the grid

the grid

Saturday 8 August 2020

Summer Session Week 14

 

Hello everyone!

I enjoyed reading everyone’s comments about keeping the good bits of summer when the term starts, lots to think about there… I’m going to keep the morning tea on the deck for sure, and consciously do the “one new fun thing per week” all through the Fall because thinking up new fun things is inspiring and satisfying.

 Traveling in this area always reminds me how many interesting local expressions and language customs we have, there are lots of little bits of advice in some of those and a very large percentage of those sayings here have to do with how to tell if the fish are biting! For this week I’d love to hear about a favourite expression, aphorism, saying, or piece of funny advice you know and love. Those in other languages are particularly cool because they translate awkwardly if at all… And if your expression is the advice kind, maybe we can take it along for the coming term! I love our "move like water" and "float like mist", so I want more!


Our goals this past week:

Daisy (carried over)

1) Finish and submit three abstracts/registrations
2) Finish and submit invited keynote abstract
3) Finish off major committee draft documents and circulate
4) Fun thing for both: long camping trip!

 

Dame Eleanor Hull

Work 4-5 hours a day, five times, with some on each of research, teaching, languages.
Regular exercise, stretching, safe eating, fun things.
~2 hours a day unpacking and/or life admin (try to clear out some significant number of energy-sucking undone life admin tasks).
Keep track of what I'm doing so I don't wonder where the day went.

 

Elizabeth Anne Mitchell

Contact Office of Research again.
Tack down the days to work in the Big City archive.
Take notes on 4-5 articles for the lit review.
Continue cleanup of paper and electronic files. 2 hours x 5
For fun: one new craft project 1 hour x 6.


heu mihi

1) Record 2 more classes' worth of lectures, at least
2) Prep 2 more totally new PowerPoints
3) Read 2 chapters of MA thesis
4) Review other journal article
5) Miscellaneous journal-related tasks
6) Figure out parking situation (do I really need to pay $525 to hold a space I won't be using until Spring at the earliest?)
7) Announce dissertation defense

 

humming42 (carried over)

1 finish Square and submit
2 keep up with grading summer online classes
3 finish reading next book for review
4 consider editing a creative piece for submission

 

JaneB (carried over)

1) get to bed before midnight at least 5 nights
1b) do something Not Work and Not Noodling every evening
2) Do workshop follow-up stuff (we have a follow-up meeting on Friday afternoon. In the 'ot. And my desk is in the hottest corner of my house. SIGH). Do comments on manuscript for post-grad.
3) do all the set up for transitioning into my next bullet journal...
4) do at least one more Summer Thing off my fun ideas list
5) be ready to start gaming with niece...
6) make some progress on at least setting up the VLE pages for the new academic year...

 

Susan

1. Meet with TA and work out Perusall
2. 3 hours on Canvas website & syllabus for big course
3. Try 2 programs and make trial video
4. Contact colleagues to schedule first set of roundtables.
5. Spend 3 hours on famous author
6. Read essays for Article Prize #1
7. Keep reading for fun
8. Keep walking
9. Be kind

 

oceangirl101

1. COntinue to prep stuff for new grad student orientation
2. Outline Ch 8 and start writing
3. Data bits finalized for Ch 7, rewrite text as needed
4. Data bits together for co-authored paper
5. Consider if I want to write regional text-like book for well known press
6. Paperwork for aunt in memory care to get her into state system
7. Consider buying porch furniture so outdoor space is more comfy and available for social distancing with a friend at a time during cooler months

16 comments:

  1. For expressions I love one I came across a few years ago – it is great advice and goes “not my circus, not my monkeys”. I sometimes put it on a post-it when other people’s monkeys get out of hand…

    Also shaving a yak… This is brilliant for work and I actually have it as an official category on any time trackers I use because there is no better classification… https://www.hanselman.com/blog/YakShavingDefinedIllGetThatDoneAsSoonAsIShaveThisYak.aspx

    A favourite from growing up also has to do with primates – in awkward translation from my first language it reads “don’t go fetch the baboon behind the mountain”. It is basically the same as the English “don’t borrow trouble” but the vision of fetching your own trouble resonates more. It comes from a farming expression about baboons coming from the mountains to eat the harvest and nicely gets the idea across that the baboon will come eventually, but you really don’t need to go and fetch him!

