Maybe I can squeeze in a trip to London?

An exhibition I wish I could go to. Sigh. Somebody visit the BL and go through this exhibition for me!

Turn, turn, turn

Well, let's see, if I count correctly - and I do have a math degree, mind - then it has been over six months since my last post, at which point it had been three months since my last post before that one. It's doesn't seem like six months; what can have happened that filled six months? The most recent post came on the evening when I sent off my last chapter for comments from my committee members, and I spent the rest of the term generating my introduction, and conclusion. Over a dreary New Year spent alone here, I worked on a paper for a workshop in Paris, and after teaching the first week of the new term, I made the trip, first to London and then to Paris. (If someone pays your way to Europe, do you neglect to look at a few manuscripts on the way?) When I arrived back in the middle of January, in time to teach on Monday morning, I had a nightmarish two weeks of somehow managing to turn up for my class every day but spending every other waking moment (and there were twenty hours of waking moments, every day) feverishly revising my dissertation. My gorgeous plans for a manageable amount of work and an increased amount of sleep following my submission were upset when I took on some copy-editing for a journal, but I did manage to write *most* of a draft of an article in between submitting and defending my dissertation. (Also in that interval, I met a day-old baby, got my class through highlights of Beowulf, agonized over struggling students, and even smiled occasionally.) Post-defense, I struggled to concentrate (even to get out of bed, frankly), marked many an essay, administered (and marked!) a final exam, and was deeply grateful when all the students who attempted to fulfill all of the requirements for my class did in fact manage to pass. I think the biggest compliment I've ever received on my teaching is the message sent by several students who separately said, "That was a really hard class. Are you teaching anything else next year?" The day after I handed in my final marks, it was past time to begin on the proofing for the journal - oof. Since then, I've worked up my article a bit more and started scribbling for the two projects due by the 15th of July: a paper for the NCS congress in Siena and a review article for our student journal.

Okay, so maybe that was six months' worth of activity, but it still feels a bit hazy, especially the period between mid-February (official pre-defense submission) and early May (the end of the proofing). I do have a slightly clearer recollection of the three weeks I spent with a pair of adorable cats - perhaps something to do with the positive health benefits that must have arisen from the intense pleasure of being able to run off-road along the lake and from the soporific effect of furry, warm bodies that wanted to cuddle. Oh! During those three weeks, I also read the Harry Potter books, at long last. I don't know whether or not this represents a positive health benefit, but they kept my interest more than Alice in Wonderland did.

I have clawed my way back from the four hours of sleep that was the norm over the last nine months, and my goal for the next six months is to keep that up, while finding ways to be productive in spite of it.