Friendly Visits
Oh August, I both love and hate you. I love you because you are still considered summer.
I also hate you because you’re so close to the semester. In many ways, I’m looking forward to the semester because I will see my colleagues, I have a great time teaching, and this may sound strange, but I’m looking forward to a more structured schedule. However, the beginning of the semester means the end of the summer and a big let down for me as it usually happens that I am not able to finish all the great plans and projects I had lined up for the summer.
August, you are also a time to visit with friends and this is another reason I love you. In general, summer allows me to return to a normal life in many ways. I get my weekends back. I sometimes spend week day evenings doing fun things. Days are spent on house projects. Get this, sometimes we even take a vacation! I know, crazy. So, I like to take advantage of this last month before the semester starts to get in one last visit (or in many instances, just one visit) with my friends. In the end this works out very well because dinners with friends and long weekends are a nice break from the stressful weeks leading up to the semester.
What exactly happened to the summer?
With just a few days left in July I find myself asking the questions, what the hell happened to summer? I know I spent some time goofing off, but not a couple months! I do have some things to show for summer like a freshly painted entryway, a new kitten, a draft of a grant proposal, some work towards my research, lecture notes for a class this Fall, and a vacation. Ah, yes, that’s what happened to summer.
Still, it doesn’t feel like I’ve done that much. Or, maybe my anxiety at the summer ending has to do with the fact that the number of unfinished projects is still bigger than the number of finished (or semi-finished) projects? Or maybe this has to do with the fact that during the summer I don’t have to teach and hence my schedule is a little more . . . free . . . ok, lazy.
Here’s my list from before. Let’s take a look at where I am now.
- Plan out new courses . . . (Sounds so easy right?) ——– ok, well I have three new courses this coming academic year: one in the Fall and two in the Spring. I have almost complete lecture notes (and even some homework sets!!!) for my Fall course.
Plan & run teacher workshop (one of said summer projects)Write talk & attend conference in Belgium- Make teaching portfolio
Paint entryway- Write Freshman Seminar Proposal ———- I may not have started the course proposal but I do have a detailed schedule and by the end of today I will have a syllabus.
- Repaint heavily traveled areas in the house
- Organize office
- Work on research ———- I did some work with my advisor and he should be sending me a paper soon to be edited (to be submitted by the end of the summer).
House centipede
Every find any of these guys in your house?
Creepy long bugs with hundreds of long wispy legs. Ugh. Well, I found one this morning in my bath tub. Thankfully, he seems to be stuck in there. Unfortunately, now that I’ve run and had my coffee I would like to shower and he’s in my way. The Husband isn’t here to take care of it and they absolutely terrify me.
My solution? Toss a cat into the bathtub. Our cats love chasing and killing these bugs normally. However, I think it being stuck in a confined space (the bathtub) takes all the fun out of it for the cats. Each time I put them in, they follow the bug, swat him a few times, and promptly jump out of the bathtub.
Oh well, I guess he’s just going to go down the drain.
Bad luck
This past week has not been good for our little family. First, I take a nice tumble onto the pavement (my knees and elbow are very slowly healing). Then over the nice hot and humid weekend our AC freezes over. Finally, poor Miss Sadie seems to be having some digestive problems (we are going to the vet shortly).
And did I mention I got a summons for jury duty?
Oh yes and we are leaving the country for 12 days on Saturday.
Motivation
Today I woke up motivated and ready to work. I have a lot to get done this week (and yes, I know it is already Wednesday), but I have a plan. I woke up invigorated after a great night of sleep, put on my brand new running clothes, and took Sadie out for a run.
It was hot and humid outside, but my run was going well. Until my shoe caught part of the pavement and I went flying forward. Ah, yes, that was graceful. There goes my motivation. (and my pride)
The result: two nasty looking skinned knees, a skinned elbow, a scratched up palm, and let’s not forget my damaged ego. The one positive thing I take away from my oh so graceful swan dive onto the sidewalk is that despite my dropping Sadie’s leash, she did not run off but stood by me (probably wondering what I was doing on the ground).
Do you remember your last skinned knee? Just in case you don’t, it hurts.
