I was looking forward to this week. NYU has no classes on Monday and Tuesday (Columbus Day and a university wide holiday respectively) so rather than preparing classes over the weekend and teaching, I was free to write. Even better, a sunny warm weather forecast promised further inspiration and comfort.
Alas, the world had other plans for me. I developed a cold on Thursday which seemed to be passing by Sunday but yesterday evening the headache that had grabbed me all Saturday transpired to be something other than the sinus-related headache that comes in a cold's wake. Indeed, the achy knees suggested something more systematic.
So, yes, I got sick on the nicest week of August. But I have got some work done. I think I may have finished the proposal and sample chapter (once I copy over a few minor edits from my paper copy to the Word files). And I've started the work of carving a paper out of the sample chapter that I hope I will be able to submit to a journal sometime next week.
EDIT: It's October, not August which just (a) testifies to how lovely the weather has been over the last few days and (b) shows how much I don't want it to be this late in the year!
2 comments:
Me, too. I thought I could get a bit of work done this holiday weekend (Thanksgiving), but instead I lay on the couch feeling hot, cold, and achy, and my sore throat shows no signs of going away.
Teaching seems to suck all of my time and energy these days, but I guess that's normal for a course's first run. I have a conference paper to write, but of course I've been avoiding it. You're an inspiration of productivity, Moya!
I hope you feel better soon Erica--I didn't realize Canadian Thanksgiving was so early.
It's tough to combine teaching and writing--in some ways they are opposites (one is all about others and the other requires detailed introspection). Once you start having to prep multiple classes you just have to reserve a couple of days to write but even then, it can be tough when you have grading, children (in your case) and when you feel tired from work.
It gets easier but it just requires making the resolution to write when you can. But it's tough to get that rhythm going that you have over a summer or a break.
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