Yesterday Inside Higher Ed posted two pieces particularly relevant to my life right now. The first was on counting adjunct hours for the Affordable Care Act; the other was on the unethical treatment of adjuncts. So much to say. So much anger.
When I originally was told that I "most likely" wouldn't get classes next fall because of enrolment concerns, I believed it. A few people suggested it might be because of ACA, but I defended "my" school, thinking they wouldn't do something like that. They're a religious school, after all, and surely have more humanity than that. I kept believing it right up until I noticed that the emails making the rounds to faculty and staff kept mentioning how excited the administration is that the number of inquiries and applications for next year were actually UP. In no less than seven emails, we were all told numbers were up and enrolment projections were actually higher than the last two years. I realize that's just projected numbers, but ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME?
I did some more digging and found out that nearly all the adjuncts were getting reduced hours this semester and told they "most likely" wouldn't be back in the fall "because of enrolment concerns." I couldn't find anyone who knew of a single adjunct who was told otherwise. I also couldn't find another faculty member, adjunct or full-time or staff from the financial office, who had heard that numbers were not actually expected to increase.
So. I admit I was wrong. I will admit that my school and its administration lack all milk of human kindness. The administration is just a money-hungry and blood-sucking as everywhere else and that makes me really sad. I'm not sad just for me. Would I have liked to stay there, with a job I like near my friends and family? Absolutely. I'm more sad for the students, though, and the effect this has on them, on their eduction, for which they are paying a lot of money, probably more than they should, but that's another matter entirely.
As for the second article...argh. I just can't. Let's compare the issues in the article to my current adjunct experience, shall we?
1) "no job security or expectation of employment beyond the current term" - CHECK
2) no benefits and low compensation - CHECK (please, $2,700 is a dream compared to what I earn)
3) ineligible for unemployment benefits - CHECK
4) don't receive orientation, mentoring, and are excluded from faculty meetings - CHECK, CHECK, CHECK
5) not involved in curriculum design - CHECK (in fact, I barely have control over my class syllabus since the former chair criticized me because my U.S. History survey class covers up to Watergate - the other profs don't get past Vietnam and only spend one day on Vietnam, so I felt pretty happy that I got further than profs who taught the class on a regular basis and it was my first time, but she wanted me to spend all my time on the 20th century and get to World War I in three weeks - three weeks to cover Reconstruction, the American West, railroads, industrialization, and the Progressives. Unbelievable. Fortunately, the current chair told me to ignore her and approved my syllabus. Three weeks!)
6) lack of office space - I'm ok on that, actually, mercifully, although plans were in the works to kick me out of my office for 3 hours each on MW this semester because the former chair wanted an undergrad who would be working for the department to have office space. The undergrad was supposed to get my office on Tuesdays and Thursdays and I was told specifically not to come to campus on those days because those would be her days in the office, but then that meant that Mondays and Wednesdays should have been my days, following that logic, except that I was also getting kicked out for three hours on those days in favor of the undergrad. This was particularly problematic since I carpool with my dad and would then have nowhere to go for three hours. Trust me, the library is not an option because it is very, very tiny and does not have a lot of work space. Fortunately, none of this happened.)
7) hiring decisions made at the last minute, often days before classes start - CHECK (I got hired three weeks before classes started to teach two classes I'd never taught before, one of which was not the class I'd applied for originally. I was told this semester that I would find out if my 8 week class would go ahead the day that it was supposed to start. Would you prep a class you might not get paid for? Is it better to prep at the very, very last minute? What a nightmare.)
8) inadequate materials and resources - CHECK (at the end of last semester I found out there was an online instructor resource with all kinds of maps and activities - don't get me started on how much time I spent searching for decent maps - that was upsetting to say the least, but at least I am free to make as many photocopies as I want)
I could go on and on (and I have), but I am fed up. I'm pissed. I've only been an adjunct for a year, although I was aware of the adjunct nightmare for much longer, but how long will this go on? How can institutions treat the ones in the trenches, doing the majority of the teaching that tenured profs don't want to do, like crap? We don't make enough money to support any life, especially not a life with a family or massive, crushing student loan debt, or both. It enrages me that we are treated as expendable and worthless. How is this sustainable, not just for adjuncts, but for students and institutions? It will not succeed. Students will not succeed. Institutions will not succeed. This country will not succeed.
