the grid

the grid

Sunday 24 December 2023

Intersession post

 Hello!

Sending good wishes and happy thoughts to everyone for the holidays! May 2024 be an excellent year.

Also, sending thought and hugs for anyone who is struggling. Holidays can be stressful and sad and a messy combination of wonderful and terrible and everything in-between. Be kind to yourself, keep some space and peace for you, and find joy in all the little things wherever you can.

Just putting this out there in case anyone wants to drop in and chat over the break. The picture is something I made... Some may recognize the component parts, explanation in the comments if you want to guess first :) 

Thank you everyone for making this a lovely community, it has lasted a long time and we all value that immensely!



Sunday 17 December 2023

TLQ: The Movie! (Session 3 2023) Week 15: PARTY!

 Good morning everyone!

Well, here we are, the last week of our filming schedule… And for a change, everything is going exactly as planned. All that is left to do is have our final wrap party! Suffice it to say it will be epic. We have to use the rest of our budget (use it or lose it!) so we’ve booked the fancy local caterer to so an epic spread in the ballroom. I told them to go hard on the bite-sized snacks so we can try as many different things as possible. We will be watching the first cut of our film, it has turned out beautiful. Some of my favourite sequences are the interview sections, especially the ones that include the moody night-time shots with the fancy castle outfits. If there is anything you really want at this party just let me know!

Session goals are listed below, check in on those and tell us how you did, and please throw in any and every extra win into your report! We are celebrating everything, even if things were not on the original goal list. As we know serendipity doesn’t always read the list… If you are in the mood for an end of year/solstice kind of reflection, tell us about what you want to take with you into the New Year. A big bottle of wine and a hunk of cheese is of course a perfectly valid answer!

Thank you for playing along all session, and thank you to our marvelous director Dame Eleanor Hull who was a wonderfully inspiring presence and made the filming extra fun. Everyone will be taking home a small plush raccoon toy and a sparkly inflatable unicorn to remember the adventure!

Last week’s goals:

heu mihi

1) 8000 meetings and one-on-ones with students; finish grading for all but independent study and possible incompletes
2) Italian final! --Which is itself a one-on-one conversation! I do need to study a bit to make sure that I'm up on all my verb tenses and vocabulary sets....
3) Start hard-copy read-through of ch. 2
4) Work on conceptual framing for ch. 6, which I think I'm starting to get a handle on. Finish reading a relevant book.
5) Miscellaneous website updates ahead of Friday website meeting
6) Work with colleague to finalize departmental equity review
7) Christmas shopping, haircut
8) Seriously, get back into the running regimen
 

Susan

1. 3 more essays for big collaboration
2. Be good in meeting tomorrow
3. Finish last bureaucratic tasks for the semester
4. Prepare for and enjoy my Christmas party on Thursday. Baking, food, friends. The Christmas list is on repeat on Spotify...
5. Reschedule massage and haircut that were postponed when I had COVID. (My hair desperately needs a cut!)

JaneB

Recovery and rest!

Julie

1. Finish marking
2. Finish reading thesis and write report (viva next Monday)
3. Another morning on grant application
4. Resubmit article again
5. End of term admin
6. Claim expenses
7. Daughter's passport
8. House stuff
9. Christmas stuff.
10. Try for something fun (lunch in cafe, some time reading).

Dame Eleanor Hull

- grade ALL THE THINGS and post final grades
- renew library books (TRQ!)
- swim 3x, weights 3x, cardio 3x, yoga 5-6x
- research 2 hr x 5
- write 2 course proposals
- sew the thing, e-mail nephew, write checks & mail them, make appt for eye exam
 

Daisy

Enjoy trip
Eat lots of good things on trip
Do lots and lots of work while on trip
Shop for kid and others while on trip


Session Goals 

Contingent Cassandra

Professional:

--Keep up with teaching, especially feedback (I’ve got 4 sections on two different calendars this semester, both repeats; keeping up with feedback is always the challenge). There will definitely be weeks when this is all or pretty much all I can do.

--Complete contract renewal packet (I’m on 5-year contracts; this is the renewal year. My materials are due in under a week, and I’m nearly done, so this will be an early but crucial “win”).

--Complete study leave application (we just got study leaves for non-tenure-track faculty last year, and there’s limited funding, so competition is stiff)

--Identify/apply as appropriate for other possible sources of funding for current research project (the role of slaveholding in the history of the church to which I belong) (I need to figure out whether actually applying is a good use of time/energy at this stage in the project; also need to figure out what would happen if I got partial funding, since my institution is very resistant to the idea of course reductions for NTT faculty, though some of my colleagues do have them).

Household:

--Replace refrigerator (including associated cabinet-moving and hole-patching)

--Get all the plumbing working at once (next up: replace kitchen faucet. Also on the docket: hire plumber to fix/replace shower taps.)

--Plan/implement other work as time/energy allows (this could include ordering/assembling/painting some additional cabinets, shelves, and doors; getting estimates for counter replacement; replacing stove; replacing flooring; additional hole-patching).

Personal:

--Keep moving: continue stretching program, restart lifting weights, restart walking, take a last swim or two if there are weekend pool hours.

