Session 2, Week 4

Hello all! Sorry to miss last week, especially as it was a great prompt, Jane, but had a great time on holiday in Greece, Paros to be exact. First time on a Greek island, and it was as beautiful as all the classic photos that get used in adverts. It was a very slow-paced holiday, with a lot of time for reading and enjoying things at leisure. Italy at Easter was great, but we did pack in cultural sights and jump on and off trains, whereas this time, although we did check out the archaeological museum and monastery, and catch buses to different villages, we spent a lot more time on beaches and in cafes and restaurants. I don't think I realised how much we all needed this kind of a break. Anyway, I will stop boasting about travel for some time now, you will all be relieved to hear: we have a week planned in Scotland for late August, but no further trips abroad.

This week's prompt is a bit of fantasy escapism. Our little apartment had a roof terrace with a table and views of the sea, which would have been a perfect place to write if I hadn't been on holiday. I did do a lot of journaling there. It got me thinking that an ideal summer writing break would be to be somewhere like a Mediterranean island. Because it's a fantasy, the temperatures wouldn't get as brutally hot as they actually do in the Med in summer - or, at least, there would always be a cool breeze and temperatures would fall at night. And there would be no mosquitoes. I would have writing time in the mornings, while other people were asleep, then take a break for a swim, leisurely lunch, then maybe some reading or perhaps a bit more writing while it was too hot to go out, then maybe another swim and an evening spent strolling, going for drinks and dinner. In this fantasy, there would be friends to spend time with, but they wouldn't impinge on my writing time. So for this week, tell us about your fantasy summer writing location (or your real location, if you're lucky enough to have one that allows for an escape).

Last week's goals

JaneB

1) Self-care: baselines, optician's appointment, make next Drs appointment, Pile On Chair and Pile In Hall
2) Researcher: Wish-we-never-started project - at least 5 hours of work. Meet about and do my action steps on returned paper. two "small jobs"
3) Teaching: Keep up with marking process (mostly administration and a few very late pieces may come in this week - mostly that will be next week). Meet with all new MSc students for an hour to get their planning started. Summer list.
4) Fun. Might play D&D - if not, do some D&D planning. Read something. Do some thinking about the next large-and-simple blanket crochet project. Start mini project (I'm trying a sun hat pattern next).
fun. hopefully play D&D this coming weekend (this one was a no-go because of the dread exam season for most of the players), and work on the 'Lithrops' blanket.

Daisy

Redo ALL existing summer plans to fit in new opportunities
Submit ALL expenses for both trips this month
Renew two sets of software licences
Order last bits of kit for lab
Work on samples! NEW samples!!! Yay!! (aka do actual science with actual samples)
Sit down with wine and write down everything I said in conference talks for paper outlines

Dame Eleanor

 Keep 10-3 as "work hours" and do exercise, house stuff, errands at other times
- Finish editing conference paper
- Start reading through tenure-review file
- Process grad applications
- Aim for one creative, one house, and one garden task from Summer Lists

Susan

The real agenda is to slide back into a semi-normal life, though part of that will be dealing with more of the administrative part of the estate.
Research - scholarship
1. Read 1 draft essay and one revised essay for Big Collaboration
2. Read 2 articles I agreed to review even though I should have said no.
3. Start reading for book prize
4. Read book (that I want to read) for review that was due in February or March

Admin for work:
5. Work out schedule for summer program for new grad students (due last Friday)
6. Draft budget for next year
7. Get people to work on seminar series for next year
8. Get last people for small task forces
9. Schedule for next spring

Life:
10: Mail books to Paris
11. Ship pictures to Paris
12. Clear up last bits of clutter
13. Do something nice for myself/ with a friend

Heu mihi

1. Finish working draft of ch. 2 (there will be much left to do later, but time to move on, I think)
2. Start working up a list of possible texts for ch. 4
3. Make 10 pages
4. Finish reading a couple of things that are sitting around (KM, FT)
5. Maybe take a forest day???

Julie (carried over)

1. Maximise time in different set of archives Monday and Tuesday (I'm now in Burgos, and thinking of Susan especially, as it's full of people doing the Camino).
2. Claim expenses for trip.
3. Upload photos and write up notes before I forget what everything is.
4. Get ready for holiday next week.