Ok, rant over. For now. (And apologies for some of the nonsensical ramblings. I write much better than this normally, but I am too upset and needed to get it all down.)
P.S. I'm switching the title of this blog back to its original title, "Acaderanged," because it sounds better than "Acabullshit," which is closer to my present feelings about academia right now.
March 27, 2013
March 24, 2013
Time bomb
Apologies to the writing group members expecting to get straight to the writing group post. Just click on the link at the right to go straight to Week 12 or scroll down. I normally try not to post over the weekend, so as not to throw anyone off, but I'm kind of freaking out a bit and need to unload because I can't sleep.
Thursday I took Tank to the vet because he has seemed...off. He doesn't do his whirling dervish dance before meals. He's a bit lethargic. He doesn't give as many kisses as normal because he's been laying around a lot. He's just not been his usual adorable lovebug self and we were worried, particularly since Winnie was put to sleep less than a month ago.
Thursday turned out miserably, needless to say. After a lot of whining and shaking in the vet's waiting room (he really does not enjoy leaving the house, no matter where we go, not just the vet), he had a bunch of tests done and some x-rays. His spleen was very enlarged, so Friday he had to have an ultrasound. The ultrasound showed spots on his enlarged spleen (spots are clearly worse than just an enlarged spleen, which is bad enough) and on his liver, too. But his tests came back ok, so now an oncologist is looking at his x-rays because of the liver spots.
The vet wants to remove Tank's spleen Monday morning because it is so enlarged, but we can't decide what to do. We won't get any information on the liver spots until Monday afternoon at the earliest. No one wants to put him through major surgery if he has liver cancer, too, because that's just cruel, particularly because he would have to stay at the vet's for a few days of recovery. On the other hand, we are running the risk of having his spleen rupture, which would be horribly painful for him and horribly traumatic for both him and us. No one wants him to suffer like that, obviously, but we're not ready to say goodbye because he's happy, just not as happy and silly as he was two or three weeks ago.
But what if we agree to the surgery and the vet notices that he's riddled with cancer? Again, there's no point in removing the spleen when he doesn't have long to live, in that case, but then, as my mother pointed out, it would be cruel to wake him up and wait for the spleen to rupture, which will happen and most likely soon. I hadn't even thought about that. I can't even think that Monday might be the last time I see him. I start crying at the very thought.
Tank will be eight on May 1st. He is the baby of the family; his sister is the baby, too, but Tank is beyond sweet. He's never been in trouble. I don't think anyone has ever even raised their voice at him. He's just, in a word, precious. He sleeps with me and he fights his father and sister to get the closest to me for cuddles. My lap is basically a revolving door for the three of them; Tank, being the sweetest, usually loses out the most because his sister is way too pushy and his father, the handsome one pictured on the right is far too stubborn not to get his way, has also lived with me and been completely spoiled for his entire life but I don't even care. He's perfect and it doesn't matter. But, Tank. Tank.
We are having a really, really hard time coming to terms with all of this. It's too much. It's too awful. It's Tank.
Thursday I took Tank to the vet because he has seemed...off. He doesn't do his whirling dervish dance before meals. He's a bit lethargic. He doesn't give as many kisses as normal because he's been laying around a lot. He's just not been his usual adorable lovebug self and we were worried, particularly since Winnie was put to sleep less than a month ago.
