Since it's a long session this time, we're just now at the halfway point. W/r/t your own term, YMMV. For USians, Thanksgiving throws things off with a break late in the semester. At LRU, this always makes things awkward, with everyone including faculty pretty much braindead and longing for it all to be over after T'day. Anyway, I have about 4 weeks left in which to do actual teaching before holiday-brain kicks in for all my students.
The theme this week is Tackle A Problem: Unforeseen Complications Result. In other words, it gets worse before it gets better. What will you tackle in your house, and what could possibly go wrong? (At least two of you can blame it on Frank! We may all have our own Franks after this week.)
I expect your comments will be three-or four-parters: response to the theme (if you feel like it); checking on your session goals (if you can bear it); and then reporting on last week's goals and setting new ones for the coming week. Session goals appear first (names in colour); last week's goals appear second (names bolded but not coloured).
Midterm check-in on session goals:
JaneB
SELF CARE:
* keeping up an intentional movement habit
* saying "let me think about it" whenever I want to say yes. Even for
good things.
* doing non-work things every week - reading, 1-2 creative things, 1-2 social
things which can be online/a call
LIFE ADMIN/ENVIRONMENT
* financial stuff - end session with a clear path to a decision about the next
few years
* finish the Living Room Project, maybe start the Flooring Project
TEACHING/WORK ADMIN:
* be two weeks ahead of ViLE/teaching prep for as long as possible, and never
less than one week.
* have the basics in place (e.g. ViLE, weekly outline) for next semester by the
end of this session
* as part of new admin role, have the same sort of level of understanding of
all the programmes in the School as I currently have for my home cluster
* get through all the new appraisal system nonsense (I now have more
"devolved responsibilities", and the new online system is annoying,
slow, and not really compatible with an academic's work - one size fits no-one
in administrative software form).
RESEARCH:
* complete all the modelling and have a first draft for the modelling based
project
* get the darn collaborative paper revised again and resubmitted (and I really
hope accepted!)
* be realistic about what I can contribute to the policy reviews and to the big
annoying project
* progress at least two other research related projects (I'll make a list for
myself this week of where everything I have now is at for checking at the end
of the session).
Julie
1. Research
i) Big Article: finish draft (carried over from last session), get feedback,
hopefully submit to journal.
ii) Paper for conference end of October: haven't started yet.
iii) Revisions/proof checking of other article and chapter as and when needed.
iv) Research leave report (due start of term)
2. Teaching
i) Big new first-year team-taught module, for which I am convenor: organise
ViLE site, herd other tutors, finalise readings for my seminars, write two
lectures this term.
ii) Small first-year module (one seminar group): teaching this after several
years' break. Revise old version to fit new format, update readings, maybe
rethink assessment.
iii) Second-year module: organise ViLE site, update reading list, remind myself
of content.
iv) Plan seminars and submit reading suggestions for two other modules, for
which I am giving one seminar on each next term.
v) Meet with dissertation students (nine so far and counting), read proposals,
check in regularly.
3. Admin/citizenship
i) Mentoring for three colleagues, one new.
4. Life admin/house
i) Ongoing financial stuff
ii) Finish organising study (I just got a new height-adjustable desk, finally,
and ergonomic chair): frame and hang pictures, organise papers.
iii) Ditto spare room: finish decluttering, get new chair.
iv) Clear more stuff from garage
5. Kids
i) Get daughter to university, adjust to not having her at home.
ii) Be present for son, who has an intense year with important exams at the
end.
6. Self-care/fun
i) Read
ii) Journal
iii) Exercise: keep up running (maybe join a club), try to find weights or
pilates class that works with schedule.
iv) TV: finish the Vuelta, watch new episodes of a couple of favourite series
once released (works well with ironing/sorting laundry)
v) Really try to get to bed at reasonable times.
vi) More creative stuff: cook new recipes, bake, carry on with painting by
numbers, cross-stitch.