    Last week’s goals:
    1) Finish and submit three abstracts/registrations DID TWO, DECIDED TO SKIP THE OTHER
    2) Finish and submit invited keynote abstract DONE
    3) Finish off major committee draft documents and circulate DONE
    4) Fun thing for both: long camping trip! DONE

    My very local camping trip was wonderful and it served the purpose of a vacation – the kid came back exhausted and the adult came back tanned and relaxed… We ate ice cream every day (actually twice on the last day!) and had lots of beach time and fun outdoor activities. For any places with people everyone followed the very strict distancing, reduced capacity, and masking rules really well and I have a new appreciation for how well people in my local area follow directions. I think we did our bit for the local economy as much as possible, and I’m really glad we did the trip.

    This week’s goals:
    1) Outline and rough draft of local paper
    2) Revive neglected paper yet again (this one is starting to remind of an albatross of some sort!)
    3) submit almost ready papers with co-author
    4) Fun thing for child: online science camp
    5) Fun thing for me: 2 night cabin writing retreat with two dear friends, both in my social bubble (also beach and kayaking and good food and a cooler of drinks coming!)

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    Replies
    1. Your camping trip sounds delightful! I wish I could go on a trip to the beach. I also like the sound of your writing retreat. Maybe I could manage a mini-retreat at home in a few weeks---not right away both b/c of teaching prep and b/c I will have more household duties for a week or two while my husband recovers from minor surgery on one foot---but planning it would give me something to look forward to.

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    2. Oh my goodness, that retreat sounds like bliss. WITH FRIENDS, no less! Have fun!

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    3. Also liking your retreat! Sounds great!

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  2. Topic: My grandmother grew up in a close-knit Welsh family in the Appalachians. I wish I had some Welsh expressions, but I do have several Appalachian ones from her. My favorite is “a pig in clover,” meaning that one is extremely happy. For example, I am a pig in clover in my new work situation. Second-place goes to “knocked off my pins,” which means being astonished.

    Last week’s goals:
    Contact Office of Research again. Yes, although I do not yet have a definitive answer.
    Tack down the days to work in the Big City archive. Yes, but no joy yet. They are not sure when they will open, and they will not open all week, so I must amend my plans.
    Take notes on 4-5 articles for the lit review. Yes.
    Continue cleanup of paper and electronic files: 2 hours x 5 .Yes, with a couple of hours of shredding for mind-clearing.
    For fun: one new craft project 1 hour x 6. Yes.

    Analysis:
    My research trip is still up in the air. I had planned a full work week, but the archive is unlikely to be open more than a handful of days per week for the foreseeable future, and they are not yet sure when they will be allowed to open.

    Also, two weeks out from the beginning of the semester, and things are still quite unsettled. Classes have been scheduled in two-thirds of my formerly quiet library, so I am glad to be able to avoid most, if not all, of the growing pains of the first weeks of this semester! I plan to slog away at my organizing, taking breaks to write and read.

    Next week’s goals:
    Finish outlines on Illuminated, Sources, and Parody.
    Take notes on articles for the lit review: 2 a day x 6
    Continue cleanup of paper and electronic files: 2 hours x 5 .
    For fun: one new craft project 1 hour x 6.

    I hope class preparation, dissertation defenses, and general taking care of oneself is going well for all. Float like mist, everyone.

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    Replies
    1. To go with the pig, how about "to be in tall cotton" meaning things are going well?

      Lots of "yes" for you! Excellent floating!

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    2. We had "happy as a pig in a poke" in my family...

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    3. Funny, here in a place often praised for excessive politeness the expression is actually "happy as a pig in shit"...
      Also we have the "shit-disturber" for troublemaker...

      Lots of things done on that list! Good luck with planning and getting ready for the next few weeks!

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  3. My family motto is "If it don't fit, make it fit," much of the point of this being that this sentence is what one of my brothers said, aged 2, while happily pounding a round peg into a square hole, during an IQ test, rejecting the suggestion of the test's administrator that round and square don't go together. I feel like I should have a lot of other expressions thanks to grandparents and a one-time boyfriend whose family lived in Appalachia, but when on the spot I can never think of anything, even if it might pop out of my mouth later today. Something I often say to myself, and have probably offered here before, is "It's not going to get any earlier," especially when feeling guilty that I haven't already done something.