Thursday turned out miserably, needless to say. After a lot of whining and shaking in the vet's waiting room (he really does not enjoy leaving the house, no matter where we go, not just the vet), he had a bunch of tests done and some x-rays. His spleen was very enlarged, so Friday he had to have an ultrasound. The ultrasound showed spots on his enlarged spleen (spots are clearly worse than just an enlarged spleen, which is bad enough) and on his liver, too. But his tests came back ok, so now an oncologist is looking at his x-rays because of the liver spots.
The vet wants to remove Tank's spleen Monday morning because it is so enlarged, but we can't decide what to do. We won't get any information on the liver spots until Monday afternoon at the earliest. No one wants to put him through major surgery if he has liver cancer, too, because that's just cruel, particularly because he would have to stay at the vet's for a few days of recovery. On the other hand, we are running the risk of having his spleen rupture, which would be horribly painful for him and horribly traumatic for both him and us. No one wants him to suffer like that, obviously, but we're not ready to say goodbye because he's happy, just not as happy and silly as he was two or three weeks ago.
But what if we agree to the surgery and the vet notices that he's riddled with cancer? Again, there's no point in removing the spleen when he doesn't have long to live, in that case, but then, as my mother pointed out, it would be cruel to wake him up and wait for the spleen to rupture, which will happen and most likely soon. I hadn't even thought about that. I can't even think that Monday might be the last time I see him. I start crying at the very thought.
Tank will be eight on May 1st. He is the baby of the family; his sister is the baby, too, but Tank is beyond sweet. He's never been in trouble. I don't think anyone has ever even raised their voice at him. He's just, in a word, precious. He sleeps with me and he fights his father and sister to get the closest to me for cuddles. My lap is basically a revolving door for the three of them; Tank, being the sweetest, usually loses out the most because his sister is way too pushy and his father, the handsome one pictured on the right is far too stubborn not to get his way, has also lived with me and been completely spoiled for his entire life but I don't even care. He's perfect and it doesn't matter. But, Tank. Tank.
We are having a really, really hard time coming to terms with all of this. It's too much. It's too awful. It's Tank.
March 22, 2013
Writing Group Week 12 - Productivity Hammer
It's Week 12 already. How, HOW, did that happen?
I'm not going to lie, I'm really worried about my dissertation. A lot has happened this semester and I let it come between me and my writing. It's my fault and I own that, but now I need to recover from it all and move forward with the dissertation. In other words, I need a Productivity Hammer.
This is no longer the time for gentle, easy 1,000 word count goals for me. I will never defend at that rate. I can't be ABD for the next job search season; I need my PhD in hand (or at least defended, waiting for graduation). Brute force and sheer determination are the only way this is getting done now.
I sense that I'm not alone in this. Is anyone else in need of a Productivity Hammer or perhaps Dame Eleanor's Mervaylous Anti-Bugge Power-Writer Spray? Some of us have already revisited the goals for the group. Some have revamped their routines to improve productivity. (By the way, the 3 90-minute work blocks a day are working great...if only I could use them all for writing!) What else are you going to do to finish strong for the writing group? How are you going to bring the pain on your goals for the group? (Bring the pain? I clearly have been watching too much wrestling with my little nephew.)
Before I forget, is anyone interested in hosting or co-hosting the next incarnation of the writing group to keep the forward momentum going for those who want it? Please say yes!
Roll call!
Amanda@ladyscientist: (1)Cut down research plan to 6 pages.(2)Write Career goals (3)Write RCR
Amstr (writing account): 1) Ch. 4 thesis statement and abstract, 2) Ch. 4 structure and topic sentences, 3) organize research and make a plan for Belcher Wk. 5.
Bardiac: no check-in
Contigent Cassandra: goal for 4/1: shitty but full rough draft of the chapter.
Dame Eleanor Hull: Companion-piece revisions and submission. At least one hour a day on research, focusing on IPM and translation, unless I really have my teeth into one of the MMP-pieces.
Danne: no check-in
Elizabeth Anne Mitchell: moving boxes
emmawriting: no check-in
Good Enough Woman: no goal set
heu mihi: Fill in MS info for Kzoo draft (involves some research). Spend 1 hour on article draft.
humming42: Go to conference. Post online survey. Write other proposal and look for participants.