Susan
Research:
1. Write papers, push ahead with reading microfilms I scanned last spring.
2. Try to figure out where this project goes -- a short book, a long article,
or??? I have lots of tidbits, but I'm not sure I have anything coherent, and
I'm sure in some of my papers I'll talk about that. Because the tidbits are
about important things, and are also (to me) interesting.
LIFE:
I return to my new condo in two weeks after over two months away.
1. Finish unpacking
2. Figure out what I shouldn't have kept and figure out how to get rid of it
3. Make the place my home, a place I can easily live and host friends and
family
4. Start building community in my new place, figuring out my new networks
OTHER:
Get back into regular exercise
Heu mihi
in addition to staying afloat:
1. Work: Create a committee to brainstorm ways of keeping our department alive
(I'm calling it Departmental Revitalization) and have something to show for it
at the end of the semester.
2. Writing: Complete draft of messy novel, which means writing about 30,000
words (I just rounded the corner on 50k). That's roughly 2500-3000 words/week.
3. Survival and self-care: Exercise 4-5 times a week; sit more than 0 times;
read and knit for fun
4. Submit TLQ responses on Monday at least 75% of the time!
Dame Eleanor Hull
Research:
- final revisions on W and get it gone
- draft of festschrift essay
- draft of handbook chapter
Teaching:
- stay on top of frequent small assignments for grad class
- devise reasonable final exam for that class
- have fun with other class
- read dissertators' chapters promptly
- write syllabuses for potential future classes
Admin:
- keep up with committee work but keep it in its place
Life Stuff:
- do something with friends/family at least once a month
- make my study habitable
- make some measurable progress on cleaning the garage
- hire other people to do at least 2 house-related projects
Daisy
One first-author journal paper
Two student journal papers
Three exercise sessions per week
Something fun every week
Teach well
Be a decent Head
LAST WEEK'S GOALS:
JaneB
SELF CARE
3x20 minutes of movement
reading, 1-2 creative things, 1 social thing online
LIFE ADMIN
Look at possible sofas
Don’t get lots more stuff
Start Christmas Lists
TEACHING/WORK ADMIN
Finish all slides for fifth week lectures, sort out sixth week materials
Survive this week's classes
Do "cold spot analysis", sigh.
Nag people to reply to review emails
work out how to make software let me do reviews
RESEARCH
Process more model outputs
Make list of all the other ‘ongoing stuff’
Systematic Review meeting
Resubmit re-re-rewrite of the group paper I got cross about in late September
Do comments on version two of paper for not-my-grad-student
Julie
1. Prep for three lots of seminars.
2. Finish writing lecture
3. Finish writing presentation for workshop and deliver it.
4. Meet with one mentee, go to long and pointless meeting.
5. Final check of article proofs
6. House/life admin: son's doctor's appointment, maybe ring dentist, sister's
birthday.
7. Self-care/fun: ha ha ha. Enjoy time with daughter who is home for a few days
at the weekend.
Susan
1. Finish the paper!
2. Unpack 4 more boxes in my office so that I can close the closet.
3. Exercise?
4. Enjoy time with colleagues, and enjoy new conference group
Heu mihi
1. Write 3000 words
2. Exercise
3. Sit twice
4. Ad hoc committee work
5. Nominate friend for an award
6. Take a weekend day off
Dame Eleanor Hull
- work on both M and S projects this week
- 2 "write first" mornings, 3 "exercise first" mornings
- assorted grading & teaching prep
- do one annual training
- get back to latest round of editing tasks
- clear at least one surface in my study
- work both W and F afternoons to clear the weekend for a road trip/party
Daisy
Read and edit student paper
Read and edit student chapters
Marking
Data prep for coauthors
Sample processing
Exercise 3 times
Tackling a problem and it all gets worse, oh dear! Briefly, I'm going to try to turn out one of the big bookcases, only to have it come away from the wall and turn out to be a door into... another room full of books and boxes and assorted oddities, defended by an arrow-trap. Fortunately they are squirrel-sized arrows, and I only suffered a couple of scratches, but I needed to apply that brandy quite liberally for the shock! I'm adding another bottle to my shopping list, just in case...