--Keep in regular touch with friends and family, especially young-adult nieblings

heu mihi

1) Finish chapter 4
2) Revise/tie up loose ends for chapters 1-3
3) Plan chapter 5 and/or 6
4) Apply for a grant (deadline 9/20)
5) Write a book review for a book that I have already read (due in November sometime)
6) Write and submit 2 conference abstracts
7) Keep things moving with this festschrift that I am now co-editing (we're in the very early stages, so that basically means coming up with an idea for the chapter that I would want to write and keeping track of who has agreed to contribute).
8) I'm also trying to keep my exercise up, answer emails promptly, and sit daily (weekdays).

JaneB

1. Self-care. The boring practical stuff that needs to happen because if it goes right it makes everything else easier. Just to feel that I'm consistently touching on each of the important areas regularly would be great.
2. Teaching. The bread and butter of my actual job. Survival will do here, defined as being ahead in prep and not having caused too much havoc via migraines, sick leave* etc. (or if I do end up on sick leave, that I keep my nose OUT of teaching!)
3. Research. Keep things ticking along - immediate goals are to submit three papers this session to journals (all are already well underway), help to organise a workshop in January, and apply for money for a grad student.
4. Admin. I have a fair amount spread across 4 named roles, and I want to keep it and shed teaching rather than the other way around (although the "help" I get offered from my department is definitely the other way around), partly because I can do it in a much more sustainable way in terms of my personal energy budget.
5. Fun. Necessary for self-care but also just necessary. I like to make things, mess around with art stuff, read, and play D&D. Getting back into doing all of those things fairly often was this summer's win, and I want to try & maintain that.

Julie

1. Write grant application.
2. Make some progress on writing a journal article.
3. Do revisions to another journal article.
4. Try to be on top of teaching rather than overwhelmed by it.
5. Work on some house projects.
6. Try to get regular exercise, more sleep, eat healthily.
7. Do something fun each week.

Susan

1. Survival - right now the term seems overwhelming, so if I'm in one piece on December 16, it will be a success. (I'm teaching 2 classes, have a lot of travel, and the admin load is heavy right now.)

2. Famous Author: Finish my revisions (hopefully by the mid-semester check in. The goal is to send it back to my editor and get it to a press at the start of the new year.

3. Big Collaboration: Read all drafts, work with co-editor on drafting introduction.

4. Do something fun on a regular basis - with friends, or watch movies or something.

5. Continue regular exercise / healthy eating / adequate sleep

Dame Eleanor Hull

- join a gym, work out regularly, also regular yoga at home
- finish two partially-written chapters
- write an abstract (at least) for a conference paper
- keep up with teaching prep and grade in a timely manner
- organize conference travel
- make progress on house/unpacking projects
- cheer on my fellow TLQers!

Daisy

Write major grant application
Make progress on one local paper, one student paper, and one giant collaborative paper, and by progress I mean submit at least two out of three
Exercise consistently
Have regular fun with kid

Monday 11 December 2023

TLQ The Movie! (2023 session 3), week 14: Party Planning

This week, we set goals for the last time! Next week we'll check in and party, but take a break from goals over the holidays (so think about when you want to start up again, and who would like to host). Get ready to finish off what we started back in September! (And anybody who's out there following along, please join us in the new year!)

SO this week we can make plans for our end-of-session party. The castle (the nice one) had an unexpected cancellation and offered us another weekend there, so that's the venue sorted. I think we should have the library fitted out as the Introverts' Room, with widely spaced big cushy chairs, low lights (except for reading lights near the chairs), and no talking, while we'll have food and drink in the Great Hall, with a string quartet in the musician's gallery, and a roaring fire in the huge fireplace. You're welcome to bring out your previous Castle Costumes; we'll get Wardrobe to freshen them up if they need it, and do talk to them if you want some blingy jewelry for the party. 

We should have a whip-round for a special gift for our Production Assistant. I was told she was rather ditzy, but she's been absolutely brilliant at coping with castle owners, Padraig, raccoons, dogs, storms, me, and all the other million and one things that spring up when you're herding cats, um, filming academics on a remote island. She deserves a big round of applause and something special (NO, not a baby raccoon! I think she was looking at the beach glass jewelry and fluffy wool throws made by local artisans, if you want hints) from all of us, though of course the studio will also be giving her a bonus (you know, that's what the money's for). 

What's your favorite sort of party? When you check in, tell us your stories about the best party you've attended---or the worst! 

Goals from last week:

Contingent Cassandra

--Keep grading all the things
--Keep moving
--At least make progress on clearing off the top of the dining table and the windowsill (and related moving-things-around tasks)

Daisy

One more big concert
End of term marking, set exams, do review sheets
Trip preparation
One more day of lab work
Something fun with friends

Dame Eleanor Hull

- swim twice, weights twice, cardio thrice, yoga 5-6 times
- grade everything turned in
- research 1 hour x 5: some translation, write an abstract, return to A&F chapter
- look at some MS images (being consultant to another scholar)
- write two new-course proposals
- sew a different thing
- go to post office
- Life Stuff: pay bills, e-mail nephew, make appt for eye exam

heu mihi

 1) Get ch. 2 ready for printing and hard-copy revision (even if I can't track down the Latin for that one book...).
2) Keep plugging away at ch. 6
3) Get in a few runs, go to yoga class

Julie

1. More marking.
2. Review a set of postdoc applications
3. Meetings
4. Resubmit article now journal has finally replied
5. Do at least half a day on grant application (elf still on strike)
6. Start reading the other PhD I am examining before Christmas
7. End of term admin
8. House jobs
9. Christmas stuff
10. Daughter's passport.