Jane B: Conveniently I have four conference abstracts (or maybe five?) due at the end of the week. So my goals for the week are two-fold: Do something research oriented FIRST, before I go on to the teaching and admin and everything, even if it's just for 15 minutes. And complete and submit four (or maybe five) abstracts. Sigh.
Jason: no check-in
Jodi: Power through starting (hopefully) tomorrow. I need 3,000 words to get a really good chapter finished and off to my supervisor. Work on the dissertation every day.
kiwi2: a first draft of grant proposal RD. A three page, but immensely dense proposal with a very high bar for success (daunting in itself). I feel tired at the thought, but have to go into battle for this one. And one day of work on the exotic synthesis.
kiwimedievalist/zcat_abroad: no check-in
luolin88: 30 minutes on Friday.
Matilda: Revise the paper and make a plan for another paper
meansomething: 1) 5 12-minute sessions of writing. 2) One book ms. submission. 3) One magazine submission
metheist: Get my nerd on at the conference next week. I haven't been able to do this in a year, so I'm excited.
nwgirl: Finish revisions on another chapter
Pilgrim/Heretic: 1500 words
profacero (Z): the abstract; decide about that second application and act or not; not hoping for any words besides the abstract but if I finish it I will rework it in Spanish, in a more sociological direction, and send to a second conference; send off state income tax, acquire deck materials, prepare and give lecture about Mexico City as laboratory of 21st century urban life (how did I get myself into this?) for on campus lecture series with audience of 200 or 300 people (why did I forget I was supposed to do this and what will I say?), more exercise.
rented life: no check-in
Susan: get the draft done
tracynicolrose: Finish submitting TS paper; finish application packet; read for BE paper, look at MS data
Zabeel: no check-in
I'm not going to lie, I'm really worried about my dissertation. A lot has happened this semester and I let it come between me and my writing. It's my fault and I own that, but now I need to recover from it all and move forward with the dissertation. In other words, I need a Productivity Hammer.
This is no longer the time for gentle, easy 1,000 word count goals for me. I will never defend at that rate. I can't be ABD for the next job search season; I need my PhD in hand (or at least defended, waiting for graduation). Brute force and sheer determination are the only way this is getting done now.
I sense that I'm not alone in this. Is anyone else in need of a Productivity Hammer or perhaps Dame Eleanor's Mervaylous Anti-Bugge Power-Writer Spray? Some of us have already revisited the goals for the group. Some have revamped their routines to improve productivity. (By the way, the 3 90-minute work blocks a day are working great...if only I could use them all for writing!) What else are you going to do to finish strong for the writing group? How are you going to bring the pain on your goals for the group? (Bring the pain? I clearly have been watching too much wrestling with my little nephew.)
Before I forget, is anyone interested in hosting or co-hosting the next incarnation of the writing group to keep the forward momentum going for those who want it? Please say yes!
Roll call!
Amanda@ladyscientist: (1)Cut down research plan to 6 pages.(2)Write Career goals (3)Write RCR
Amstr (writing account): 1) Ch. 4 thesis statement and abstract, 2) Ch. 4 structure and topic sentences, 3) organize research and make a plan for Belcher Wk. 5.
Bardiac: no check-in
Contigent Cassandra: goal for 4/1: shitty but full rough draft of the chapter.
Dame Eleanor Hull: Companion-piece revisions and submission. At least one hour a day on research, focusing on IPM and translation, unless I really have my teeth into one of the MMP-pieces.
Danne: no check-in
Elizabeth Anne Mitchell: moving boxes
emmawriting: no check-in
Good Enough Woman: no goal set
heu mihi: Fill in MS info for Kzoo draft (involves some research). Spend 1 hour on article draft.
humming42: Go to conference. Post online survey. Write other proposal and look for participants.