    How I did:
    Work 4-5 hours a day, five times, with some on each of research, teaching, languages. ?? Very uneven. I did some work every day, including one long day of finishing my big summer service task, but it wasn't a steady set of "office hours" as I had hoped.
    Regular exercise, stretching, safe eating, fun things. Exercise and stretching six days out of seven, weights twice, experimented with eggplant which turns out to be yet another of the things I may be able to eat a little of once in awhile but can't have twice in a week. But I grew it myself! So it was sort of fun to have dinner from the garden, even though it didn't go well in the end.
    ~2 hours a day unpacking and/or life admin (try to clear out some significant number of energy-sucking undone life admin tasks). Bookshelves up, books unpacked, desktop computer set up in my study. Yay! Unfortunately I didn't do any of the intended Life Admin paperwork.
    Keep track of what I'm doing so I don't wonder where the day went. More or less: more like recording the day's main accomplishments than an hourly accounting, which would probably help more to keep me on track.

    I'm getting a little panicky about having less than two weeks till classes start. Unfortunately that panic manifests as denial and compulsive reading of detective fiction. I recommend the Bridget Hart series by M. S. Morris.

    New goals:
    Work regular office hours, with some on each of research, teaching, languages. Finish undergrad syllabus, write grad syllabus, write some assignments, put things into online course shells.
    Regular exercise, stretching, safe eating (stop experimenting!), fun things.
    ~2 hours a day unpacking and/or life admin (try to clear out some significant number of energy-sucking undone life admin tasks).
    Keep track of what I'm doing so I don't wonder where the day went.

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    Replies
    1. Denial actually works surprisingly well as a coping mechanism when it comes to the imminent start of the semester. We're starting 2 weeks early this year, which is annoying, but I keep reminding myself that it means a 2-month winter break....

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    2. I'm right there with you on the panic and denial! I've decided to give myself until the coming Monday to fully indulge in both, and then I will suck it up and do something about it! And no, it is not getting any earlier, so that is a great expression for right where we are now!

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  4. It's not advice, or even a phrase, but a regionalism that I find consistently funny is the word "hamburg" instead of "hamburger." People even write it as "hamburg." I don't know why that's so amusing--I guess because it was completely unexpected, and at first I thought that it was just this one old lady at church who said it, but it turns out it's a whole Thing.

    I've been feeling really behind and overwhelmed and fretful, but on Sunday I pushed through a couple of annoying tasks (all of it involved reading other people's writing), and felt much better. It also helps that I had thought I was behind my schedule for pre-recording lectures, but actually I was almost a week ahead. As of yesterday, I have the first 3.5 weeks done, and if I do 2 more, I'll not only be halfway through week 5, but have pre-taught ALL the new material for this class. Everything else is stuff I do annually, so, even though I still have to substantially revise the ppts, reorganize my lectures, film them, and then edit the closed-captioning, it'll be much easier work. I might even experiment with not rereading everything...?

    Last week:
    1) Record 2 more classes' worth of lectures, at least - Yes
    2) Prep 2 more totally new PowerPoints - I think?
    3) Read 2 chapters of MA thesis - Yes
    4) Review other journal article - No
    5) Miscellaneous journal-related tasks - Most of them
    6) Figure out parking situation (do I really need to pay $525 to hold a space I won't be using until Spring at the earliest?) - Done; it's half-off for the fall, so I guess it costs about 5/6 the usual price, but whatever
    7) Announce dissertation defense - Yes (easy task)

    This week:
    1) Record 4 more lectures (did 2 on Monday, so this is semi-cheating, but it'll be a small miracle if I do the other two this week, too)
    2) Review article!!!
    3) Assign reviewers for other article
    4) Prep 2 more powerpoints (need to do this before I can record the lectures)
    5) Comment on grad student's essay
    6) Final syllabus for seminar
    7) Brew beer
    8) Finish processing first 50 lbs. of tomatoes (almost done already, but I'm putting it on here anyway)
    9) Read other grad student's conclusion

    That's overly ambitious, I know. So it goes. Trying to start the new semester off in good form!