ReplyDeleteSESSION GOALS
This session is a slog, and it's not JUST me - most of my colleagues are finding things difficult, between the whole cost-cutting thing (we've lost one full time colleague and two part time already) and the building problems thing and poor recruitment and the general state of the world... the new first years are starting to be a little more chatty, at least, and developing a quietly witty collective personality which is a nice contrast to the chaotic high-energy second years and perennially scatty but thoughtful third years. All my bad habits are back and I am struggling with capacity, but we keep going whilst we can. And Mr Shoutypants is having a Very Energetic Phase - he loves the new shelves, they are apparently an excellent jungle gym, and his midnight up and down the stairs dashes are repeated at 3am and often just before dawn too. At least he seems to have removed my bed's headboard from the sprint route after a few Accidental Human Wakenings leading to Impromptu Flying Lessons!
SELF CARE:
* keeping up an intentional movement habit well I haven't had a zero week yet! This one is wobbly but essential, keep
* saying "let me think about it" whenever I want to say yes. Even for good things. er... ish? keep!
* doing non-work things every week - reading, 1-2 creative things, 1-2 social things which can be online/a call yes, at a pretty minimal level but yes. And necessary! So keep
LIFE ADMIN/ENVIRONMENT
* financial stuff - end session with a clear path to a decision about the next few years necessary, but hard given all the stresses, so keep but not optimistic about making much progress
* finish the Living Room Project, maybe start the Flooring Project the shelves are in, the electrician is booked - the last main step is a sofa so, keep. The other project, no!
TEACHING/WORK ADMIN:
Delete* be two weeks ahead of ViLE/teaching prep for as long as possible, and never less than one week. so far I am ABOUT two weeks ahead - timetabling wasn't great and I had some issues where I need the data from a lab class to put into the materials for the following week's data analysis class where I couldn't be very far ahead, but overall I am still doing this and it is really helping when my work-willingness collapses mid-week! Keep
* have the basics in place (e.g. ViLE, weekly outline) for next semester by the end of this session ooff. Maybe not. Since we don't know what is happening with regards to people leaving, or possibly needing to take cuts in hours, plus the Teaching Tsar for the whole university wants us to do mid-year removals of small modules which includes my third year module next trimester (small year group = 14 signed up for my option, and 15 is the minimum). This probably isn't realistic, so it stays on the list aspirationally but is not something I expect to do
* as part of new admin role, have the same sort of level of understanding of all the programmes in the School as I currently have for my home cluster this is going slowly but I know more than I did, and I definitely know more about who is curmudeonly, who is outright rude, and who blatently ignores all the rules than I did!
* get through all the new appraisal system nonsense (I now have more "devolved responsibilities", and the new online system is annoying, slow, and not really compatible with an academic's work - one size fits no-one in administrative software form). I've been appraised, set up appointments for 7 of the 8 I need to do - the 8th is a colleague who is leaving under the first phase of the exit scheme so we agreed no point in meeting! - and done one - can't finish it off because the computer system is not yet set up for us to actually enter the "paperwork" but, oh well. Keep because I have to.
RESEARCH:
* complete all the modelling and have a first draft for the modelling based project we've done all the modelling we think we need, and are about half way through condensing outputs into figures for the paper. It'll be tight to have the first draft, but the zero draft is feasible
* get the darn collaborative paper revised again and resubmitted (and I really hope accepted!) yes, it's submitted! Just waiting to see...
* be realistic about what I can contribute to the policy reviews and to the big annoying project rant rant rant. Big annoying project is annoying! keep
* progress at least two other research related projects (I'll make a list for myself this week of where everything I have now is at for checking at the end of the session). Several are making progress: I still don't have a "where we were at the start" list though.
I think the progress I'm making says more about how many of the work goals are not REALLY TLQ, in that they do have to happen, than me being productive. We're at the end of week 4 of a 12 week teaching period right now, so a third of the way through...
