* Yet another revision of the endless paper of doom. In a minute I'm going to attend to that. (Already today: have prepped lab, written an exam review for a class, loaded up the next round of material for my other classes, taught a class, written the "statement of why I deserve the teaching award" (and I find that kind of thing hard; I hate having to talk about the "good stuff" I do because I look at it and go "I am just doing what people should be doing" but maybe the fact that people *don't* do that sort of thing is why I got nominated. No matter what I think about "should" or "should not.")
Edited to add: NOPE, can't work on the revision: the editor forgot to attach the manuscript! So I guess that happens tomorrow, instead, and I guess I revise my exam today. Argh.
* Saturday I got the junior level test written; probably tomorrow I will look it over and will change up some of the questions (making them harder) for the senior level test. One bit of good news: I give my tests in my classroom building, so I presume that means I can park here (and I will be here before the students likely will, and anyway, they are coming on buses) so I won't have to walk in what will likely be pouring rain. AND I have access to a fridge so even though I will have to bring a lunch (sigh) at least I can keep it cool so I am not limited to non-spoilable foods. AND I can retreat to my office to score the tests: a big issue last year was I was having to grade those, in a hurry, in a room with at least a dozen other people, and they were talking, and I am not the kind of person who can concentrate when people around me are talking.
* I did push through yesterday and got all the rest of the "flying geese" units done for the "birb" quilt - next up is to set those together, then I can make the blocks. This might be as much as half-done, though it doesn't feel like it because I just have small bits lying around. (That's one of the frustrating things about quilting; progress seems so slow for most of the process).
I also started the armhole decreases for the left front of Augusta. I'm hoping maybe I can get this done tonight? And start the right front? Because I give an exam tomorrow and it would be nice to have something easy to work on. (I also have a pair of simple socks going, so if I don't get to a good point on Augusta, I could always work on those.)
*Not gonna lie: I would have appreciated having Presidents' Day off, though. But I still probably would have come in for a few hours because I did have to write that statement and I need to revise the paper (yet again). But I could really deal with a day when I could just be home and have nothing expected of me.
(This weekend: nope. Saturday is Sci Oly, Sunday is church (including Sunday School), a meal after church (And I am still trying to figure out what I can make that will take minimal preparation and/or could cook while I am away on Saturday or overnight Saturday night), and then a Wesley Board meeting at 3 pm....so I don't GET a weekend this coming weekend and yes I am somewhat bitter about that. The following weekend - 3-4 March - I am NOT doing anything I don't WANT to and if someone tries to rope me into some volunteer effort I am saying I have plans, never mind that those plans consist of going to Whitesboro on Saturday and maybe sewing on Sunday afternoon.
Edited to add, about 2:15 pm:
As it turns out, the "revisions" were some incredibly minor stylistic things the editor changed - so minor, I did not notice them until I compared this version with the previous one. I had been on the point of e-mailing him, wanting to know if he sent the right version - glad I did not do that - when I decided to do the comparison with my earlier version.
And honestly, at this point he ALMOST could have inserted "I made a doody" somewhere in the paper and I wouldn't care because I'd be done with it. That's how sick of the manuscript I am.
(Sadly, my attempt to insert the phrase "huge tracts of land" in the OTHER publication I should have coming out soon was spotted and nixed by my co-author....)
(This is perhaps why, as much as I might DREAM about the idea of being a 'renowned' author (at least in some subfield) like Stephanie Pearl-McPhee, I don't think I could be. I get way, way too sick of things like manuscripts and if I tried to write a book I think there'd be a Dark Night of the Soul where I threw the thing against the wall and stalked off and said "I'll just go on teaching for a living." The sad thing, really, is - to get any of the goodies (crowds waiting to hear you speak, people excited to see you, people wanting your autograph) there's a lot of incredibly awful and hard work that goes into it first, and there's no guarantee of the goodies even after all that work. There are some very specific ways in which I lack patience)
So, that's done. And I did a partial edit of the test (to transform a junior-level into a senior-level test) and I can work more on that tomorrow.
I think this is going to be an early night for me. I am tired, for some reason. And also, I did not wash my hair as planned last night because (a) It didn't exactly need it, and I find too-frequent washings in the winter makes it even dryer and (b) I wanted to use that time to finish the flying-geese units instead, and I didn't want to go into my sewing room with wet hair because my sewing room is cold, and even if going into a cold place with wet hair doesn't actually make you sick, it's uncomfortable.
Am debating a run to Pruett's for some additional small-treat type item to go with dinner, either some kind of fresh fruit or see if they've got any different cheese. I don't know.
I got a lot done today but I still would have liked to have had Presidents' Day off, and of course there will be no mail to meet me when I get home. (And I will have to remember to put the trash out tomorrow night - we get stuck with having to remember "Wednesday trash" for every Monday federal holiday, which means "nearly every one of 'em")
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