Shifting away from the kitchen this week (maybe), if you had the perfect conditions to throw any sort of party you wanted, what would it be? Tea for two, garden party, casual barbecue, formal sit-down dinner? Assume that the good fairies will come and clean up both before and after (and the bad fairies will zap any annoying neighbours who might complain about noise). Fairies will also polish the silver or stock up on paper napkins, roll the lawn or possibly even add that extension you've been considering . . . all you need to do is decide on the type of event. Feel free to consider menu and guests, if you want to!
Consider it practice for our end-of-session celebration. ;-)
And how did you do last week?
Daisy
Two office days for all the office things….
Three days in the field, plus weekend, plus first three days of next week…
Edit giant curriculum document first draft
Write web articles, short but annoying task
Grant report
Keep on top of student tasks
Dame Eleanor Hull
- try to figure out some sort of "syllabus" for the rest of summer (interim due dates, etc)
- one campus day, meet with grad, spend 30 minutes tidying my office, scan essay and return book
- swim x 3, yoga x5, cardio x 4
- identify and contact reviewers for edited volume
- take notes on articles read 2 weeks ago
- create syllabus for one to-be-proposed course
- organize the guest room closet and shelves
- think about fall courses
- make some measurable progress on 2 research projects (M and W)
- get fasting blood draw
heu mihi
1. FINISH ARTICLE REVISION (we're talking like ONE footnote here, people)
2. Next 50 pages of Italian novel
3. Make significant progress on one home/life project--probably uncle's memoirs
4. Clean some parts of the house
5. Try to keep my shit together as the fall schedule keeps hitting hiccups (mixed metaphor[s], that's fine)
JaneB
1) building better habits: one creative thing with the hands, keep reading for pleasure, start a new yarn project, journal
2) Environment: do week's chores. Sort out post pile of doom
3) blocks: two teaching blocks - one sorting out the laptop, second looking at the module I am now fed up about so I can a) regain my equilibrium and b) get going EARLY on "non-nagging nagging" the others as we are supposed to be completely changing the assessment to make it more AI-resistant which requires coordination and planning, and I want to do my share of the work before the semester starts (and now know the others won't want to, so I need to start NOW).
4) writing: do some more work on the collaborative paper with a deadline, go to a meeting about same.
5) grad students: do substantial paperwork for two students, send a couple of emails for third. Only ONE meeting this week, in the diary at least!
Julie
1. Carry on writing chapter.
2. PhD student's chapter and possibly more.
3. Add some references to my reading list.
4. Read article for a post-doc.
5. Do some boring work admin.
6. House/life admin: prep for holiday, nephew's birthday, sort out home insurance renewal.
7. Self-care/fun stuff: read, exercise, keep trying on sleep, watch Tour de France.
Susan
Read full dissertation when it arrives
ACTUALLY READ SOME MICROFILM
Plan for research trip in Scotland
Organize meeting with some people I saw at the workshop
Do fun stuff at the weekend, visit My Favorite Museum
See friends
Keep walking (this in preparation for a walking holiday that's coming up)
I enjoy having a small group over for dinner or supper. I used to do dinner parties, but since my husband died, it's just hard. So now 2-4 people is the max, and I have developed a lot of recipes where just about everything is done before people arrive. Then I actually enjoy my friends. (I'm told this is barefoot contessa entertaining!) Alternatively, I like having lots of people over for a semi-potluck in the garden, where I provide some parts of the meal (usually a main course) and everyone else brings the rest. Both of these are (aside from cleaning the house etc, which will be done by the fairies) relatively low effort ways to enjoy people.
ReplyDeleteHow I did last week:
Read full dissertation when it arrives NOT QUITE FINISHED (But it arrived Friday night, so. . .)
ACTUALLY READ SOME MICROFILM NO. Not one frame.
Plan for research trip in Scotland. YES, started. Figured our call numbers, requirements for readers ticket, etc.
Organize meeting with some people I saw at the workshop SENT AN EMAIL-- that counts, right? No answer yet...
Do fun stuff at the weekend, visit My Favorite Museum YES
See friends YES
Keep walking (this in preparation for a walking holiday that's coming up) YES, most days, including 5 miles in 90 degree heat across London. But Saturday was very wet, so...
All in all, pretty good, but I really don't want to read microfilm. I think I'm going to check with our library, and plan to get the microfilms on Interlibrary Loan and then scan them. Because the situation for reading them where they are is *miserable*.
This week, I leave on Wednesday for 8 days, that includes one day going to the birthplace of Famous Author for a play, a day of travel, 4 days walking in Scotland with an old friend (which promises to be damp, but maybe not completely miserable) and a day of research. So very limited goals.
1. Finish reading dissertation, prepare for defense tomorrow late afternoon (time zones from BST to PDT mean an 8 hour range...)
