vault. Memorize it, then shred this piece of paper.”
    “Okay.” My nervousness about doing well, being accepted, quickly dissolved into excitement.
    I walked the short hallway to the locked stacks, turned the key and pushed open the door. The unmistakeable smell of old paper and vellum bindings struck me as I peered down the expanse of compact shelving. I could have sworn they moved slightly, telescoping a bit further at the end. The air felt alive with interest as I turned toward the vault, but I heard a whisper of disappointment as I went around the corner.
    “Don’t worry, I’ll be back,” I said, then looked around quickly to be sure no one had heard me talking to the books.
    Standing at the door to the vault, I took a moment to enjoy my unfettered access to it, envisioning the books I had worked with in the past. I worked through the combination, and swung the massive door aside. Inside was dark and cold, but I heard the whispers of pages being turned by centuries of scholars, while they muttered to themselves as they took their notes with quill and fountain pen, pencil and pixels. I knew exactly what I needed. It was time to begin my quest.

    This week’s goals:
    Call about the prescription service muckup. Yes.
    Email the dean and the department chair for an update. Yes.
    Go to doctor’s appointment. Yes.
    Draft a plausible schedule--what to do when, and set milestones. About ⅔ done.
    Email the research library about working on Illuminated. Yes.
    Clear off one shelf of detritus. Yes.

    Analysis:
    Luckily, the muckup was quite easy to fix, as was emailing the dean and the chair. I had to wait until I knew what class I was taking (and when it was) to draft my schedule. I also found out I have to report on the progress (what little there is) on my special issue at the editorial board meeting this Saturday, so that threw me for a day or so. I have not yet heard back from the research library, so I may have to adjust my dates for my work there, but I am not terribly worried about that.
    I have been happily recycling files I no longer need, and take breaks wandering through the rare books stacks. I need to start an ideas for articles file.

    Next week’s goals:
    Register for class.
    Rent my books.
    Pack for the conference.
    Write the update on the special issue.
    Finish the plausible schedule.

    I’m having fun reading everyone’s genres and/or stories. Have a great rest of the week, everyone. Float like mist.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oooh, someone else writing the story itself! This will be fun! I look forward to your next installment.

      Delete
  12. Another late entrant, and I posted session goals and an intro in last week, but a brief recap.

    I'm Susan, a senior humanities professor at a newish research university on the West Coast of the US. I'm a widow with two cats, an elderly mother who lives in my small town, a brother with 6 y.o. twins who lives in Big South State city, and a sister who lives in Europe. My research focuses on the UK, so I travel there a fair bit. This semester I'm on leave and I have lots of plans.

    I'm not sure what my narrative would be: I think it would be like any novel I wrote, very boring. I just clunk along. But it may be one of those novels where the boring heroine quietly clunks along and suddenly does Very Important Things.
    (Note: there is a reason I don't write fiction!)

    In the last week I got going on two of my big projects for this leave: getting contributors signed up for Big Book, and writing my short book on Famous Writer. My co-editor and I sent out 30 invitations, we've had some answers, and . . . we're off. (The big task for this stretch is getting contributors, and then I can forget it for a while.) I also started writing Famous Writer book, and I think I have a bit more of the shape of it.
    Then, as a result of a thread I posted on twitter, someone suggested I write an op-ed on impeachment, so I did that.
    Finally, after procrastinating for a year, last night I finally got Roku set up on my TV, and I feel amazingly technologically sophisticated!
    Goals for this week:
    1. Write 3000 more words on Famous Writer (goal is 10,000 words by the end of January).
    2. Keep up with contributor chasing.
    3. Exercise 4 times
    4. Read two journals
    5. Get regular sleep
    6. Try intermittent fasting 4 days

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm glad you're back! It sounds like you've made good progress on important projects.

      Delete
  13. We had a university holiday for MLK Day yesterday, making it difficult to get the week started as the first full week of class. Lots of little to do list items swept up, which is very satisfying. And then I came to TLQ and wow! Welcome and welcome back! I’m late getting this week up and running but will be back tomorrow with post responses and some details on the woman with amnesia who remembers some things she does, is not sure how to do them now, and wonders what her mission was before she forgot everything.

    Last week:
    1 submit book review: yes
    2 write conference prospectus: finishing up
    3 complete syllabi: yes
    4 complete 2019 faculty report: yes
    5 complete work for online writing course: yes

    This week:
    1 submit conference prospectus
    2 complete this week’s work for online writing course
    3 write a blog post
    4 plan a schedule for Squares

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    1. Yes, my week is all weird because of MLK day. It's a two-day week because of a four-hour faculty meeting tomorrow, but it's not a normal two-day week because of having only one class day, so I'm discombobulated. If snow keeps up I'm not going tomorrow, though. Lots of "yes" to your last week, so that's good. And I look forward to more of your "Memento"-ish story.

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  14. In this fashion my buddy Wesley Virgin's adventure starts in this SHOCKING AND CONTROVERSIAL VIDEO.

    You see, Wesley was in the military-and shortly after leaving-he found hidden, "mind control" secrets that the government and others used to get whatever they want.

    These are the same methods many famous people (notably those who "became famous out of nowhere") and the greatest business people used to become rich and famous.

    You've heard that you use only 10% of your brain.

    That's really because most of your brainpower is UNCONSCIOUS.

    Perhaps this thought has even occurred IN YOUR own brain... as it did in my good friend Wesley Virgin's brain seven years ago, while driving an unlicensed, garbage bucket of a car without a license and with $3 in his pocket.

    "I'm very fed up with living payroll to payroll! When will I finally make it?"

    You've been a part of those those types of questions, ain't it right?

    Your own success story is going to start. You need to start believing in YOURSELF.

    WATCH WESLEY SPEAK NOW

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