Jane B: Conveniently I have four conference abstracts (or maybe five?) due at the end of the week. So my goals for the week are two-fold: Do something research oriented FIRST, before I go on to the teaching and admin and everything, even if it's just for 15 minutes. And complete and submit four (or maybe five) abstracts. Sigh.
Jason: no check-in
Jodi: Power through starting (hopefully) tomorrow. I need 3,000 words to get a really good chapter finished and off to my supervisor. Work on the dissertation every day.
kiwi2: a first draft of grant proposal RD. A three page, but immensely dense proposal with a very high bar for success (daunting in itself). I feel tired at the thought, but have to go into battle for this one. And one day of work on the exotic synthesis.
kiwimedievalist/zcat_abroad: no check-in
luolin88: 30 minutes on Friday.
Matilda: Revise the paper and make a plan for another paper
meansomething: 1) 5 12-minute sessions of writing. 2) One book ms. submission. 3) One magazine submission
metheist: Get my nerd on at the conference next week. I haven't been able to do this in a year, so I'm excited.
nwgirl: Finish revisions on another chapter
Pilgrim/Heretic: 1500 words
profacero (Z): the abstract; decide about that second application and act or not; not hoping for any words besides the abstract but if I finish it I will rework it in Spanish, in a more sociological direction, and send to a second conference; send off state income tax, acquire deck materials, prepare and give lecture about Mexico City as laboratory of 21st century urban life (how did I get myself into this?) for on campus lecture series with audience of 200 or 300 people (why did I forget I was supposed to do this and what will I say?), more exercise.
rented life: no check-in
Susan: get the draft done
tracynicolrose: Finish submitting TS paper; finish application packet; read for BE paper, look at MS data
Zabeel: no check-in
March 16, 2013
Books, books, books
Erm. I think I set a resolution to read a book a week this year because I may have only read ten or so books for fun in the past five years of my dissertating life. This is week eleven, I think, of the year and...well, no. I have not read eleven books this year.
For those of you dying to know, I've read:
The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald (still don't like it, but can't wait for the movie)
Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life, Anne Lamott (my lifesaver)
Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity, David Allan (another lifesaver)
The Lost Summer of Louisa May Alcott, Kelly O'Connor McNees
I Loved, I Lost, I Made Spaghetti, Giulia Melucci
The Lady of the Rivers, Philippa Gregory
I couldn't bring myself to read The Tipping Point, so I read a fictional romance about Louisa May Alcott, who I love. It was delightful. I wanted it to be true. The spaghetti book I could have lived without, but it did have recipes, which is nice. Still, the author was obnoxiously pretentious at times, completely overshadowing the genuine tone of her occasional heartbreak.
Needless to say, I am quite behind. Five books behind to be exact. I should get back to that. When I was reading, I was managing a much better work-life balance, I think. I got a lot done, but I was not just working.
Being sick for over a week now, I have started reading again just a little bit because it's all that I've been able to manage, but I'm cheating a little bit. Don't judge; I'm sick. I read the Philippa Gregory book because, well, I love her. Her books normally feed me the history that I love with an imagination, too, and this book didn't disappoint. Don't get me wrong - it was nowhere near as all-consuming as The Other Boleyn Girl, but I didn't expect that. Even as many times as I've reread that book, I still can't put it down. Anyway, after The Lady of the Rivers, I needed a comfort book. My dad bought me a new copy (with a lovely pink and green cover!) of Pride and Prejudice for Christmas. I used to read it every year, sometimes more than once a year, but when I moved to San Diego, I lost my copy, so I haven't read it in almost seven years. My Mr. Darcy fixes have had to come from the BBC movie, which is more than fine (I mean, really, who doesn't want to see Colin Firth post swim), but I needed to read Darcy again and it's been glorious, particularly because I now read the characters' lines with the actors' voices in my head and it makes me laugh.
Maybe I'll read The Tipping Point after this. Maybe not. I'm just glad to be reading again.