2. Try to get to the library for a few hours of microfilm tomorrow
3. Order documents for Scottish research (which has now expanded to another library to help a friend in the US).
4. Keep up with administrative stuff, keep planning events for start of semester. (This will be mostly early morning/ evening stuff)
5. Have fun! Enjoy walking, even if it does rain.
Preparing for Scotland also requires a trip today to get passport sized photographs. But at least I read the requirements, so I will have them.
DeleteSending e-mail totally counts! And I'm impressed at how fast you've moved on the dissertation when it didn't arrive till late Friday. It sounds like a very good week, especially the fun things. I hope your plan for the microfilms works out, b/c reading them is usually such a headache-inducing task. Have a wonderful time in Scotland, both walking and library-ing!
DeleteI hope your travel goes amazingly!
DeleteSympathies on microfilm. It is horrible to read and, ime, the quality is usually terrible. Hope the play and the Scotland trip are amazing. Scotland is beautiful this time of year, but take a ton of insect repellent and bite cream!
DeleteOh wow! A walking holiday in Scotland! That sounds amazing, and dampness might be nice for staying-cool purposes...? Maybe? Enjoy, in any case!
DeleteHave a marvellous time in Scotland! Sounds like a busy time ahead!
DeleteParty: I want the fairies to do some unpacking, and also clean and paint the deck, so that I can have a semi-formal dinner out there, under the grapevined pergola, with the flames of citronella candles glancing off my crystal glasses. We'll use proper china and maybe the fairies will even unpack the good silverware (actually plate, my family are parvenus at best). To keep things simple, I'll probably get most of the food from Whole Foods' prepared section, things that won't make it too obvious that I'm eating my usual safe items. I hope our friends will dress up at least a little.
ReplyDeleteAs to last week . . . oh Great Cat! I think most of what I did accomplish falls under the ALSO category. Monday and Tuesday went great. Then Tuesday night I didn't sleep well, so Wednesday was a struggle, and then sleep went downhill and the rest of the week was a blur, no ability to concentrate at all.
How I did, point by point:
- try to figure out some sort of "syllabus" for the rest of summer (interim due dates, etc): NO
- one campus day, meet with grad, spend 30 minutes tidying my office, scan essay and return book: YES
- swim x 3, yoga x5, cardio x 4: YES, swam 3 miles!
- identify and contact reviewers for edited volume: IN PROGRESS
- take notes on articles read 2 weeks ago: NO
- create syllabus for one to-be-proposed course: NO
- organize the guest room closet and shelves: NO
- think about fall courses: NO
- make some measurable progress on 2 research projects (M and W): YES, for small values of "measurable"
- get fasting blood draw: YES
ALSO: had mammogram, had PT appointment, went to mystery book group, cut my hair, read an essay by heu mihi that is making me think about project W, baked brownies, (re-)read book for next week's SF/F group, read two other novels and a batch of ancient blogs from back when academic blogging was a Thing. I miss those days. I'm glad TLQ is still going! Thank you all for being here.
Oh, and all medical results are back and fine, so I feel like getting a clean bill of health is an accomplishment! Still, I would appreciate some reassuring or encouraging words, b/c I feel like I'm getting so little done.
New goals, strangely familiar:
- try to figure out some sort of "syllabus" for the rest of summer (interim due dates, etc)
- one campus day, meet with grad, spend 30 minutes tidying my office, scan essay and return book (yes, again, different book)
- swim x 2, yoga x5, cardio x 3, do PT exercises 2x/day
- identify and contact reviewers for edited volume
- take notes on articles read 3 weeks ago
- create syllabus for one to-be-proposed course
- organize the guest room closet and shelves
- think about fall courses
- make some measurable progress on 2 research projects (M and W)
I love that you're reading an essay by heu mihi! So lovely to see connections. So you're reading and thinking, you swam 3 miles, and you did ALL THE MEDICAL STUFF. I think that's a great week. And it's hard to focus when you're not sleeping. For what it's worth I need to start on syllabi too, but have no energy at all for it!
Deletelots of progress, even if it's small steps! You got this!
DeleteSome weeks the energy just isn't there for brain work. You did plenty of other stuff. And I also love that you're reading heu mihi, and grateful for TLQ and all these kinds of connections!
DeleteOoh what essay?? Not to make it all about me :) --I'm just always stunned when someone reads my work without my actually telling them to.
DeleteI hope that your sleep has improved since then, and really, you did a ton of things even if they weren't on the list.
Yay for all the other things done! Glad medical stuff is all ok too.
DeleteLove the TLQ connections, I am also so happy it is still going after so many years!
HM: 2011. I'm considering portrayal of women's emotions in a Latin text, written in a clerical context, that is not a saint's life, and wondering what set of expectations are operating.