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    1. In completely other news, here are a few things that are making me happy:

      1) A very dear friend of mine from college, with whom I traveled extensively in my early twenties, has decided--very nearly on a whim--to relocate with his family from City to the East to...my town! They just made an offer on a place about 2 miles away--with a barn, 26 acres, wooded hiking trails, and a CAVE--and it was accepted. They still need to sell their place, but given the market in City to the East, I don't think they'll have any trouble. So this is very exciting! His oldest daughter is just about my son's age, too, and she'll be in the grade behind him at his school.

      2) TM and I are watching "Hamilton" (it's taking us 3 days, because that's how we roll with movies). I'd heard wonderful things, of course, but it's still kinda blowing me away.

      3) I bought a Roomba. Semi-impulse buy as a reward for all that (PAID) freshman advising I did this summer. I hate vacuuming in the winter when the firewood produces terrible filth! In fact, I hate vacuuming year-round! So I gave in and bought what can only be described as a 100% luxury gadget. It went for its maiden voyage today, and I am having some, shall we say, very fond feelings towards the noisy plastic disk that is currently resting in its little home next to the piano.

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    2. Love the list of happy things! Getting rid of or reducing a task one dislikes is a great use of extra money, even better that it was a not particularly enjoyable paid task in the first place.

      And the hamburg thing is great, even funnier for me I read it quickly and read "homburg" the first time which gave me some great images and enjoyable confusion.

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  5. I can't think of good regional sayings -- everything regional I know is from New York, and that means it's normal, right? But we have a bunch of family ones: we've corrupted French and say "Merci buttercups" instead of "merci beaucoup." My mother also uses the expression "happy as a clam". Which is very happy indeed. Finally, the David Frye Nixon album that my brother played 9,623 times in 1971 had a very funny briefing for Nixon before he met Golda Meir, where he demonstrated his knowledge of Yiddish by using the word "shitzbar" instead of "chutzpah", so shitzbar is part of the family lingo.

    How I did:

    1. Meet with TA and work out Perusall YES
    2. 3 hours on Canvas website & syllabus for big course Syllabus done, less on website.
    3. Try 2 programs and make trial video -- YES
    4. Contact colleagues to schedule first set of roundtables. --Contacted, waiting for response
    5. Spend 3 hours on famous author -- 1 hour; I had just found an essay by recently deceased colleague which filled in a blank.
    6. Read essays for Article Prize #1 YES, decision made
    7. Keep reading for fun YES
    8. Keep walking YES
    9. Be kind YES

    I ended up working through the weekend, but got through most of what I have to do. I'm terrified about the teaching -- I just have no clue what's going to happen, and the enrollment in my big class has jumped 6 students in a week. But my syllabus is drafted, and there's breathing room so if everyone is fried, we can drop things. Generally in this course, there's a book a week, but I've got it so it's more like every other week, with 2 or 3 articles in the week between. My response to panic (I hear you, Dame Eleanor) has been to be exhausted. I've been taking 1 or 2 naps a day.

    And I've done stuff not on my list - written a condolence letter, dealt with even more corrections to the essay that will not die (which may be dead?), and tried to catch up with email which is overwhelming.

    Meanwhile, we now have to do a 1 hour training on COVID behaviour for campus. (which I have now done, in about 30 minutes.)

    Goals for next week:
    1. Record, caption and upload 2 welcome videos
    2. Release pre-course welcome module.
    3. Get most of module 1 done before I go away
    4. Read essays for article prize #2. Why did I say yes to a second article prize? (#2 is the earlier commitment).
    5. Three hours on famous author
    6. Get basic syllabus for grad course. (I'm less stressed, because this is a workshop course, so...)
    7. Keep walking
    8. Keep reading for pleasure
    9. SLEEP

    Tomorrow my brother is coming for a night to visit my mother, but he might also help with technology, so I'm not complaining! Next Monday I leave for my three nights away at the beach. I will not answer email while away, and will read for pleasure.

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    1. That was a very busy week, so many things off the list and other stuff too!
      The teaching terror is real, very real... Good luck with the preparation!

      Yay for the upcoming trip! It will be restorative, and is so necessary at this point! Make sure you do NO teaching prep or anything unpleasant while you are gone!

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