LAST WEEK:
DeleteSELF CARE
3x20 minutes of movement two
reading, 1-2 creative things, 1 social thing online yes, in scraps, yes - crochet and a simple Hallowe'en card for my nibling who LOVES Hallowe'en, chatted and played D&D with the nibling on discord
LIFE ADMIN
Look at possible sofas no, daunting
Don’t get lots more stuff nothing not edible... and ate some of the edible even though it was meant to be kept for end of year things. ooops!
Start Christmas Lists not yet, but I had an Idea for very difficult male parent (he's in his 90s and at the "everything is too difficult" stage which means he refuses all offered technical solutions or new things, so it's not easy for anyone)
TEACHING/WORK ADMIN
Finish all slides for fifth week lectures, sort out sixth week materials done!
Survive this week's classes yes, went quite well this time
Do "cold spot analysis", sigh. I assembled what data I have, just need to write a summary and possibly nag AGAIN the people who DON'T REPLY TO EMAILS
Nag people to reply to review emails everyone is now herded, one with the help of the faculty administrator
work out how to make software let me do reviews it won't let me, but that's out of my control and at least I now KNOW that!
RESEARCH
Process more model outputs yes, one of the three big batches is now done - the first one is always the slowest too
Make list of all the other ‘ongoing stuff’ er no
Systematic Review meeting yes, a lot more work to do
Resubmit re-re-rewrite of the group paper I got cross about in late September yes, at last. I hate online paper submission processes! Also co-authors who decide to make last last last minute changes.
Do comments on version two of paper for not-my-grad-student yes. It's still a MESS but less than the first version
THIS WEEK
This weekend we had two storms in quick succession hit the UK - one went mostly south of where I am, although we had a wet and squally end to the week, and the other has been hammering the house - so the extra hour of sleep from the clock change was very cosy, but Mr Shoutypants has been very suspicious of the wind-in-the-chimney noises. And he's still a bit cross about only getting Expensive Tiny Tins of smelly catfood once a day.
This week, I only need to go onto campus one day, but on another day I have a lunchtime dental check up, so I'll need to work a few extra hours on the non-campus days to get the week's hours, and it will all balance out. It's my birthday on Sunday next (I'm a Hallowe'en leftover according to my Mum), and the following week has quite intensive teaching (three 2 hour classes for different modules on one day!), so I'm hoping for a calm week with good sleep and better eating habits. But we think we should get an update about further cuts to be made around Christmas, so that is lurking (plus dentist. Do not enjoy visiting dentist!).
SELF CARE
3x20 minutes of movement
reading, 1-2 creative things, 1 social thing online
LIFE ADMIN
Look at possible sofas
Don’t get lots more stuff
Start Christmas Lists
Mail Halloween treats to nibling
TEACHING/WORK ADMIN
Work on slides for eighth week lectures
Survive this week's classes
Finish off "cold spot analysis", sigh.
Work out how to make software let me do reviews (I should be able to at least access the training materials next week)
Mock viva for masters by thesis student
RESEARCH
Process more model outputs
Make list of all the other ‘ongoing stuff’
Systematic Review do next block of scoring
Do a structural rewrite of version two of paper for not-my-grad-student
Work on rewrite of paper with recent undergrad
It sounds like a lot of positive progress, even if the stuff isn't "strictly" TLQ--but I see a lot on your lists that could be pushed off and that you're working on nonetheless! I'm sorry about all the work nonsense, though.
DeleteI love the hidden room, and also the "pacing" of discovering it only now! I know I've said it before, but I do wish you could retire to write fantasy novels . . . I'd read them all with such pleasure!
DeleteWould totally pre-order any book you write!
DeleteThank you for your confidence that I could write something worth reading? One day I at least get to try!
DeleteI start trying to clear more clutter from the attic only to have a stack of boxes come crashing down spectacularly, spilling contents everywhere. Coins and small items slip through cracks in the floorboards, papers go everywhere, all sorts of random items. I just made the decluttering task ten times worse.