DeleteThis was a week. I am so. tired. and. DONE. Latest work thing is that on Tuesday I was told by someone from Facilities that I will definitely be moving offices before the end of August so MUST get everything sorted and packed (I do not have the time, the physical capacity or the emotional capacity to do that AND do my current work AND prepare for next year. If I have to pick two, packing to move is the left out one, because I've been told this three years running...). Half an hour later, a senior colleague came by and said he'd been told by the head of Facilities that we all get to stay in our offices on this corridor (where there is some issue with the fire alarm - it's insanely loud when they test it every Monday but apparently it's not loud ENOUGH and needs to be individually piped into each office not just in the corridor) for definite. So that was helpful.
ReplyDeleteRe: party - what I'd really like to do right now is have a proper D&D game, starting early afternoon, with a few friends. The fairies would deliver a rolling selection of excellent snacks/buffet type food which is delicious and healthy, so we could basically graze every hour or so, we'd all be hilarious and heroic, and we'd finish up with a selection of mini desserts including a proper lemon syllabub and a selection of hot teas around 8pm, so there was plenty of time to wind down before bed. And nothing scheduled the next day at ALL.
LAST WEEK:
1) building better habits: one creative thing with the hands, keep reading for pleasure, start a new yarn project, journal continued to make an enjoyable mess with very cheap paint by numbers stuff, slogging through a highly rated book which is objectively good in every way but which I do not apparently want to read for more than 15 minutes at a time (I don't know if it's the book or me. I'm sad and grey and fed up after all the uncertainty of the last few weeks), no, barely.
2) Environment: do week's chores. Sort out post pile of doom no and no
3) blocks: two teaching blocks - one sorting out the laptop, second looking at the module I am now fed up about so I can a) regain my equilibrium and b) get going EARLY on "non-nagging nagging" the others as we are supposed to be completely changing the assessment to make it more AI-resistant which requires coordination and planning, and I want to do my share of the work before the semester starts (and now know the others won't want to, so I need to start NOW). did not sort out the laptop despite multiple calls to IT. Did one block on the module, and had a meeting this morning (day off, but the others could make it, so we did a call) which has actually answered some of the vagueness which is useful/
4) writing: do some more work on the collaborative paper with a deadline, go to a meeting about same. yes and yes
5) grad students: do substantial paperwork for two students, send a couple of emails for third. Only ONE meeting this week, in the diary at least! yes. Had two meetings and read MORE text for the one who is writing up - he is thank Cat and All His Little Fishes producing drafts steadily...
THE COMING WEEK:
1) building better habits: one creative thing with the hands, keep reading for pleasure, start a new yarn project, journal, play D&D
2) environment: do week's chores. Sort out post pile of doom
3) blocks: two teaching blocks - one sorting out the laptop, second looking at the module I am now fed up about
4) writing: do some more work on the collaborative paper with a deadline, two re-reviews for journals (sigh).
5) grad students: Only ONE meeting this week, in the diary at least. And maybe no paperwork? MAYBE?
Fingers crossed for no paperwork and time/spoons to journal and work with yarn! Could you possibly set the post pile of doom to spar with the Chair of Doom, or would that result in your clothes being posted to Who Knows Where?
DeleteReally glad the office move isn't happening, as packing up an office is a real waste of a summer, and unbelievably stressful. I love your idea for a party!
DeleteWow, what nonsense. I'm glad that you don't have to pack and move, in any case, and your party sounds fantastic!
DeleteLove your party plan, count me in for attending and playing the game!
DeleteI hope this week has some fun and rest in it...
My ideal party would be outside, a warm summer evening, but not too hot to be comfortable, and no mosquitoes. There would be candles and music in the background, which wouldn't annoy the neighbours, because this wouldn't be my garden but somewhere Mediterranean, where we could watch a stunning sunset before we needed the candles. It would just be a few people, so everyone could join in the conversation, and I wouldn't have to worry about circulating or be sad that I didn't get to talk to someone. Or worried that people weren't getting on.
ReplyDeleteLast week:
1. Carry on writing chapter. - SOME
2. PhD student's chapter and possibly more. - FULL DRAFT
3. Add some references to my reading list. - YES
4. Read article for a post-doc. - YES
5. Do some boring work admin. - SOME, BUT MORE FOLLOWED
6. House/life admin: prep for holiday, nephew's birthday, sort out home insurance renewal. - SOME, NOT YET, YES
7. Self-care/fun stuff: read, exercise, keep trying on sleep, watch Tour de France. - SOME (but in a rut), YES, TWO GOOD NIGHTS, YES (although the one-man Pogacar show is getting a bit boring).
Not as much writing last week as I planned to do, but on the plus side, PhD student's draft is now out of the way.
This week:
Starting late because yesterday I was away at son's last regatta of the year. Long drive back late, so switched the alarm off this morning.