Susan

1. 3 essays from big collaboration
2. All the meetings
3. Be kind to myself


Sunday 3 December 2023

TLQ: The Movie! (Session 3 2023) Week 13: Small things, the reprise

 Good evening everyone!

Apologies for the late post… It has been quite the day in production land! First, for anyone who was worried, the raccoons are safe. The entire clan has been relocated, babies and all, and are now living their best lives in the nearby wildlife reserve where they have access to a well-stocked fishing stream and all the invertebrates they can eat. It was just in time too, the family is expecting a happy event sometime soon, and everyone at the wildlife rescue agreed that the carefully constructed den in the fuse-box that houses all the trip switches for the castle was not a great place to raise well-adjusted baby raccoons.

In slightly related news, did you know that the Italian for raccoon is “orsetto lavatore” which translates as “little washing bear”? I think that is delightful! And in a weird coincidence, turns out in my mother tongue it translates exactly the same, I never noticed that…

Ok, back to business!

Thank you to everyone for hanging out in the lodge during the storm, the soup was glorious, the kitten was happy, the regular set cats had all their people in the same place (herding humans is haaaaard!), and we had a great time with the board games, puzzles, yarn, and books.

We had a lovely response to our Secret Santa plans, so this week there is a new jar to fill. We’ve relocated the jar to the counter where the coffee and seasonal baking lives so we are hoping for a good turn-out. This week we would love to have you leave gifts of words... Tell us about your favourite expression, phrase (bonus for languages not your own), or saying and tell us a bit about the significance… We all love words so this might get competitive!

Ok, that’s it from me. I have to go to a meeting with the lawyers representing the grumpy grant-writing elf union representative…

Last week’s goals below as always! Have a lovely week!

Julie

1. Start marking assignments (will have about 70 in total by the end of term)
2. Teaching prep for this week.
3. Schedule meetings for dissertation students.
4. Grade posters for conference URGENT
5. Post two Christmas parcels.
6. Renew daughter's passport.
7. At least one house job.
8. Take a couple of hours Friday to go to annual Christmas fair (lots of craft and food stalls).

Contingent Cassandra (held over)

Professional:
--Finish grading the lit midterms
--Finish grading the comp proposals
--Keep up with writing/posting post-conference summaries (including preliminary grades for truly complete drafts; not sure how many of those I'll see)
--Grade at least 2 sets of lit process work
Household--
--It would be nice if I got the books boxed, dining table cleared, and the fall/Thanksgiving tablecloth put on.
Personal:
--Make progress on one church project that is now time-sensitive: write preliminary publicity copy; correspond with potential speakers
--Try for even a modest amount of movement each day: a short walk, some stretching, and/or some weight-lifting.

 Dame Eleanor Hull

- swim twice, weights twice, cardio thrice, yoga 5-6 times
- grade two late-with-permission papers
- research 1 hour x 5, mainly Latin, conference paper project; ten minutes a day on KW chapter
- look at some MS images (being consultant to another scholar)
- write two new-course proposals
- finish book for book group
- sew a thing

 heu mihi

1) Prioritize exercise! Classes will mostly take care of themselves. (I did read ahead.)
2) Research and writing: Add article to ch. 2; clear up some more ch. 2 loose ends; read for ch. 6

JaneB

(Recovery Mode)

Susan

1. Catch up with admin stuff and lots of meetings
2. Read 2 more essays from big collaboration
3. Don't work too hard
4. Do something fun

Daisy

Several concerts with logistical challenges
More lab stuff, so much lab stuff…
End of term class stuff, mark, set exams, do review sheets etc.

Sunday 26 November 2023

TLQ: The Movie (2023 session 3) Week 12, The Storm

I hope you're all enjoying your little treats, because this is a good news/bad news week, or a Fortunately/Unfortunately story. Hang on . . . 

Fortunately, the higher-ups approved all our extra expenses.

Unfortunately, we can't use our credit card because the island has been hit by a massive storm and all communications are down.

Fortunately, we had just received a shipment of supplies, including several kg of baking potatoes, lots of yarn, chocolate, our Secret Gift items, and, oh, I'm not sure, the interns are still unpacking.

Unfortunately, a stowaway kitten tangled all the yarn.

Fortunately, it's ridiculously cute, and young enough that our on-set cats are adopting it as a mascot rather than getting territorial.

Unfortunately, we don't have enough fuel to run generators for all the cabins, yurts, etc.

Fortunately, we do have fuel enough for the generator at the main lodge, so there are cooking facilities, lights, hot showers, and laundry facilities there.

Unfortunately, it's raining buckets so you are pretty much guaranteed to get soaked on your way here.

