And peacefully home.

So.

Yesterday: completed the rewrite (well, there are one or two tiny stylistic things I still need to change, but that will come after my student reads it through). Sent it on to her.

You know? Maybe I am making a difference. She commented today, "I like how you did the write-up of your comments to the editor" noting that I sort of took on one of the reviewers for their complaints (very mildly) and I kind of laughed and said "you should have seen my first draft of the thing" and she laughed but - people who are going into research need to know how to do that kind of thing, to be able to cope with criticism, counter it in some cases, and in others, just go "meh, not worth it" and make the changes recommended.

Today: had two small bits of grading, had the "alert reports" about grades, attendance, and other problems, had two exams to polish up for next week, had to make a review for the week after Thanksgiving, and I had to update the BlackBoard pages for a couple classes. My original plan was to do a few little things today, then come in tomorrow and do the rest

I was originally scheduled to have piano this afternoon, but then my teacher e-mailed me and asked me if Sunday afternoon after church would be equally good, and I realized, it would actually be BETTER for me - so I said, yes, let's do it then. And then I realized: I'm free. I can stay over at school and work until I'm done if I want to.

And then I thought: if I do that, I can have Saturday ENTIRELY off. I could even go back to Target and contemplating getting a new Christmas tree. (I have pretty much decided to get a 6' "slim" tree to stand up in the "curve" of my piano - because then I can have more ornaments on it and it's just generally nicer.) We get a "don't call it a Christmas bonus" the end of this month so I am telling myself, based on what I should get (they say it is 1.5% of our base salary), I'm good to spend around $150 or so. (The rest of the bonus will pay for my trip home in December - often my parents pay for Thanksgiving and I'm kind of expecting that this year if they can, though if they can't, that's fine).

I've already spent a little....I bought myself a present last night for finishing the rewrite.

Yes, it's yet another stuffed animal. It's a "giant" (well, comparatively: 30") stuffed polar bear. (I considered a panda at first, but (a) decided I liked the polar bear better and (b) someone complained that the panda's white fur got stains from the black fur....)

But then I realized: I already have a name for this.

When I was a kid, I had a giant stuffed polar bear. I don't remember where it came from; both my brother and I had one. In the mode of cheaper 1970s stuffed toys, it was stuffed with those tiny styrofoam pellets (like what beanbag chairs had). Mine was named Polaris (after the north star, not after the snowmobile company).

I don't have Polaris any more. I can't remember now if he started to leak pellets and got thrown away, or if he got ruined in one of the basement-floods when some of my stuff was stored down there (when I was in college). But there's a nice continuity for the name, to apply it to the new one. (I have not yet decided if the bear is male or female, and I don't know enough Latin - even the bastardized science-Latin - to know if "Polaris" is an adjective that applies to a male, female, or if it's neuter. The star is "Stella Polaris" so....I don't know. Not that it matters, after all, women sometimes get men's names. I thought of changing to to Polara if I decided she was a girl, but I think Polaris still works, and also, I want that connection to the past stuffie....)

Anyway. In a few minutes I need to make lamb loaf for dinner. (The sell-by date was yesterday, but it's a shrink-wrapped package, so I am assuming it is okay). And I have the mountain of laundry doing. And I've decided I'm going to take a warm bath, with a bath fizzie, tonight.

It's good to be able to relax. The cyclic nature of academia (where you are going like crazy for a while, and then have brief periods of idleness) and my own need to have everything done long before deadlines (I do not like, and cannot deal with, putting stuff off until the last minute) means there are times I'm freaking out and wondering how I'm going to get it all done, and then suddenly, it's like, "Huh. I got it all done."

though I admit I can relax better when nothing is hanging over my head, which is like this weekend.

And yeah, I think I am going to make a Target run. I don't need much in the way of groceries, but I will need milk, but I can get it there if I decide not to go to the Kroger.