ReplyDeleteSession goals - this is actually a good point for a mid-term check-in, as the things that were looming most heavily at the start of term, namely, the workshop presentation and two new lectures, are done (I give the second lecture tomorrow, it will be fine so long as no one asks me a difficult question about the bits of Chinese history I added to make it a global history lecture). I still have a lot of teaching to go, but it feels more manageable so long as I keep to a schedule for prepping stuff.
Keeping all session goals currently: the teaching are all ones that, like JaneB's, have to happen anyway. On the research, I can move last week's presentation to the back burner for a time while I wait to hear about publication plans, and go back to Big Article. I haven't written the leave report yet, oops, but no one has chased for me it either. I need to get back to using my non-working days to deal with life admin.
So nice to have some things off your plate at midterm!
DeletePrepping schedules are so helpful as long as they can be kept to! Mine is going suspiciously well (my balance changed this year - my final year module moved from this semester to next, and I'm still a bit off balance by how much difference taking that off this semester's plate has made, even though it was already prepared and only one class a week. Normally at this point I'm barely keeping up, and right now I am two week's worth of photocopying and slides on the ViLE ahead of schedule. It feels suspicious...
DeleteLast week:
ReplyDelete1. Prep for three lots of seminars. - JUST ABOUT
2. Finish writing lecture - YES (today)
3. Finish writing presentation for workshop and deliver it. - YES
4. Meet with one mentee, go to long and pointless meeting. - NO (she cancelled because of car trouble), YES (it was long and pointless, but I won brownie points with Head of Department for going)
5. Final check of article proofs - YES
6. House/life admin: son's doctor's appointment, maybe ring dentist, sister's birthday. - YES, STILL NO, YES
7. Self-care/fun: ha ha ha. Enjoy time with daughter who is home for a few days at the weekend. -YES
The Oxford workshop was fun, interesting papers and chat, but intense, with a long train journey either side. Feel I'm still recovering, and no time to do any wandering, sadly. The storm hasn't been as intense here: very windy, but nothing too dramatic.
This week:
1. Prep for two lots of seminars.
2. Mark first assignments for dissertation students and meet with some of them.
3. Submit form for annual progression review.
4. House/life admin: ring dentist, doctor's appointment, collect prescription, book car for service and MOT.
5. Self-care/fun: read, journal, start running again if back OK, carry on enjoying having daughter home (until Thursday morning).
Sounds like a busy couple of weeks. I'm glad that Oxford went well!
DeleteThat does sound hectic!
DeleteIn lieu of answering the prompt (I'm sorry, they're great prompts, I'm just so tired), I'm going to write about an actual unexpected problem that fell upon me last week, through my own stupidity, I'm afraid.
ReplyDeleteOn Wednesday, I had a few morning meetings, and then a few late-afternoon things, but a good 4 hours in the middle. My plan was to swim early, do the morning/breakfast/get out the door stuff, then have my meetings and a nice long stretch of time in which to focus and move forward on a couple of things. I might even leave my building for lunch!
Here's what happened instead. At the start of my 5:30 am swim, I used my new goggle de-fogging drops, which had been recommended to me by someone and which I'd used several times before. At the very end of my swim--almost 40 minutes later--my left eye started to become irritated. Whatever; I have sensitive eyes. I showered etc., but on the (short) drive home found that my eye was hurting so much that I could barely keep it open. Things got worse through breakfast, and finally my husband took me to Urgent Care after dropping our son at school. I took the drops with me...and it turns out that de-fogging drops for dive masks are VERY different from those for swim goggles! At this point, I had sunglasses and a hood pulled down over my face to keep the light out, and I could hardly open either eye, although the right one felt fine.
To fix this problem, they had me bathe my eyeballs in the eyewash thing (15 minutes on the left side, only 5 on the right), and then put some kind of numbing drop in them so the doctor could see what was going on. I had corneal abrasions! On both sides! But much worse on the left. I was given an ointment to apply four times a day to prevent infection and sent home.