Fortunately, we also have a large stash of firewood and there's a huge fire going, so pack your things into plastic bags and come on down to bake potatoes and make s'mores. Bring any stashes of food you have in your cabin/tent/yurt and we can make Stone Soup; bring your art supplies and we can either add to the Secret Gifts or wrap them beautifully. (But beware of kitten! Anyone who finds untangling yarn relaxing is going to have a lovely time . . . )

What items or skills can you contribute? What are you hoping the interns will find in our last shipment from the mainland? Faced with a storm, are you more likely to hunker down in your cabin and sleep through it under your down comforter, or come down to the lodge and make the best of things in the group?

We hope you'll check in and let us know how things are going!

Contingent Cassandra (held over)

Professional:

--Finish grading the lit midterms

--Finish grading the comp proposals 

--Keep up with writing/posting post-conference summaries (including preliminary grades for truly complete drafts; not sure how many of those I'll see)

--Grade at least 2 sets of lit process work

Household--

--It would be nice if I got the books boxed, dining table cleared, and the fall/Thanksgiving tablecloth put on.

Personal:

--Make progress on one church project that is now time-sensitive: write preliminary publicity copy; correspond with potential speakers

--Try for even a modest amount of movement each day: a short walk, some stretching, and/or some weight-lifting.

Daisy

ONE PAPER!!! DO IT!!!!

Data section for other paper

Budget for big association

Lab stuff, get samples in oven

Dame Eleanor Hull

- swim and cardio once each (gym closed most of this week), weights twice, yoga 5-6 times.

- grade a set of papers, plus a couple from mini-class

- research 1 hour x 5, mainly Latin, conference paper project; ten minutes a day on KW chapter

- research possible Latin texts for spring reading group

- look at some MS images (being consultant to another scholar)

- take Sir John to a medical appointment

- have relaxing holiday week (my original plan was to get a lot of work done while I didn't have any meetings, but at this point . . .)

heu mihi

1. Get some exercise. My knee hurts because I attempted a wall squat yesterday, so I think that stretching and yoga should be a priority.

2. Work on my book x 5 (can be just reading a little bit!)

3. Enjoy Thanksgiving with my family! Take some time off!

4. Read and prep for Monday's class; read ahead because this novel is long and dense and I also need to recall where I need to issue content warnings

JaneB

(In recovery mode)

Julie

1. Report on PhD thesis and viva on Wednesday

2. Workshop on grants (also Wednesday)

3. Student meetings

4. Finish article revisions

5. Conversation about research assistant.

6. Exercise

7. At least one house job.

8 Start Christmas prep.

9. Read book for book club meeting Friday.

Susan (held over)

1. Finish at least three more papers from Big Collaboration and send them back. If I'm doing really well, I'll do more, but not going to pressure myself.

2. Get the next week of LMS stuff posted before I go.

3. Prepare for conference

4. Have fun at conference

5. Try not to worry too much about what's happening at home.

 


Sunday 19 November 2023

TLQ: The Movie! (Session 3 2023) Week 11: Small things

 TO-DO LIST 11/19

get phone number for local wildlife expert for re humane raccoon relocation

take journalist to lunch, in exchange for silence re raccoon infestation

call Mum

make more coffee

deliver snacks to yurts, bring extra chocolate for ones with help-over goals

explain to props master again why he cannot have live fireworks for shots inside castle

call insurance guy re fire damage to draperies in grand hall, take pictures for file

hide the new case of wine for emergency deployment

deploy emergency stash of yarn and colouring books

arrange payment plan for astronomical bill from massage therapist, also book ahead for the next month

borrow moving van to take empties to recycling depot

more coffee

schedule fittings for upcoming scenes

schedule interviews for the week

get back to elementary school about set visit, schedule for December

return load of overdue library books, van again?

wording for email to our cast

Good morning stars! We’re not doing interviews this week, there are so many things going on that it feels like one more scheduled things might be the straw and the camel kind of thing… In the spirit of preparing for the season of twinkly lights and fancy food coming up we’re doing a secret gift exchange… Put your submissions on post-it notes and put them in the two cookie jars at reception so we can collect them all next week. Goals and lists are welcome in there too…

For Jar 1: list five things that you would love to get in a secret gift exchange – usual rules apply, we’re going for inexpensive but cheerful things that you happy!

For Jar 2: a list of five small wins from the last couple of week – anything that you are proud of doing or made you happy!

Julie

1. Teaching prep
2. Progress review for PhD student
3. Organise workshop on applying for grants
4. Finish reading thesis.
5. Conversation about work for research assistant
6. Chase house jobs.
7. Maybe plant bulbs next weekend.

