Last quarter 2020, week 14 (actually 15): the coat-check and beyond

What I (DEH) said in early September: “What can we do, what must we keep track of, for the next 15 or 16 weeks? Let's go until mid-December—that is, have our last check-in around Friday, 17 December 2020, as we wrap up the semester and face the holidays, whatever they may involve this year.” That makes this our last week of the session! Is that "already" or "at last"?

I hope you’ve enjoyed the museum tour, and that you’ll tell us what you’re planning to do at the end of it: what are you retrieving from the coat check, are you going out to dinner or straight home, are you maybe staying in a hotel and doing something else tomorrow, what memories and souvenirs are you taking with you?

Also let us know how you did last week, and how you've done with session goals.

For the next session, to start in January, Daisy and DEH will be your hosts. We’ll consult about when to start and how long to run, and suggestions from any of you are welcome! Do you prefer longer sessions, shorter sessions, ones that run quarterly or by semester or up to some significant date? Would you prefer a winter intersession and a shorter spring session, or a longer winter/spring session?

Session goals (apologies if I'm missing anyone, and thanks to heu mihi for collecting them; also for being an excellent co-host):

Daisy:

1) Finish and get rid of the Albatross Paper
2) Learn and do some computer-based analysis with fancy tool for new paper and local grant
3) Get DEI program approved and instituted in my professional society
4) Deliver excellent graduate course for new project students.

Priorities:
1) Health for household – mental and physical.
2) Two research projects: local grant and Albatross. The rest will putter along by themselves mostly so these are the ones that need the most focused attention.
3) Be excellent for my good people and help them as much as I can, be those child or co-authors or grad students or the good colleagues
4) Be good enough for/with everything and everyone else.


Dame Eleanor Hull:

Look after my health first.
Do a decent job teaching, and be kind to students.
Revise essay; try to make progress on book, and do at least a bit of language work every week.
Get boxes out of storage unit.


Elizabeth Anne Mitchell:

spend my research leave at a nearby archive to do a final check of my critical edition against the exemplars;
finish the article that grew from a presentation I gave;
pull together a good literature review of the flavor of digital humanities that interests me;
walk more, eat better, meditate when I wake up at 3am, and write every day;
be more positive about life.

Research:
Incorporate research from hoped-for archival trip into the critical edition.
Finish one article, preferably Illuminated, although Flowers is a close second.
Finish the annotated bibliography on critical editions and digital humanities.

Life:
Achieve 10,000 steps a day.
Achieve 60% better meals.
Improve positivity about life.


heu mihi:

1. Research: draft an article by summer 2021; prepare a grant proposal by mid-summer 2021
1a. (Re)read NunG books 3-5
1b. Research relevant theology on death in the 13th c.
1c. Situate readings of nuns within theological context
2. Draft my part of intro to collection
3. Language: Make some progress. Aim for 3x week, any length of time.
4. Life: Exercise, yoga twice a week (any length of time), sit some amount every week
5. Watch Pride and Prejudice by myself in the newly fixed-up basement.
6. Try to do at least one of each week's Big Tasks on Monday or Tuesday, to keep them all from piling up on the weekend.
7. Relax into what happens. Change or abandon goals as needed.


humming42:

1 write a tiny project piece every week
2 spend time with a creative piece every week
3 write weekly blog posts
4 finish writing that online class
5 keep up with teaching things

 

oceangirl101:

1. Complete book and submit to press!!!! This will entail final writing/ edits on Ch 8, a bit of data crunching for Ch 7, a final read througth and polish of the entire thing, plus copy edits and figures and the bib. I think its doable.
2. Maintain a realistic notion of what is doable this semester in terms of teaching. Be gentle with myself.
3. Exercise 5x a week
4. Eat healthy
5. Advise several students on new projects, get bits and pieces of data/writing needed to collaborators for CNH paper, Canoe paper, and Adze paper
6. Paperwork for aunt to go into state system (I am her POA)
7. Buy porch furniture to make outdoor space comfy
8. Do smell retraining therapy each day in the hopes of getting smell and taste back

 
Susan:

1. Survive the teaching, and maybe figure out how to own it? I'm beginning to figure out how to manage class, and am grateful to the students who will turn on cameras so I get some feedback! Last week I figured out how to pre-assign students to breakout rooms and I wanted to break out the champagne. I have tried to make the assignments for students what they can manage, and to be flexible. It's just hard.
2. Finish chapter 2 of Famous Author, by working at least 15 minutes every week day.
3. Keep making progress on getting rid of stuff/ fixing house.
4. Keep walking or getting exercise. I have just ordered a Very Expensive piece of gym equipment, but everyone I know who has it raves. I hope it gets me through the winter when "It's dark when I wake up and want to go out so I don't go walk". We'll see.
5. Read for pleasure -- a litte?
6. Do something enjoyable weekly with friends. (mostly not face to face...)

Last week’s goals—I haven’t done hold-overs, thinking they might just make people feel bad about not checking in; but by all means, come back and tell us how things are now, if you have the bandwidth to do so:

Daisy

1) Grade/nag for assignments to get submitted/grade/nag/grade/nag rinse/repeat ad nauseum…
2) Set exam for big class
3) Help extremely marginal grad student with defense talk and corrections
4) Make a list of teaching successes vs. failures while it is still fresh to use when doing next term’s planning
5) My intentional thing for the week: local shopping for fun food things or pretty gift ideas

Dame Eleanor Hull

*Health: daily cardio and stretching, weights x 3, try to eat carefully and sleep enough.
*Teaching: Grade All The Things.
*Research: work on revisions; some time on both dead and live languages; take notes on the big ILL book.
*Service: set up drafts for some recommendation letters.
*House/life: hang pictures, get hardware for cabinet, that Thing.

Elizabeth Anne Mitchell

Translation study articles 1x6.
Write 300 words x 7.
Deal with all the paperwork--travel, research, grant, etc.
Walk 2x7; meditate 1x7; something positive 1x7.

heu mihi: 

1. Sit x3
2. Reinstate exercise plan, plus some extra walking, since last week was so inert.
3. Catch up on journal stuff!
4. Write 3 hours
5. Grade all the things

(Humming?)

(JaneB?)

(Oceangirl101?)

Susan

1. 2 hours on famous author
2. Catch up on rest of grading
3. Write 2 references for grad school
4. Write memo protesting pay cuts
5. Have a serious email purge
6. Get and trim tree: I need something to cheer me up!
7. Drinks parties
8. Plan some baking (trying to figure this out, but thinking of baking and bringing cookies or other goodies to people.)
9. Start on Xmas Card