For those of you dying to know, I've read:
The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald (still don't like it, but can't wait for the movie)
Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life, Anne Lamott (my lifesaver)
Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity, David Allan (another lifesaver)
The Lost Summer of Louisa May Alcott, Kelly O'Connor McNees
I Loved, I Lost, I Made Spaghetti, Giulia Melucci
The Lady of the Rivers, Philippa Gregory
I couldn't bring myself to read The Tipping Point, so I read a fictional romance about Louisa May Alcott, who I love. It was delightful. I wanted it to be true. The spaghetti book I could have lived without, but it did have recipes, which is nice. Still, the author was obnoxiously pretentious at times, completely overshadowing the genuine tone of her occasional heartbreak.
Needless to say, I am quite behind. Five books behind to be exact. I should get back to that. When I was reading, I was managing a much better work-life balance, I think. I got a lot done, but I was not just working.
Being sick for over a week now, I have started reading again just a little bit because it's all that I've been able to manage, but I'm cheating a little bit. Don't judge; I'm sick. I read the Philippa Gregory book because, well, I love her. Her books normally feed me the history that I love with an imagination, too, and this book didn't disappoint. Don't get me wrong - it was nowhere near as all-consuming as The Other Boleyn Girl, but I didn't expect that. Even as many times as I've reread that book, I still can't put it down. Anyway, after The Lady of the Rivers, I needed a comfort book. My dad bought me a new copy (with a lovely pink and green cover!) of Pride and Prejudice for Christmas. I used to read it every year, sometimes more than once a year, but when I moved to San Diego, I lost my copy, so I haven't read it in almost seven years. My Mr. Darcy fixes have had to come from the BBC movie, which is more than fine (I mean, really, who doesn't want to see Colin Firth post swim), but I needed to read Darcy again and it's been glorious, particularly because I now read the characters' lines with the actors' voices in my head and it makes me laugh.
Maybe I'll read The Tipping Point after this. Maybe not. I'm just glad to be reading again.
March 12, 2013
Death Break
Oh my god. I am dying. I really think I am. I alternate between freezing cold and breaking out in a sweat. All of the dogs want to lay on me, as if, in doing so, they will magically cure me, or at least win a prize for being closest to me when I die. I can't sleep because I just hear the wheezing, creaking, rattling sounds in my chest as I try to breathe. I'm certain this is what they call the death rattle.
I keep getting email notifications that my ILL books have arrived. My dissertation mocks me.
And I should be in the Bahamas, getting ready for the rehearsal dinner for my best friend's wedding.
I keep getting email notifications that my ILL books have arrived. My dissertation mocks me.
And I should be in the Bahamas, getting ready for the rehearsal dinner for my best friend's wedding.
March 9, 2013
Writing Group Week 10
Hello, everyone! I just went to check in and there was nowhere to check in, so I'm thinking JaneB must be even more sick than I am. If you follow her blog, you'll know she's been struggling. I'll post the writing group here this week. Apologies for the delay!
I'm borrowing this week's theme from Dame Eleanor Hull, who graciously stepped in to give everyone a place to check in. It's a continuation of last week's theme of happiness in writing. As DEH said, for those of you think happiness is too much to ask, "then think about comfort or contentment. Maybe you could make your desk more inviting, or associate writing with something more pleasurable, even something as simple as a good cup of coffee or tea in a mug of your favorite color. Try one small change in the direction of pleasure, and see what happens."
Roll call!
Amanda@ladyscientist: no check-in
Amstr (writing account): 2000 terrible words of Ch. 4; 500 words of conclusion; photocopy ILL and organize research for Ch. 4. (Bonus: type up some notes.) Exercise.
Bardiac: no goal set
Contigent Cassandra: continue making at least incremental progress, writing M, W, and perhaps Sa; do whatever research/retrieval is necessary to have the materials I need at home over Spring Break; keep up with the grading so as to be able to devote Spring Break to writing (and a bit of rest).