Contingent Cassandra

Professional:
--Finish grading the lit midterms
--Finish grading the comp proposals (yes, for the projects they're currently drafting; in my defense, quite a few came in late, and a few haven't yet come in at all, but the students are resistant to the idea of giving up and concentrating on their other courses; it's too late to officially drop)
--Keep up with writing/posting post-conference summaries (including preliminary grades for truly complete drafts; not sure how many of those I'll see)
--Grade at least 2 sets of lit process work
Household--
--It would be nice if I got the books boxed, dining table cleared, and the fall/Thanksgiving tablecloth put on, but we'll see. Household stuff other than the very basics of meal prep and cleanup isn't really a priority this week.
Personal:
--Make progress on one church project that is now time-sensitive: write preliminary publicity copy; correspond with potential speakers
--Try for even a modest amount of movement each day: a short walk, some stretching, and/or some weight-lifting.Dame Eleanor Hull

- swim twice, cross-trainer twice, weights twice, walk at least once, yoga more or less daily
- write another assignment for mini-class
- grade a set of papers
- research 1 hour x 5, mainly Latin, conference paper project; ten minutes a day on KW chapter
- look at some MS images (being consultant to another scholar)
- assorted meetings and admin work I don't want to do
- set up and use calendar pages in Moleskine
- work with my husband on winter trip plans
- dig up compost-heap potatoes

heu mihi

1. Work on ch. 6 x 6; aim for some more focused work/at least two longer stretches of writing and/or research
2. Run x 3
3. Grade batch of papers
4. Reformat citations for paper due at end of month; submit paper
5. Make progress on departmental equity review

JaneB (held over)

a) pace myself, allow time and space for counselling/GP stuff and reacting to counselling, morning pages
b) reinstate some key habits - move intentionally for at least 10 minutes a day, 5 fruit & veg., picking up spaces that get messy, filling in my daily log, taking vitamins. (keeping the last two because it's nice to have some easy wins!)
c) basic environment stuff - catch up with bin emptying, dish washing, filing financial papers. keep up with laundry!
d) do at least one thing from the non-basic environmental stuff list (little jobs)
Work stuff, not divided into three categories for now:
e) do email triage on no more than two week days for no more than 2 hours total
f) write some coherent points for the Individual Risk Assessment/Reasonable Adjustments requests I'll need to discuss on return to work
Fun: (I consider this medicinal in the current circumstances)
g) at least a couple of blocks of time reading, crochet, and playing or preparing D&D. Do the next seven Inktober sketches, never mind which day.
h) make cards, wrap & send two packages - a birthday present for my Aunt and a Hallowe'en care package for my nibling

Susan (held over)

1. Finish at least three more papers from Big Collaboration and send them back. If I'm doing really well, I'll do more, but not going to pressure myself.
2. Get the next week of LMS stuff posted before I go.
3. Prepare for conference
4. Have fun at conference
5. Try not to worry too much about what's happening at home.

Daisy

Paper meeting and revised draft
Finish introductions for both new papers
Finish data section for one paper
Fun with kid

Sunday 12 November 2023

TLQ: the movie! (2023 Session 3) Week 10: in which we're all harried

Where’s my production assistant? There you are! We need to—oh wait, let me grab this intern. You, take this angora yarn and polished oak crochet hook up to JaneB’s yurt, and try to talk to her about the shopping list—

Hello? Oh, no, this is a great time, I’ve been wanting—

Have you ever known a movie that wasn’t over budget? We need to—

Stick the hook into the angora and slide them both—

No, I was talking to the intern! About Padraic—

While you’re up in that direction, stop at Cassandra’s cabin and ask if she wants nuts—

No, no, you’re not nuts at all, I understand your concerns! But we’re out here in the middle of nowhere and we can’t replace Padraic now. We need—

Well, if we’d started with the cheap whisky, it wouldn’t be a problem, but he and the raccoons got used to the good stuff and now— The unicorn? Listen, that was a bargain, especially compared to renting the castles, which was such a great idea you had, by the way, and you should see the footage we got with the unicorn last week! I’ll get the production assistant to send over a few minutes of video and you can—

Grab the intern before they leave and have them check with Susan about both the shopping list and cleaning; how often does she want the sheets changed?

I was saying we’ll change the schedule if you insist, but really at this point the cheapest thing is likely to be just to barrel on through, getting all the footage we can while we’re here on the island and Padraic is actually on site (there’s nowhere he can go, right, and eventually he’ll get bored with the raccoons), and then I’ll handle the editing when we’re back—

Hey, you can pre-edit some of the footage for me, right? Put it on your fancy laptop and send a few minutes to the home studio fossils—

Bosses! I said bosses! We really appreciate your belief in this project! One of the talent is knitting you a sweater—

Yes, of course it’s hypoallergenic. HYPOALLERGENIC. I didn’t say a word about hypodermics! Whisky and red wine are the most—okay, I understand, talk to you—

Is the intern out of sight? Yes, make mine a double. And for Cat’s sake, order more before the home office cancels our credit cards. I’m sure it’s an empty threat, but just in case. The home office always gets fussy at about this point in filming, but they booked us in here through the middle of December, they know where we are and what our situation is, it’s not like we’re filming in the studio. Once the Christmas movies start to come out, they’ll leave us alone again. We just don’t want JB to come out himself to check on things.

Check with the cast about what would help the most to get them through the next few weeks. Linen sheets, more cats on site, merino blankets, ice skates, ice machine, snow machine, I don’t care, just keep them happy. Interviews? I guess we could ask them to talk about a rough time in their careers and how they got through it, but be gentle, I think some of them are having a rough time right now. If they’d rather talk about their favorite games or make a plan for something else they’d like to do on the island, that’s fine.