Obviously I had canceled all of my appointments by then (typing very badly on my phone; I was unable to even look at a computer screen, it was so painful), and I spent most of the day on the back porch with a sleep mask on. I slept a lot, once the pain had subsided. Because the pain for the first few hours was terrible. Really horrible.
Thankfully, corneas heal really quickly, and I was about 90% fine on Thursday--just a little photosensitive. Completely fine by Friday. I still have to apply the goo four times a day until a week is up, but other than that I'm okay.
The moral of the story: READ THE WARNING LABELS ON ANY DROPS THAT ARE GOING ANYWHERE NEAR YOUR EYES! Because yes, the bottle plainly said, "Not for use in swim goggles."
And on to the check in:
Session goals:
in addition to staying afloat:
1. Work: Create a committee to brainstorm ways of keeping our department alive (I'm calling it Departmental Revitalization) and have something to show for it at the end of the semester. - YES, although with a blander name! We have our second meeting next week.
2. Writing: Complete draft of messy novel, which means writing about 30,000 words (I just rounded the corner on 50k). That's roughly 2500-3000 words/week. - I'm on track, I think, at just shy of 70,000 words.
3. Survival and self-care: Exercise 4-5 times a week; sit more than 0 times; read and knit for fun - YES, mostly!
4. Submit TLQ responses on Monday at least 75% of the time! - ?? Maybe??
Last week:
1. Write 3000 words - CLOSE: About 2500, which is excellent considering the eye problem
2. Exercise - YES, only missed one day
3. Sit twice - YES!
4. Ad hoc committee work - SOME (on Sunday)
5. Nominate friend for an award. - YES, actually wrote several award nominations, because that's part of my job as chair. We're a huge department that has not been very visible in this respect, and I'm trying to change that.
6. Take a weekend day off - NO, because I didn't work on Wednesday, but I did have a really nice weekend with some solitude and a lot of uninterrupted time
This week's goals:
1. Write 3000 words
2. Finish external review for other university
3. Submit all nominations and one application (for myself)
4. Begin work on *our* external review: figure out how to divide tasks among program directors
5. Exercise
6. Sit twice
Oh, OW, your poor eyes! So glad you're recovering nicely, but that sounds perfectly wretched. I'm madly impressed by all you've done in spite of that unhappy episode.
DeleteOh, dear. That sounds miserable!
DeleteOoh, that sounds so painful! Glad they healed quickly. So impressed by how much writing you are doing despite everything.
DeleteOuch! Eye problems are so TIRING, quite apart from the pain and the worry.
DeleteProblem: that fake rock wall. It's a structural wall . . . or should be. Apparently the only thing holding up the house on that side is the fake rocks. So there need to be steel beams put in place, somehow, before destroying the wall? Or scaffolding, and then destruction, then beams, then rebuild? The structural engineer just advises; I'm the one who has to hire a contractor. Ack and Ugh.
ReplyDeleteSession goals, considering:
Research:
- final revisions on W and get it gone: YES, DONE, YAY, CROSS OFF!
- draft of festschrift essay: Whimper . . . must keep, must finish.
- draft of handbook chapter: more whimpering, same.
Teaching:
- stay on top of frequent small assignments for grad class: Keep, so far so reasonably okay (but see weekly goals below)
- devise reasonable final exam for that class: Keep
- have fun with other class: Keep, so far so good.
- read dissertators' chapters promptly: um, make that read a chapter before the end of the session
- write syllabuses for potential future classes: Keep, I guess, but not currently a priority
Admin:
- keep up with committee work but keep it in its place: AMEN TO THAT
Life Stuff:
- do something with friends/family at least once a month: YES SO FAR and KEEP
- make my study habitable: Keep! A work in progress, to be sure.
- make some measurable progress on cleaning the garage: OK LET'S DUMP THIS ONE!
- hire other people to do at least 2 house-related projects: Does the new water heater count if it wasn't on my radar at the start of the session? We're getting a whole batch of plumbing-related things done, anyway.