1. Write as much of chapter as possible, ideally close to full draft.
2. Send PhD student comments.
3. Read a chapter for a colleague.
4. More bits of boring work admin.
5. House/life admin: holiday prep, nephew's birthday, reply to some emails.
6. Self-care/fun stuff: lunch with friend, find holiday reading, exercise, journal, keep going with sleep, watch more T de F.
I'd like to come to your party! And your Ph.D. student is more prompt than mine...
DeleteOh, your party is like mine but so much better! Nice work on all the stuff done!
DeleteGood luck with the draft! We will all celebrate that at your excellentnparty!
DeleteOooh, I would like to have a big open house party where people drop in and out as they wish for an afternoon and everning, with a supply of nibbles (thinking tapas style with fancy things!) and pretty drinks that range from cordials to beer/ciders to wine/cocktails so everyone can find something they like. Subtle music so we can hear each other talk, and lots of comfy outdoor seating with sun/shade as desired, and a few cats indoors to sit on laps!
ReplyDeleteLast week’s goals
Two office days for all the office things…. DONE
Three days in the field, plus weekend, plus first three days of next week… STILL AWAY, FUN TIMES!
Edit giant curriculum document first draft DONE
Write web articles, short but annoying task NOPE
Grant report DONE
Keep on top of student tasks DONE AND ONGOING, STUDENTS ARE AWESOME
This week’s goals
Accounting from trips
Giant meetings with many committees
Write web articles, now just annoying
Majorly overdue review
I hope your trip is going well! I'm sorry that you have so many meetings, though.
DeleteHooray for awesome students! And three good DONE things!
DeleteMy party would include having the screened porch and new deck that we've been trying to have built (and may actually get started next month?) instantly completed to our perfect satisfaction! We may also need some new furniture out there--rather than a big table, some small, attractive brass tables and lounging couches with plenty of cushions. Candlelight will somehow be ubiquitous, and we--maybe 8-10 people, who will magically fit comfortably in the space--will enjoy a delightful series of small courses and conversation, with paired beverages. --Or maybe I'll just have a group of old friends over for pizza and lots of red wine in the living room. That would be fun, too.
ReplyDeleteLast week: I think that it was pretty quiet, once we returned from our trip.
1. FINISH ARTICLE REVISION (we're talking like ONE footnote here, people) - YES, and actually I decided that the footnote was not required. I am now reading the book that I requested for the footnote, though, and it's pretty interesting.
2. Next 50 pages of Italian novel - Italian novel is FINISHED! I've ordered volume 3, but lucky for me it'll be a few weeks until it arrives, so I get a break. (I'm enjoying the series, but it's always nice to have a break.)
3. Make significant progress on one home/life project--probably uncle's memoirs - Got about halfway through volume 2 of uncle's memoirs. Have I told you all about this project? Skip this note, if so:
My uncle died in September at age 90. He lived in New Zealand for my entire life, so I didn't know him well, but he was a great traveler in his younger decades and also a fantastic storywriter; he was a geologist who worked for oil companies, mostly in the Middle East. My mom (his sister) persuaded him to "publish" his memoirs on a blog some years ago. Well, the blog is basically unreadable--it's all one post, in a small font--so after his death I decided to copy the post into a document and use the self-publishing site Lulu to turn them into a book. I discovered, however, that IT IS 1200 PAGES LONG. So it's now a 2-volume book; I finished volume 1 for Christmas. My work involves some somewhat intensive skimming-formatting-editing (I don't read it, just skim and fix weird punctuation, of which there is a lot, and stuff like that), then adding in some of the incredible pictures that he took, which my mom has on her Smugmug site. He was in places like Iran and Afghanistan and Nigeria and Egypt in the late 50s through the early 70s, and his stories (I've read vol. 1) are WILD and his pictures absolutely incredible. So it's a super cool project--he happens to be a pretty great writer, as well--but also has a high degree of tedium, particularly as he included in his blog post a bunch of footnotes which did not come over well, to say the least.
4. Clean some parts of the house - Not really. I did defrost the chest freezer, though.
5. Try to keep my shit together as the fall schedule keeps hitting hiccups (mixed metaphor[s], that's fine) - The schedule still has issues/crises, but I may have paths forward, and I'm just done being stressed about it.
This week:
1. Finish uncle's memoirs
2. Housework projects (clean garage and/or wash windows)
3. Finish reading research-ish book
4. Yoga retreat this weekend! Drinks with friends on Wednesday!
5. Clean up email somewhat
I'm surely missing something, but this is enough for now.
Wow that memoir project is amazing! So cool that you are doing that, family will love it! Definitely a labour of love...
DeleteHave a wonderful yoga retreat, that sounds awesome!
The yoga retreat does sound awesome, as does the memoir, in a very different way! Congrats on finishing the Italian novel! I'm still slowly plodding through mine, and I think I may need to go look at the English translation soon to figure out some of what's going on.
Delete