this bodes well.

The Pomodoro method really works amazingly well for someone with my particular brain wiring.

Today, what I got done (arrived on campus shortly after 8 am): Finished reading a chapter in "Environmental Law for Non-Lawyers" (including taking copious reading notes). Prepped a series of lectures on what NEPA is and how it works, including looking up some supporting material (searching for government documentation). Finished the revisions on my accepted paper and mailed 'em off to co-author. Met with my research student, helped her analyze her data, talked about what I needed from her to complete our paper. She is going to add her stuff in tonight and e-mail it to me, and then I can do some editing and hopefully get it off to the journal this week or next.

(Yes. This may be a year in which I have three publications come out, which is a new record for me: there's the one that I am co-author on with my advisor, there is the Prairie Conference one I just finished up, and there is the one my student and I are working on. Hm. I can almost feel my cutie mark changing from something purely teaching-related to something research-related....)

I feel particularly excited about this newest acceptance - this was the paper I pushed myself like crazy on back in February (I was misremembering earlier; the paper I worked on over Spring Break was the start of the one my student and I are doing). It's the one where I didn't think I'd have enough for a paper and so didn't even write one before the conference (typical of these conferences is that you bring a manuscript based on your poster or presentation to submit to the Proceedings). It was only when one of the editors (my old grad-school advisor) e-mailed me and said "We might not have a proceedings if we don't get a few more decent papers" that I decided to push it....and even then, when I sent it in, I thought, "Well, this is a long shot; I will set myself up not not to be too upset if it's rejected as being too "small"" and also telling myself there's a v. small regional journal here that might take it, so....

And then I got back: accepted with revisions, which is really honestly the best outcome. (Yes, there is a "straight accept" but often that means no one has looked at it with a very critical eye, not that it's "perfect" but that you're a big enough shot they want to suck up to you. Acceptance with revisions means, "We think your paper is good but here are some ways you can make it even better" and almost always I've found that to be the case - I had to re-do one of the tables completely for this paper, but it really is quite better now, and it's something I would not have thought of to do)

I think the reason I'm so excited for this is it's a totally unexpected paper: I didn't plan on writing it, then didn't plan on it being accepted, so it feels like a bigger benefit from the work than I ever anticipated. (And it also means if I don't get much done in the coming fall research-wise, it's no biggie).

***

I hope this is indicative of how my summer will go: getting lots of stuff done during the day, being able to relax in the evenings, even getting caught up on my sleep (because my schedule this summer does not require me setting my alarm: I do naturally wake up between 6 and 6:30 but it's nice to get up when I wake up rather than maybe being shocked awake).

I'm also still sort of half-planning to do the "take one day a week and just go have fun, whatever form I want that to take (whether it's trouping off to somewhere like Whitesboro to shop or staying home to work on a quilt or going to some exhibit/event that's happening). Especially now that I've realized I will have  money coming in during June and July, thanks to HR donking up and putting me on the "12 checks" plan rather than the "10 checks" plan I was on.

If it turns out, for example, Quixotic Fibers is doing something for "World Wide Knit In Public" day on Saturday, I may just grab up a project and head down there to take part.