In My New Office

A little claustrophobic with boxes, but I'm back in my (newly renovated) old office building in a different office.  This office is a bit smaller (but there are smaller still so I shouldn't complain) which provides me with a good excuse for getting rid of a bunch of stuff.

I am impatient to be unpacked;  I'm switching off between emptying boxes and doing regular work (class preparation, writing, correspondence).

Trying to Focus

It is so hard to focus on work during Summer Break, when all the other faculty are out playing in the sun.

That's being facetious.  To be honest, without structure I have a much harder time staying disciplined.  I guess that I mean external structure, since I could easily schedule how much I want to get done when.

I am trying to do class preparation and write.  I've hardly written anything, but at least I'm getting somewhere on having all of the first week of class stuff ready to go.

I do like teaching a lot more than writing.

Writing

I'm working on a talk that I'll give next month.  I started it then set it aside and then really started avoiding it.

Even this post is a way of avoiding working on it;  at least I've got an outline in development from the abstract that I submitted.

The transition into creating is hard to make but when I do get going it is hard to stop.

Summer Travels

Visiting family in two states this fortnight.  Started out with a funeral.  It's weird:  I know all these people, but we have nothing to talk about.

Road Trip

Time for another trip to see our families in the Northeast.  This time we have a funeral viewing to get to, so we'll do part of the trip tonight and the rest tomorrow.  I feel that a lot of the responsibility for making the logistics work out falls to me, and yet I have little say in the planning. so it is a source of tension with my wife.

The kids are better-behaved but my daughter still thinks pretty much entirely in terms of her wants as opposed to what works for the rest of us.  I don't really enjoy traveling with my family much.

Still In Recovery

Well, I lost five pounds this past week.  I also go a lot (Annual Report, draft of Crista reference, Laura's expense tally) done at work as well.  I stayed awake through the last two homilies at church.  And while I am still getting winded on my walks, I'm not winded at the beginning, which is an improvement.

I am getting better, although I still have strong mood swings.  Better is good, much better than worse.

No Longer Chair

Well, as of Thursday I am no longer department chair.  I have unfinished business (completing the annual report, yuck) but I am no longer as responsible as I have been.

It has been hard to focus on what I want to do at work; I am definitely worn out mentally.  I need to get into a routine.

Already I am sleeping more which feels good, and yet my sleep is troubled and my body still aches all over.  I need to give it time to recover from the long-term sleep deprivation.