It's such fun hearing about your houses! I seem to be the only one who got a house in a city, and sea views are definitely popular. This week, after the first flush of delight passes, we're going to notice the houses' problems: structural, locational, cosmetic? Is there something nasty in the woodshed that needs to be cleaned out or knocked down, a problem with the foundation or the roof, a bypass under construction nearby? Is the house much too small, large, or badly laid out? Or is it a fairly solid house whose previous owners had . . . idiosyncratic . . . notions of decor? Or maybe they were hoarders . . . . Anyway, tell us about the problems you'll have to find a way to deal with. They will not be insurmountable, but they do contribute to people in your life urging you to just sell and move on.
Goals from last week:
Daisy
Prepare research talk for visit to former home town
Read and edit student paper draft
Read and edit more student chapters
Do admin for upcoming meeting
Book flights for interesting trip in October
Dame Eleanor Hull
- work on both M and S projects this week
- 2 "write first" mornings, 3 "exercise first" mornings
- grade grad quizzes, prep for both classes
- finishing touches to syllabuses, load more stuff to the ViLE
- make 3 phone calls to schedule or re-schedule things
- assorted stupid work admin things
- get back to latest round of editing tasks
- spend an hour tidying my study (or somewhere!)
- get-together with niece & great-nibs
- find a good time for language work
Heu mihi
1. Work: Start identifying external reviewers; come up with
a plan to make a plan for the external review; attend numerous meetings; run
first full faculty meeting.
2. Write 3000 words.
3. Exercise at least 4 times, sit at least twice.
JaneB
SELF CARE
3x20 minutes of movement
reading, 1-2 creative things, 1-2 social things
LIFE ADMIN
List for declutterer
Get electrician quote for a couple of jobs
Take cat to vet (nothing serious, I believe)
Don’t get lots more stuff
TEACHING/WORK ADMIN
Sort out slides for first lectures
Sort out checking process for ViLE sites and assessments
Get details of new system and start to set up my objectives if I can work out
how
RESEARCH
Process more model output and set next model running for modelling based
project
make list of all the other ‘ongoing stuff’
Continue to try and make a reasonable fist of a lot of ethics paperwork
Julie
1. Big Article: another two days of writing, finish
difficult section.
2. Teaching prep: organise meeting with tutors on big module, finalise readings
for another seminar, work on ViLE; set readings for other guest seminar; work
out what needs to be done for other two modules.
3. House/life admin: survey and quote for solar panels (unlikely to happen, but
am seeing if it would be worth it), tidy spare room, tidy daughter's room,
update electoral register, prep for friends visiting at weekend.
4. Self-care/fun: run x3, walk other days, read, watch last episode of TV
series, journal, try another new recipe.
Susan
DRAFT THE DAMN PAPER.
PACK
Organize life
I really can't cope with structural issues, so my house is going to be cluttered. The previous owners clearly had hoarding tendencies. Not quite at the level of being unable to get into rooms because of the junk, but the attic in particular is full of boxes of books, old newspapers, the random stuff that most people have in attics e.g. Christmas ornaments. The problem is some of it might be worth keeping, some of it worth selling, some of it can only be junked so I will need to spend time sorting through it all. The books are going to be heart breaking, as I know from reading Shaun Bythell's accounts of being a second-hand bookseller that only particular kinds of books sell second-hand these days, but pulping books seems obscene.
ReplyDeleteLast week:
1. Big Article: another two days of writing, finish difficult section. JUST ABOUT TWO, MOSTLY
2. Teaching prep: organise meeting with tutors on big module, finalise readings for another seminar, work on ViLE; set readings for other guest seminar; work out what needs to be done for other two modules. - YES TO ALL (BUT SO MUCH LEFT TO DO...)
3. House/life admin: survey and quote for solar panels (unlikely to happen, but am seeing if it would be worth it), tidy spare room, tidy daughter's room, update electoral register, prep for friends visiting at weekend. - NO (people didn't show up, but it was only ever a maybe anyway), YES to the rest.
4. Self-care/fun: run x3, walk other days, read, watch last episode of TV series, journal, try another new recipe. - YES, ONLY ONE, YES, YES, YES, YES (vegetarian green curry, needed more chilli)
This week:
1. Big Article - realistically can only do one day, sadly.
2. Teaching prep - finish ViLE sites and module handbooks (deadline next Monday). meet with tutors on big module.
3. Resend abstract and text descriptions of images for another article that the online platform has lost.
4. House/life admin: financial stuff, book hairdresser's appointment.
5. Self-care/fun: run x 3, walk, journal, read.
Maybe you'll find something that will pay for help with the rest of the decluttering! Or for solar panels, something like that. I hear you on the "so much left to do," but just keep chipping away, on both the teaching and the research. Even one day a week, regularly done, results in progress (I'm assuring myself as well as you!).