How I did, last week:
- work on both M and S projects this week: YES
- 2 "write first" mornings, 3 "exercise first" mornings: YES
- assorted grading & teaching prep: finally finished loading stuff to the ViLE! But forgot all about short grad assignments so now I have 2 sets for this week.
- do one annual training: TWO! And one today (totally unrelated to anything I do, yet mandatory . . . that's an hour I could have devoted to my actual job).
- get back to latest round of editing tasks: NO
- clear at least one surface in my study: NO
- work both W and F afternoons to clear the weekend for a road trip/party: YES (that was a lot of driving & I'm not sure it was worth it, but if a change is as good as a feast then I've had one).
ALSO: A very good week for exercise: swam 3 miles, machine cardio + weights twice; heard back from library & I will not be able to visit the MS I wanted to see; wrote about 4600 words all told; turned in course preference forms for next year; got my car's emissions checked.
Goals for the coming week:
Delete- Book December flights
- process 2 short grad assignments & 3 late or resubmitted papers
- comment on undergrad revised proposals
- complete rough & messy drafts of both M & S essays
- do last annual training
- get car registration sticker
- prep for & deliver talk about the b00k lab
- gym at least x3 (pool was closed this morning, not sure when repairs will be completed . . .)
- put up spider-web decoration before Saturday (another ALSO item last week was plopping golden mums in blue pots, very pretty & autumnal out front)
Ooh! I just discovered that the due date for S draft is end of November, not start of it! I am saved! (Of course there is quite a lot to do just for M, and I will still need to do S in November, but I am not in such bad shape as I thought, so this is very encouraging!)
DeleteWow! You've done so much! I hate those annual trainings; what a waste of time. But it sounds like you did a lot of other, much more important things last week!
DeleteThe joy of discovering a deadline is later than you thought! Hope you now get to breathe.
DeleteYippee for the better deadline!
DeleteWell, I missed the week where we acknowledged that our new place was not perfect, so I get to tell you about the faux wood paneling (very 70s) in the main downstairs room. I really can't believe that the man I was going to marry would have left it, but people are strange. Anyway, this week I decided the time had come for the paneling to go. So, in a fit of DIY enthusiasm, I started pulling it off the walls. That paneling comes off very easily. But behind the paneling on one wall was a pornographic mural painted by Francis Bacon, who had apparently spent a holiday there. On the other walls were detailed equations for what appeared to be top secret military plans. So my renovations are stalled while MI5 and the Tate Modern come in and remove the valuable things. So I can still cook in the kitchen area, but the rest of my main room is unusable.
ReplyDeleteSession Goals:
Research:
1. Write papers, push ahead with reading microfilms I scanned last spring. YES, on track
2. Try to figure out where this project goes -- a short book, a long article, or??? I have lots of tidbits, but I'm not sure I have anything coherent, and I'm sure in some of my papers I'll talk about that. Because the tidbits are about important things, and are also (to me) interesting. I THINK I KNOW.
LIFE:
I return to my new condo in two weeks after over two months away.
1. Finish unpacking NOT YET
2. Figure out what I shouldn't have kept and figure out how to get rid of it STILL DOING IT
3. Make the place my home, a place I can easily live and host friends and family WORKING ON IT
4. Start building community in my new place, figuring out my new networks A BIT
OTHER:
Get back into regular exercise NOT REALLY
I mean, my goals were basically what I'd do living my life, so I'm delighted to say I'm doing it. (And thankfully, I don't need MI5 in my living room, I just need a sofa!) My current goal is to have enough done so that I can have a new year's party. (Which will be on January 2, because I live above the Rose Bowl, where the iconic US parade and football game happen on January 1.)
Goals from last week:
1. Finish the paper! YES
2. Unpack 4 more boxes in my office so that I can close the closet. NO
3. Exercise? SOME
4. Enjoy time with colleagues, and enjoy new conference group YES
I mean, I made it through last week! I got my paper done, did some unpacking, and had a great time at the conference, met some interesting people, and maybe have a new group in my life. (But they are a level of disorganized that worries me, because I can move quickly into leadership.)