Contingent Cassandra (held over)

Professional:

--Grade as many as possible of the composition proposals
--Make some progress on grading lit process work

Household:

--Finish fall sowing in garden
--Measure and mark new location for compost pile and begin turning/moving
--Do at least one thing that gets something out of or better organized/containerized in the apartment

Personal:

--2x some kind of movement: stretching, weight-lifting, long or short walk
--Initiate 2 key email exchanges for church committee work
--Get in touch with at least one young-adult niebling

Daisy

Mark midterms
Mark reports and grad papers
Accounting for community organization
Thesis defense (as external reader)
Paper meeting and revised draft
Introductions for both new papers

Dame Eleanor Hull

- take care of new car problem (already done, actually)
- swim at least once, cross-trainer twice, weights twice, walk at least once, yoga more or less daily
- write another assignment for mini-class
- grade a set of papers
- research 1 hour x 5, mainly Latin, conference paper project; ten minutes a day on KW chapter
- look at some MS images (being consultant to another scholar)
- do some mending
- set up and use calendar pages in Moleskine
- work with my husband on winter trip plans

Heu mihi

1. Many many meetings, comprehensive exam session, coffee hour for program, more meetings, BLAH BLAH BLAH
2. Read 25 pp. of advisee's dissertation
3. Work on ch. 6 x 6
4. Ch. 2--more loose ends
5. Accompany kiddo on church youth retreat (I'm hoping that I'll get some work done??)
6. Now that it's lighter in the mornings, run at least a few times!

JaneB (held over)

a) pace myself, allow time and space for counselling/GP stuff and reacting to counselling, morning pages
b) reinstate some key habits - move intentionally for at least 10 minutes a day, 5 fruit & veg., picking up spaces that get messy, filling in my daily log, taking vitamins. (keeping the last two because it's nice to have some easy wins!)
c) basic environment stuff - catch up with bin emptying, dish washing, filing financial papers. keep up with laundry!
d) do at least one thing from the non-basic environmental stuff list (little jobs)

Work stuff, not divided into three categories for now:

e) do email triage on no more than two week days for no more than 2 hours total
f) write some coherent points for the Individual Risk Assessment/Reasonable Adjustments requests I'll need to discuss on return to work

Fun: (I consider this medicinal in the current circumstances)

g) at least a couple of blocks of time reading, crochet, and playing or preparing D&D. Do the next seven Inktober sketches, never mind which day.
h) make cards, wrap & send two packages - a birthday present for my Aunt and a Hallowe'en care package for my nibling

Julie

1. Teaching prep (one lecture)
2. 3 x meetings (1 difficult, 1 useful, 1 blah)
3. Article revisions
4. Conversation about work for research assistant.
5. Read PhD thesis for viva in 2 weeks time.
6. Find people to fix two house problems
7. Go to farm shop to stock up.
8. Take some stuff to charity
9. Exercise
10. Make soup, try some new recipes.

Susan (held over)

1. Finish at least three more papers from Big Collaboration and send them back. If I'm doing really well, I'll do more, but not going to pressure myself.
2. Get the next week of LMS stuff posted before I go.
3. Prepare for conference
4. Have fun at conference
5. Try not to worry too much about what's happening at home.

Sunday 5 November 2023

TLQ: The Movie! (Session 3 2023) Week 9: Character Development

Hello to all our stars!

Your mid-movie check-ins were all excellent, and it was great to see all the progress, it will be amazing footage. Even better, great to see the willingness to adjust expectations and goals to reflect circumstances, we all know that is necessary but sometimes it is hard to do.

Logistics for the week… After the extremely enthusiastic response to our massage therapist we’ve talked to finance and hired her company to be a permanent presence on set. The sign-up sheet will be on the information bulletin board, go wild!

The entire stock of red wine is finished, we do have another shipment coming so your patience is appreciated. While we are waiting we have a great shipment from the local cidery to try, there is a variety of alcohol-free ones too, the elderberry one is particularly good. We also found a few cases of whiskey in the gaffer’s trailer when we had to remove the raccoons, he’s sending a couple of those over to the big room with the fireplace in the central lodge, help yourself. Due to the enthusiastic response to the local red wine several artisanal cheese-makers have also sent over samples, and we even have a box from the local chocolatier. Please try all of them, we love supporting local businesses and have paid for all the merchandise already so enjoy!

Just a safety note, while it is getting colder there is definitely not enough ice on the lake for skating, ice-fishing, unicorn races, or sledding. The inflatable unicorn has been relocated to the indoor pool. We also bought a set of mini inflatable unicorns that can be used in the hot tub without losing their glitter. We’re holding a raffle contest to name them, put your suggestions in the jar at reception.

For this week we are talking character development. The director has asked me to collect some thoughts from everyone on how they would like see their character grow professionally over the course of our story. Everything changes, so do we, and we have a chance to reflect on how to direct those changes. This can be longer than one movie of course, don’t feel limited by the length of our time together. So for this week let us know in the comments if you feel like it… What is something that you would like to see change in your professional self? Is it something about how you work, how you write, how you do your research? And for a bonus… Is there any part of that change that you could incorporate into the second half of this session?

Goals from last week below, have a wonderful week everyone!