DeleteWow, that's a lot of yes! Two days (or close) of writing is fantastic!
DeleteYay for all that wonderful writing!
DeleteI like a cozy house, but this one is verging over into cramped. Books keep tumbling off the shelves; are the shelves uneven? And behind those books: More books, and boxes, and oddments of various kinds. It goes without saying that there's a fair bit of dust. I like the varicolored painting scheme, but the paint is chipping quite a bit and some of the colors (terracotta pink? sea foam?) are less to my liking. Every room is crammed with furniture of uncertain vintage, most chairs and couches requiring (expensive) reupholstering, and there are heavy, dusty curtains over far too many of the windows. Since the house is so tall and skinny, dealing with all of this is going to require a lot of climbing up and down stairs, and then there's the problem of getting it all down and off the mountain! It's a bit like being buried alive, and I'm starting to feel overwhelmed.... (No allegory here, I promise! :) )
ReplyDeleteLast week:
Well, that wasn't a rousing success. I developed a sore throat on Wednesday afternoon that then turned into a nasty head cold. I'm still dealing with the after effects, but today I finally feel well enough to re-apply myself to work (although exercise will have to wait). Bonaventure caught it, too, and stayed home from school on Friday. He's back today, but we'll see how long that lasts.
Anyway, all of the "NO" below is attributable to illness.
1. Work: Start identifying external reviewers; come up with a plan to make a plan for the external review; attend numerous meetings; run first full faculty meeting. : YES, YES, YES, NO.
2. Write 3000 words. - NO: 1799.
3. Exercise at least 4 times, sit at least twice. - NO: Exercised thrice, did not sit.
This week:
1. Catch up on writing: Aim for 3,380 words (an oddly precise number, but I have my reasons).
2. Draft narrower focus for external review; continue seeking possible reviewers.
3. Journal: Process article revision (very late on this one)
4. Resume exercise by end of week, but be sensible and don't start too soon
5. Sit twice
There's a lot of other miscellaneous stuff to do, but I refuse to honor it with the privilege of appearing on my TLQ list!
I'm sorry about the head cold! That sounds horrid. You still made excellent progress. One wonders how the original owner got all those books in there . . . a few at a time, I suppose. There may be a lesson in here!
DeleteNice spin! And thanks for the condolences. I'm feeling much better this evening, despite a rattly cough.
DeleteAnd I'll share that I did feel well enough (or convinced myself that I did) to go to friend's karaoke birthday party on Saturday night. It was great fun. My surprise hit of the evening was when the Beastie Boys' "Get It Together" came on and no one could remember who queued it up, but I (for reasons that only made sense in 1994) knew all the words--all seven minutes of them!--so I volunteered and managed to pull off the whole thing, with a modicum of attitude, too. (I received, and I quote, "mad props" for the performance.)
To be clear, I have not liked or listened to the Beastie Boys in about 30 years. But I'm glad that my first year of college came in handy this weekend.
Love the Beastie Boys story! I can't sing to save my life, but wondering if there could be a TLQ version of karaoke? A soundtrack to academic life, perhaps?
Delete100% there for TLQ Karaoke and soundtracks!!! It would be so much fun!!! Maybe a future session?
DeleteAlso LOVE the idea that items have to earn their way onto a TLQ list and not everything makes the cut... I'm going to think of some tasks that do not fit the bill, and remove them ruthlessly...
Anyone would think we were academics or something, because clutter of the book form is definitely one of the problems I need to sort out in my house too. They aren't falling off the shelves, they're too tightly packed for that - and every time I pull one off, I find other things, feathers and twigs and tickets and odd little pressed leaves which smell of saffron buns or incense. And there are the footsteps. Very small footsteps, so I'd assume they were mice, but they seem to be wearing shoes, or have hooves, or something. And I've not yet found any droppings.... And then there's the fridge and freezer, which are working perfectly but not plugged into anything, and there is NO mobile phone signal at all once you pass the old standing stone in the wall half way down the lane, although it's three bars the other side of the stone; actually, having no signal might be a good reason to keep this place as a weekend retreat!
ReplyDeleteI'm stressed, we're all stressed. Students are back, and the new student Welcome Talk was not improved by not one, but two, "incidents in which fine dust was allowed to escape" in one of the labs, which caused the fire alarm to go off, which led to total evacuation of the building into the carpark and having to wait around before going back. One student sidled up and mentioned that they have PTSD and sometimes get bad panic attacks at fire alarms. We also had a new student turn up in a wheelchair - we had NO idea we were expecting that, and are now scrambling to work out what to do about fieldwork (and classes scheduled into labs without height adjustable benches, and... big sigh). So THAT was not much fun, although at least it was sunny in the car park.
