Tag: academic life

life: an update

I had a major life crisis two weeks ago and am only just starting to feel “normal” again. I’m not ready to talk about it (because it’s a rather loaded subject and I’m not interested in opening myself up to trolls), but I will say that I’m fine and getting better and my mental health is much more stable than it was at the time. I had planned on posting lofty July goals, but now I’m just looking forward to getting any writing done, getting back to exercising after a two week break, and focusing on improving my mental state. It’s been difficult, but such is life and I had support from the ones I love. And Harry Potter. I’ve read and watched a lot of Harry Potter.

That’s that.

In better news, my promotion file is DONE. I just printed and added the last of the letters I was waiting on, checked my contents, and made sure it looks neat and tidy. Tomorrow, I ship it off to the other campus and sit back to wait. Until February.

This shows more details than I normally share, but I’m a public entity and google-able, so… nothing you couldn’t find with a quick search. *shrug*

Wish me luck.

Video tomorrow (just an update on shoes I reviewed a few months ago), and *fingers crossed* a more regular blog and video schedule for future posts.

life: what have I done?

It’s never a “good” time to apply for promotion… not when it’s academic and requires a sh*t-load of documentation, writing, and compiling of letters. But I applied, and now I’m in it to win it (she says with a strained smile). I’m nothing, if not committed. But it does mean that my lofty writing goals are going to become a bit more down-to-earth. Namely, there’s no way I can reach my current word goal, while also putting together a promotion file, keeping up with reviews (something I do professionally, outside the blog), and grading essays. It’s crunch time! And some things are going to have to wait. I’m glad I’m between drafts with project #1, because there’s no way I was going to get any work done. I’m going to keep writing, but I’m going to scale back. Take things slow and steady, rather than rush and try to meet some arbitrary word count (it’s a rough draft, after all, there’s always Camp NaNo in July).

Things may be a bit quiet around here, but I’ll continue to check in from time to time. Wish me luck!

week of welcome, or someone get me another coffee

It’s midway through the first week of classes and I am feeling burned out. The amount of energy required to be upbeat, friendly, and constantly available makes my little introvert heart feel like curling up in bed for a week. I love working with students. I think they’re fun and they keep me fresh and engaged, but there’s a sense of infectious energy that becomes overwhelming after a few days. I almost feel like I’m catching a cold, I feel so tired and worn. I’ll be fine next week, but, for now, it takes all my energy to make myself perky enough to provide a welcoming atmosphere. Mind you, I work with college students. I have no idea how the primary school folks make it work.

Sticking to a chapter a day reading plan for the draft read-through, so that’s something. Also, planning activities for an upcoming library fair, and scheming to find ways to stretch my budget. Fun times.