Dame Eleanor Hull
- take care of car problem
- swim once, cross-trainer twice, weights at least once, walk at least once, yoga more or less daily
- revise assignments for mini-class
- research 1 hour x 5, mainly Latin, conference paper project
- do some mending
- work with my husband on winter trip plans

Julie

1. Teaching prep.
2. Review for PhD student
3. Prepare for visiting speaker URGENT
4. Meet with dissertation students.
5. Write for two hours (article revisions) - colleague is organising a writing retreat, so will try to keep that slot free.
6. If kitchen finished, arrange cupboards etc.

JaneB (held over)

a) pace myself, allow time and space for counselling/GP stuff and reacting to counselling, morning pages
b) reinstate some key habits - move intentionally for at least 10 minutes a day, 5 fruit & veg., picking up spaces that get messy, filling in my daily log, taking vitamins. (keeping the last two because it's nice to have some easy wins!)
c) basic environment stuff - catch up with bin emptying, dish washing, filing financial papers. keep up with laundry!
d) do at least one thing from the non-basic environmental stuff list (little jobs)
Work stuff, not divided into three categories for now:
e) do email triage on no more than two week days for no more than 2 hours total
f) write some coherent points for the Individual Risk Assessment/Reasonable Adjustments requests I'll need to discuss on return to work
Fun: (I consider this medicinal in the current circumstances)
g) at least a couple of blocks of time reading, crochet, and playing or preparing D&D. Do the next seven Inktober sketches, never mind which day.
h) make cards, wrap & send two packages - a birthday present for my Aunt and a Hallowe'en care package for my nibling

heu mihi

1. Work on ch. 2 loose ends
2. Reread, polish, submit Freiburg paper
3. Finish and submit teaching award nominations and hiring requests
4. Start planning ch. 6
5. Grad students: Read other student's exam essays; read 25 pp. of different student's dissertation
6. Look over article for secondary journal

Susan (held over)

1. Finish at least three more papers from Big Collaboration and send them back. If I'm doing really well, I'll do more, but not going to pressure myself.
2. Get the next week of LMS stuff posted before I go.
3. Prepare for conference
4. Have fun at conference
5. Try not to worry too much about what's happening at home.

Contingent Cassandra

Professional:
--Grade as many as possible of the composition proposals
--Make some progress on grading lit process work
Household:
--Finish fall sowing in garden
--Measure and mark new location for compost pile and begin turning/moving
--Do at least one thing that gets something out of or better organized/containerized in the apartment
Personal:
--2x some kind of movement: stretching, weight-lifting, long or short walk
--Initiate 2 key email exchanges for church committee work
--Get in touch with at least one young-adult niebling

Daisy

Another trip, lab fun, for 4 days
Meet with coauthors and edit paper draft from post-doc
Do introductions for two papers
Do one figure for each paper

Sunday 29 October 2023

TLQ: The Movie! (2023 session 3), week 8: Midterm Check-in

We're gathering in the director's trailer to screen some early footage, in which you all set goals for this session. I love your early enthusiasm! It comes across so clearly and warmly; viewers are going to relate to that. But now we're half-way through the session, and it's time to revisit those goals and see what you've done, what you want to keep (and maybe give more attention from now on), what you have to jettison. How are you feeling about these goals now? To follow up on last week's questions, what advice would you now give your early-September self?

Get a drink and some snacks, find a comfy chair, and settle in to watch our September goal-setting interviews. A massage therapist will be circulating to rub tight shoulders if any of this footage causes you anxiety; just raise your hand and she'll be over to do a little work on your neck and shoulders (and you can book an appointment for a full-body massage later, as well. The hot tub will also be available). 

In the comments, besides reactions to the original goals, of course we'll have the check-ins from last week and goals set for the coming week. Session goals appear first, followed by last week's goals.

Red wine and massage therapist over here, please!

Session goals

Contingent Cassandra

Professional:
--Keep up with teaching, especially feedback.
--Complete contract renewal.
--Complete study leave application.
--Identify/apply as appropriate for other possible sources of funding for current research project.

Household:
--Replace refrigerator (including associated cabinet-moving and hole-patching)
--Get all the plumbing working at once (next up: replace kitchen faucet. Also on the docket: hire plumber to fix/replace shower taps.)
--Plan/implement other work as time/energy allows (this could include ordering/assembling/painting some additional cabinets, shelves, and doors; getting estimates for counter replacement; replacing stove; replacing flooring; additional hole-patching).

Personal:
--Keep moving: continue stretching program, restart lifting weights, restart walking, take a last swim or two if there are weekend pool hours.
--Keep in regular touch with friends and family, especially young-adult nieblings

Daisy

Write major grant application
Make progress on one local paper, one student paper, and one giant collaborative paper, and by progress I mean submit at least two out of three
Exercise consistently
Have regular fun with kid

Dame Eleanor Hull

- join a gym, work out regularly, also regular yoga at home
- finish two partially-written chapters
- write an abstract (at least) for a conference paper
- keep up with teaching prep and grade in a timely manner
- organize conference travel
- make progress on house/unpacking projects
- cheer on my fellow TLQers!

heu mihi

1) Finish chapter 4
2) Revise/tie up loose ends for chapters 1-3
3) Plan chapter 5 and/or 6
4) Apply for a grant (deadline 9/20)
5) Write a book review for a book that I have already read (due in November sometime)
6) Write and submit 2 conference abstracts
7) Keep things moving with this festschrift that I am now co-editing (we're in the very early stages, so that basically means coming up with an idea for the chapter that I would want to write and keeping track of who has agreed to contribute).
8) I'm also trying to keep my exercise up, answer emails promptly, and sit daily (weekdays).