LAST WEEK:
Wasn't great. Very stressed about the voluntary redundancy thing, and about deadlines, and I had to take Mr Shoutypants to the vet for a very minor thing but they checked his teeth and he needs some dental work (sigh - but he's an 11 year old rescue so nothing unexpected), and then I got out of the car wrong, banged my knee hard on the door handle, and my bad hip "slipped" in the socket (it doesn't actually dislocate, it just sort of jumps a bit and excites ALL the nerves) so that was fun (I didn't faceplant on the pavement so that was a win), and then I rushed back from the vet to dial in to a University wide Town Hall about the cuts which was frankly highly demoralising and left us all convinced no one has a clue at higher levels. After that I decided I was done, called out of D&D and went to bed with a heat pad for my hip - and missed a great session, they finally managed to find, corner and deal with a pesky dragon which has been taking over people's dreams and eluding us for MONTHS. No fair! And Mr Shoutypants is mad with me not just because of the vet visit, but because he's lost his jungle gym (my new storage shelves). Le Big Sigh!
SELF CARE
Delete3x20 minutes of movement yes, slow, grumpy stretching and mobility stuff, but movement, intentionally done, not in the service of chores and necessities
reading, 1-2 creative things, 1-2 social things yes, yes, one
LIFE ADMIN
List for declutterer yes, and she was able to come, and now many many books and much yarn are out of boxes and on shelves/in nice containers, the new storage unit is full, and Mr Shoutypants can't play there any more, only on the tops
Get electrician quote for a couple of jobs nope, they had a cold and asked if I'd prefer to reschedule - I did! Hopefully tomorrow!
Take cat to vet (nothing serious, I believe) well the original issue (a claw growing oddly into a pad) was "nothing to worry about, just one of those things"
Don’t get lots more stuff well. Does a really cute set of playing cards where the suits are different varieties of squashes count as stuff?
TEACHING/WORK ADMIN
Sort out slides for first lectures yes
Sort out checking process for ViLE sites and assessments yes, and no one complained about the allocation of checkers (they may not have read the list...)
Get details of new system and start to set up my objectives if I can work out how yes. it's a PAIN
RESEARCH
Process more model output and set next model running for modelling based project yes, and all run
make list of all the other ‘ongoing stuff’ no, felt overwhelmed and gave up
Continue to try and make a reasonable fist of a lot of ethics paperwork have everything drafted for others to check
THIS WEEK:
Students are back, multiple new processes are launched (WHY can't they do that BEFORE we're also dealing with students?), and in general it's all go apart from I seem to have completely mislaid my get up and go!
SELF CARE
3x20 minutes of movement
reading, 1-2 creative things, 1-2 social things
LIFE ADMIN
Get electrician quote for a couple of jobs
Look at possible sofas
Don’t get lots more stuff
TEACHING/WORK ADMIN
Sort out slides for second week lectures
Sort out class bookings for student in wheelchair
Do thing about deadlines (I have to make sure no student has two assignment deadlines on the same day regardless of their option choices because one cannot stress the student with that. it is a sort of tetris like puzzle which I don't hate)
Finish typing in my objectives
RESEARCH
Process more model outputs ready for meeting next week
make list of all the other ‘ongoing stuff’
look at paper I said I'd help redraft
Draft abstract for conference and send to former grad student
Ooh, the footprints! I might have known your house would be a portal to Somewhere! This is going to be fun!
DeleteSorry about the hip--I also have a wonky hip, which has been behaving decently lately but I do know how wretched it is when they go off. And the whole redundancy thing sounds terribly energy-sapping (black hole in the basement?) so I think you did very well, considering everything. On the whole I think the new storage units are a Good Thing, though I understand Mr Shoutypants' complaints. (At our last house, for months we had a Box Castle in the living room until it all went into storage for a couple of years, & Glendower really missed that castle when it went.)
Also I think one deck of playing cards shows great restraint in the acquisition of Stuff. My afternoon required the acquisition of Moar Choclit and potato chips (crisps). I shall say no more!
DeleteCongratulations on the new organizational system! That must be a relief. And it's something nice that you can contemplate instead of tuning into the redundancy/budget/other University nonsense....
DeleteHope the satisfaction of the new shelves helps offset the hip and general stress. And I love your mysterious house.
DeleteMysteries are fun! I hope the footsteps belong to a friendly mystical critter that will add ambience to the house!
DeleteSympathies on that Welcome talk, that sounds hideously complicated and stressful. Offset by new organizational system I hope!