Dame Eleanor Hull: At least 1 hour a day; 10 lines of the IPM; start checking Chunk 2 of the translation (at least 1/2 hour, 3 times); check in at least once with MMP-1, MMP-2, and MMP-3, and try to do one concrete thing for each of them (this can be something as small as "write one sentence").
Danne: 1) write at least a page of notes a day. 2) Go on spending 3 hours a day on research 3) Read current book on space 4) If a positive answer is received from the new uni, schedule a day off for reading, and celebrate.
Elizabeth Anne Mitchell: Read Chapter Three of WYJA
emmawriting: no check-in
Good Enough Woman: The usual. Get up at 6:00am M and W so I can read/write for an hour (and run for 20 minutes) before the day gets rolling. Then work two hours on Friday. It's *possible* I'll have a hotel night on Thursday, but I'll have to see how the week rolls out.
heu mihi: I want to write on 3 days, make notes on a recently finished book, and start reading a related book.
humming42: finish and send in conference abstract/draft to panel chair
Jane B: one 30 minute session
Jason: no check-in
Jodi: 2,000 words (again) with 60 minutes a day MWF and 3 90 minute blocks on Thursday. Order ILL books to get here in time for spring break dissertation blast. Update cv.
kiwi2: revise polish intro
kiwimedievalist/zcat_abroad: no check-in
luolin88: 15 minutes Tuesday, just to get going again;
Matilda: 30 minutes Friday
meansomething: 1) Four 12-minute sessions 2) One book ms. submission
metheist: T/R write all day and MWF at least one hour
nwgirl: Finish revisions on one chapter.
Pilgrim/Heretic: 1,500 again, though it's going to be a challenging week
profacero (Z): Finish other application, finish abstract for conference, actually finish those 500 words or more.
Susan: no check-in
tracynicolrose: Submit TS paper (dependent upon co-author); revise LM paper for new submission; write abstract for Frameworks presentation; work on BE findings.
Zabeel: Section 3 of article.
I'm borrowing this week's theme from Dame Eleanor Hull, who graciously stepped in to give everyone a place to check in. It's a continuation of last week's theme of happiness in writing. As DEH said, for those of you think happiness is too much to ask, "then think about comfort or contentment. Maybe you could make your desk more inviting, or associate writing with something more pleasurable, even something as simple as a good cup of coffee or tea in a mug of your favorite color. Try one small change in the direction of pleasure, and see what happens."
Roll call!
Amanda@ladyscientist: no check-in
Amstr (writing account): 2000 terrible words of Ch. 4; 500 words of conclusion; photocopy ILL and organize research for Ch. 4. (Bonus: type up some notes.) Exercise.
Bardiac: no goal set
Contigent Cassandra: continue making at least incremental progress, writing M, W, and perhaps Sa; do whatever research/retrieval is necessary to have the materials I need at home over Spring Break; keep up with the grading so as to be able to devote Spring Break to writing (and a bit of rest).
Dame Eleanor Hull: At least 1 hour a day; 10 lines of the IPM; start checking Chunk 2 of the translation (at least 1/2 hour, 3 times); check in at least once with MMP-1, MMP-2, and MMP-3, and try to do one concrete thing for each of them (this can be something as small as "write one sentence").
Danne: 1) write at least a page of notes a day. 2) Go on spending 3 hours a day on research 3) Read current book on space 4) If a positive answer is received from the new uni, schedule a day off for reading, and celebrate.
Elizabeth Anne Mitchell: Read Chapter Three of WYJA
emmawriting: no check-in
Good Enough Woman: The usual. Get up at 6:00am M and W so I can read/write for an hour (and run for 20 minutes) before the day gets rolling. Then work two hours on Friday. It's *possible* I'll have a hotel night on Thursday, but I'll have to see how the week rolls out.
heu mihi: I want to write on 3 days, make notes on a recently finished book, and start reading a related book.
humming42: finish and send in conference abstract/draft to panel chair
Jane B: one 30 minute session
Jason: no check-in
Jodi: 2,000 words (again) with 60 minutes a day MWF and 3 90 minute blocks on Thursday. Order ILL books to get here in time for spring break dissertation blast. Update cv.
kiwi2: revise polish intro
kiwimedievalist/zcat_abroad: no check-in
luolin88: 15 minutes Tuesday, just to get going again;
Matilda: 30 minutes Friday
meansomething: 1) Four 12-minute sessions 2) One book ms. submission
metheist: T/R write all day and MWF at least one hour
nwgirl: Finish revisions on one chapter.