This week: It's already Tuesday morning and I leave early tomorrow for one of my annual conferences in Chicago. So there's not much happening. I have my paper drafted, though it needs a few touches. In Chicago I see a great group of friends, and have plans to hang out with one in particular.
Goals:
1. Unpack two more boxes
2. Polish paper
3. Have fun with friends
4. Clean house when I get home
HA! I love your unanticipated discovery! Have a great trip, & enjoy the Windy City!
DeleteHave fun in Chicago, and what a terrific imaginary house update!
DeleteOk, I think you win the discovery of a problem, although JaneB's biker squirrels come close. I also love that in this life (and possibly IRL?) you can recognise that a bunch of equations are actually top military secrets!
DeleteLast weekend I was at Los Alamos, and you can't spend a weekend there without knowing the power of math!
DeleteI love your unexpected problem! Also envy of having visited Los Alamos, a definite nerdy wish list item
DeleteOh look it is only Wednesday.... Progress!
ReplyDeleteUnforeseen problem… Frank is back… Frank chewed through my back porch, tunneled into the small room that serves as a pantry, made a nest, and… had nine little baby Franks… (Which is really kind of excessive, but what can you do…). It does explain why Frank was kind of shaped like a beach ball and highly motivated to move in. I cannot move them now, so I’ve moved all the things in the pantry out (fortunately it is very small and I’ve not had time to put stuff there), closed the door, and now only go in once a day to provide cat food and water for Mommy Frank. Because a dead Frank would be infinitely worse than a live Frank… Wildlife officer said to stay out of their way, don’t interact, and eventually they will leave. Right…
IRL I feel like I am finally catching up, so that is good!
Session goals
One first-author journal paper KEEP, ZERO PROGRESS BUT KEEP
Two student journal papers KEEP, SOME PROGRESS SO LIKELY TO BE OK
Three exercise sessions per week KEEP
Something fun every week KEEP, SOME SUCCESS
Teach well KEEP, MOSTLY BEING DONE
Be a decent Head KEEP, DEFINITELY BEING DONE
This week’s goals
Read and edit student paper ONGOING
Read and edit student chapters DID NOT GET SUBMITTED SO NOT MY FAULT
Marking DONE
Data prep for coauthors DONE
Sample processing ONGOING
Exercise 3 times YES!!!!!
OH MY. Oh dear. Bread and cat food for Frances! Congrats on the exercise and finishing the marking! (And I was going to say that today is only Tuesday but it isn't, you're right, it's Wednesday, so that says something about my headspace right now. Wishful thinking!)
DeletePart of me still thinks baby raccoons would be cute, but I can appreciate that something that can tunnel through walls has to be a menace. Can you lure them out somehow? if you get a cat, would that persuade them to leave, or do raccoons tend to win in those scenarios?
DeleteI'm sorry about Frank and baby Franks. Racoons will do in cats. They are NOT nice. They may be cut, but not nice.
DeleteI may have mentioned that our cats love watching the live nature shows happening before their very eyes on the deck, outside the sliding glass doors. The Chipmunk Channel is probably their favorite, but Squirrel Skirmishes and Bird Escapades are also well-liked. At night, however, the Horror Show aka Raccoon Visits lead to horripilation!
DeleteP.S. They are also about triple the size of cats.
DeleteI just realized I forgot to set actual goals this week... Oh well...
DeleteI'm totally blaming Frank...
Frank and the little Frankettes make excellent scapegoats! My sister is getting a new puppy from a breeder she knows, and I have been getting weekly "pupdates" from about 5 days old (she visits every weekend and sends pictures and short videos) - I'm not a dog person but all baby animals are adorable, and the puppies have begun to develop serious little eyebrows this week (5 week old cocker spaniels) which make their wobbly exploring and tumbling around even more cute).
Delete