Sunday, November 8, 2009

Preparations Galore

Darcy had a new bathroom put in this week. Rather than have him take time off work, I attempted to work at home with varying success due to the interruptions.

Recap of SWIM goals 1-7 November
*Begin each weekday morning with dissertation intro writing to re-establish the writing habit and draft at least 2000 words by Friday.
*Adapt my daily morning pages to something more akin to late afternoon/early evening journaling
     These didn't work for me at all. My brain is not firing fast enough when I wake up, especially now that it's still dark at 6 a.m. I need to be sharp and awake for this kind of conceptual writing, and waiting until the end of the day to journal didn't work either. 2k words only happened in the form of transcribing notes I had taken as preparation for this section while in the States.
*Complete and mail out the two job/postdoc applications due
     
Managed one.
*Complete and mail AAH conference abstract
     Check, and managed one other as well.
*Begin tailoring interview presentation
     Only mentally. Does that count?
*Return to my regular M-W-F-Sun Yogademia posting schedule
*Comment on all my SWIMmers and their blogs!
*Practice yoga for at least an hour 3-4 times this week
*Run twice
     Not even close on any of these. One yoga, one run, no comments or posts.

So what the heck did I do this week? Major rewrite of my dissertation abstract and the attendant posting on the website, some other conference abstracts, dealt with the final details required to put the first issue of the journal I co-edit to bed, began charting a major new class that needed at least a plan on paper in preparation for my upcoming interview, tidied other class plan and syllabi, sorted some ideas and sources for my intro, and spent a bunch of time dealing with the bathroom. 

Reward: Artist Date to see An Education at the independent cinema with a glass of wine.
Even though I didn't really meet my goals for the week, I did take myself to see An Education, minus the wine. Excellent all around: story, cast, acting, visuals, soundtrack. Definitely a must-see for this group.

SWIM Goals Nov. 9-15
*1 hour writing intro & 30 min revising cross-cultural paper every weekday
*Monday: fully check chapter sample & course plans to submit for interview; presentation
*Tuesday: Afternoon - S---- postdoc letter and app
*Wednesday: Revise postdoc plan for C---- and O----; presentation
*Thursday: Afternoon: presentation and interview prep
*Friday: R--- letter and app; presentation and interview prep
*Saturday: any final tidying in preparation for interview and presentation

Reward: Sunday trip to London with Darcy for Christmas shopping; cinnamon buns at Nordic Bakery, Melody Gardot show at Southbank Center

Sunday, November 1, 2009

I'm back! I'm back!

Cripes, it's been six weeks since I posted here. That's absurd. The past six weeks have been absurd, especially this last week. There's a rambling post up at the Locker Room about all this, and how it's seriously messing with me.

So, HELLO!!!!!!!  I have missed all of you so much! If there was ever a group of ladies I would love to have over for tea or a glass of wine on a regular basis, you are it. I would have loved to swing through each of your cities while I was traveling in the States just to meet you for an hour in a cafĂ© somewhere.  Your good company and sage advice would have been so welcome.

Hello and welcome especially to Sara Rose - I'm sorry I haven't been around to welcome you before this, but I was working 18-hour days while in the States, hopping on a train or airplane to a new city every few days, and then on a computer-free week with my family and my guy. I'm still catching up on posts, but I'll be back in the regular comment-posting saddle starting today!
 
I'm just going to jump right into this week's goals, because I put the most important crazy background noise buzzing inside my head up in the Locker Room. 

SWIM goals 1-7 November
*Begin each weekday morning with dissertation intro writing to re-establish the writing habit and draft at least 2000 words by Friday
*Adapt my daily morning pages to something more akin to late afternoon/early evening journaling
*Complete and mail out the two job/postdoc applications due
*Complete and mail AAH conference abstract
*Begin tailoring interview presentation
*Return to my regular M-W-F-Sun Yogademia posting schedule
*Comment on all my SWIMmers and their blogs!
*Practice yoga for at least an hour 3-4 times this week
*Run twice

Reward: Artist Date to see An Education at the independent cinema with a glass of wine