Pilgrim/Heretic: 1,500 again, though it's going to be a challenging week
profacero (Z): Finish other application, finish abstract for conference, actually finish those 500 words or more.
Susan: no check-in
tracynicolrose: Submit TS paper (dependent upon co-author); revise LM paper for new submission; write abstract for Frameworks presentation; work on BE findings.
Zabeel: Section 3 of article.
March 8, 2013
It's a cruel, cruel world
Yesterday I sent this email to a friend:
"I'm on Spring Break! I couldn't be more ready for it, too. I've been desperate for a break. Yesterday, before class, I was thinking about Friday's upcoming class and how I already knew a few students weren't going to be there because they were leaving school early. I asked them in class how many were planning on not being there and, after convincing them I wasn't going to be mad but only wanted to know because I might rearrange what I was planning to do for World War II. Over half of them confessed they weren't going to be there Friday. Eight students said they would be there. EIGHT. I'm supposed to drive 45 minutes at 7:00 in the morning to teach a maximum of eight students because, let's face it, some of those won't actually show up. The other half started to demand extra credit for being there because time with my hilarious, brilliant self clearly wasn't enough incentive. So. I told them I was willing to cancel class IF they agreed to watch a documentary on WWII and complete an assignment on it (so I know they watched it) and hand it in in class Monday after break. Naturally they jumped at it. I look like the coolest prof ever AND I don't have to get up at 6:00 Friday morning AND my Spring Break starts early, too. Sometimes even I am surprised by my genius."
Well, my gloating came too soon. The universe hates me. It is mocking me. I was too happy that I canceled class today. I'm sick. I feel like my head is going to burst. And someone must have used my throat as a toothpick holder while I was sleeping. It's raw and sore and I sound like I smoked three packs a cigarettes a day for 60 years. It took all my energy to turn my computer on after I dragged my sorry self out of bed and laid on the couch for awhile.
My triumph has turned to agony. Well played, universe. Well played.
"I'm on Spring Break! I couldn't be more ready for it, too. I've been desperate for a break. Yesterday, before class, I was thinking about Friday's upcoming class and how I already knew a few students weren't going to be there because they were leaving school early. I asked them in class how many were planning on not being there and, after convincing them I wasn't going to be mad but only wanted to know because I might rearrange what I was planning to do for World War II. Over half of them confessed they weren't going to be there Friday. Eight students said they would be there. EIGHT. I'm supposed to drive 45 minutes at 7:00 in the morning to teach a maximum of eight students because, let's face it, some of those won't actually show up. The other half started to demand extra credit for being there because time with my hilarious, brilliant self clearly wasn't enough incentive. So. I told them I was willing to cancel class IF they agreed to watch a documentary on WWII and complete an assignment on it (so I know they watched it) and hand it in in class Monday after break. Naturally they jumped at it. I look like the coolest prof ever AND I don't have to get up at 6:00 Friday morning AND my Spring Break starts early, too. Sometimes even I am surprised by my genius."
Well, my gloating came too soon. The universe hates me. It is mocking me. I was too happy that I canceled class today. I'm sick. I feel like my head is going to burst. And someone must have used my throat as a toothpick holder while I was sleeping. It's raw and sore and I sound like I smoked three packs a cigarettes a day for 60 years. It took all my energy to turn my computer on after I dragged my sorry self out of bed and laid on the couch for awhile.
My triumph has turned to agony. Well played, universe. Well played.
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