At first glance, there are no structural issues with my house, either, though I will get someone to take a look at the roof and siding: in the PNW, you want to be sure things are watertight, and with all those weird corners and angles, there are plenty of spots where something could go wrong. Inside there isn't much stuff, but oh the eyesores! Despite the very Sea Ranch-like exterior, the house seems to have been decorated by someone who wanted a traditional country farmhouse: there is twee wallpaper all over, one room is carpeted in bright red, another in grass green, and the (faded, dusty) curtains are printed with fruit, flowers, and pawprints. And there is a hideous fireplace in the family room: the actual opening isn't that big, but the whole wall is what appears to be composite rock/concrete (not nice interesting stone, sorry, Daisy, I'd be perfectly happy with real rock, but this is just ugly, and I cannot understand why they didn't use some local rock that would fit with the contemporary-outdoorsy theme of the house). Anyway, that wall HAS TO GO, and I hope that doesn't create a structural problem! I think I may have to hire a structural engineer to take a look. Portland is far enough inland that earthquakes aren't quite as much a problem as they are on the coast, but they're still something to keep in mind.
ReplyDeleteHow I Did:
- work on both M and S projects this week YES (for a one-sentence value of yes on S)
- 2 "write first" mornings, 3 "exercise first" mornings: YES
- grade grad quizzes, prep for both classes: YES ("barely" counts, right?)
- finishing touches to syllabuses, load more stuff to the ViLE: NO
- make 3 phone calls to schedule or re-schedule things: YES, though one was not among the 3 I had planned (and actually 2 were online booking, but whatever, 3 things have been scheduled)
- assorted stupid work admin things: SOME, and some remain, and more have been added unto me
- get back to latest round of editing tasks: NO
- spend an hour tidying my study (or somewhere!): 30 minutes, better than nothing!
- get-together with niece & great-nibs: YES, that was nice!
- find a good time for language work: NO, am still prepping on the days of group meetings, which I guess is better than no prep.
ALSO: made cookies; wrote some postcards from last summer's French trip (mas vale tarde que nunca); called a brother for his birthday.
New goals:
- work on both M and S projects this week
- 2 "write first" mornings, 3 "exercise first" mornings
- grade grad quizzes, prep for both classes
- prep for guest lecture
- finishing touches to syllabuses, load more stuff to the ViLE
- make 1 phone call to schedule a shot
- assorted stupid work admin things including minimum necessary prep for committee meetings (3 this week!) and an application to process
- get back to latest round of editing tasks
- spend an hour tidying my study (or somewhere!)
- find a good time for language work
I like your alternating "write first"/"exercise first" mornings! Maybe I should try that, once I'm back in form. It sounds like you had a productive week.
DeleteThe house reminds me a little bit of a house that we once looked at to consider buying--it was SO UGLY inside, really unbelievable. The stairs down to the basement/garage (actually two garages, one within the other, which was baffling) was carpeted--floors, walls, AND CEILING--with red shag carpeting! It was like walking into a throat. And the bathtub had great heavy red velvet curtains that pooled on the floor. And the kitchen had about six different country/cowboy style decorating details, none of which matched the others. There was also a fireplace that sounds a bit like what you describe!
Fake rocks are the worst for decor... Totally approve yanking those out and replacing them with something real!
DeleteI am going to steal the exercise first/write first approach for a few weeks, will report back!
Hmmm… My house is definitely going to need some work. Turns out the flat part of the roof that is the balcony needs to be patched. It rained and much of that ended up indoors… The slate floor on the main level is beautiful, and very, very cold… The entire back wall of the main floor consists of bookshelves, and they appear to contain leather-bound notebooks that look very fragile. I am very much hoping the scrabbling noises I hear in the chimney are not actual chimney swifts… I do NOT need a chimney full of endangered birds!
ReplyDeleteThis week’s goals
Prepare research talk for visit to former home town DONE, FABULOUS
Read and edit student paper draft NOPE
Read and edit more student chapters YES
Do admin for upcoming meeting YES
Book flights for interesting trip in October NOPE
The chaos of the first two weeks of term is dissipating somewhat. Every time I finish one piece of writing (mostly reports right now) another one or two take its place… The tasks are just breeding like rabbits… Not the nice fluffy kind, more the Monty Python-style rabbits…
This week’s goals
Read and edit student paper draft
Prep for upcoming meeting
Book flights for interesting trip in October
Something fun with friends
Write report thing for previous report, to clarify report…
Exercise!!!!!!!
No swifts in the chimney . . . how about bats in the belfry, instead? So glad your research talk went well! Yay! Good luck fighting off the killer bunnies this week!
Delete