 

JaneB

1. Self-care. The boring practical stuff that needs to happen because if it goes right it makes everything else easier. Just to feel that I'm consistently touching on each of the important areas regularly would be great.
2. Teaching. The bread and butter of my actual job. Survival will do here, defined as being ahead in prep and not having caused too much havoc via migraines, sick leave* etc. (or if I do end up on sick leave, that I keep my nose OUT of teaching!)
3. Research. Keep things ticking along - immediate goals are to submit three papers this session to journals (all are already well underway), help to organise a workshop in January, and apply for money for a grad student.
4. Admin. I have a fair amount spread across 4 named roles, and I want to keep it and shed teaching rather than the other way around (although the "help" I get offered from my department is definitely the other way around), partly because I can do it in a much more sustainable way in terms of my personal energy budget.
5. Fun. Necessary for self-care but also just necessary. I like to make things, mess around with art stuff, read, and play D&D. Getting back into doing all of those things fairly often was this summer's win, and I want to try & maintain that.

Julie

1. Write grant application.
2. Make some progress on writing a journal article.
3. Do revisions to another journal article.
4. Try to be on top of teaching rather than overwhelmed by it.
5. Work on some house projects.
6. Try to get regular exercise, more sleep, eat healthily.
7. Do something fun each week.

Susan

1. Survival - right now the term seems overwhelming, so if I'm in one piece on December 16, it will be a success. (I'm teaching 2 classes, have a lot of travel, and the admin load is heavy right now.)

2. Famous Author: Finish my revisions (hopefully by the mid-semester check in. The goal is to send it back to my editor and get it to a press at the start of the new year.

3. Big Collaboration: Read all drafts, work with co-editor on drafting introduction.

4. Do something fun on a regular basis - with friends, or watch movies or something.

5. Continue regular exercise / healthy eating / adequate sleep

 

Last week’s goals

Contingent Cassandra

Professional:
--Grade at least ½ (preferably 2/3) of the composition proposals.
--Try to provide reasonable support to composition students who are struggling to catch up without shortchanging those who have kept up and need to move forward based on the feedback I’m in the process of providing
--Make some progress on grading lit process work

Household:
--Finish fall sowing in garden
--Measure and mark new location for compost pile and begin turning/moving
--Do at least one thing that gets something out of or better organized/containerized in the apartment

Personal:
--2x some kind of movement: stretching, weight-lifting, long or short walk
--Continue followup on church committee stuff as needed
--Get covid and flu shots

Daisy

Complete and submit PITA grant application
Another trip, mostly not fun, at end of week
Edit paper draft from post-doc

Dame Eleanor Hull

- swim twice, cross-trainer & weights twice, walk at least once, yoga
- revise assignments for mini-class; grade a set of papers
- research 1 hour x 5, mainly Latin, conference paper project
- do some House Task (or garden, or Life Stuff)

heu mihi

1. Handle excellent grad student's oral exam defense
2. Hold many many meetings
3. Straighten out the final spring 24 schedule problems
4. Get the fall 24 schedule as functional as possible
5. Finish reading through chapter 2
6. Start planning abstract for March conference

JaneB

a) pace myself, allow time and space for counselling/GP stuff and reacting to counselling, morning pages
b) reinstate some key habits - move intentionally for at least 10 minutes a day, 5 fruit & veg., picking up spaces that get messy, filling in my daily log, taking vitamins. (keeping the last two because it's nice to have some easy wins!)
c) basic environment stuff - catch up with bin emptying, dish washing, filing financial papers. keep up with laundry!
d) do at least one thing from the non-basic environmental stuff list (little jobs)
Work stuff, not divided into three categories for now:
e) do email triage on no more than two week days for no more than 2 hours total
f) write some coherent points for the Individual Risk Assessment/Reasonable Adjustments requests I'll need to discuss on return to work
Fun: (I consider this medicinal in the current circumstances)
g) at least a couple of blocks of time reading, crochet, and playing or preparing D&D. Do the next seven Inktober sketches, never mind which day.
h) make cards, wrap & send two packages - a birthday present for my Aunt and a Hallowe'en care package for my nibling

Julie

1. Essential teaching prep.
2. Schedule meetings with dissertation students.
3. Read dissertation proposals (only 3).
4. Look at referees' reports on article, work out which comments to deal with.
5. Prep for seminar and workshop I'm chairing next week for guest speaker.
6. Walks in autumn sunshine if it continues.
7. Book appointments and haircut for kids.

Susan

1. Finish at least three more papers from Big Collaboration and send them back. If I'm doing really well, I'll do more, but not going to pressure myself.
2. Get the next week of LMS stuff posted before I go.
3. Prepare for conference
4. Have fun at conference
5. Try not to worry too much about what's happening at home.