Layout:
Home > Archive: January, 2016

Archive for January, 2016

Allons-y!

January 21st, 2016 at 01:32 pm

I'm packed, weighed, and almost ready to roll.

There are a few things that need to be done around here, but I'm going out to breakfast with my university gals, then will come home and tackle it.

I'm so happy to have a housesitter, and the dog will love her.

Lots to do with my online class, but much of that can wait until Sunday/Monday.

Breathing deeply and ready for the adventure.

Getting There

January 18th, 2016 at 06:48 am

I was in a bit of a panic yesterday worrying about getting everything done. I spent hours yesterday working on my new London class, and have worked it all out: syllabus, calendar, PowerPoints. It's ready! And two evenings of solid grading got me caught up on my Winterim class, so I feel much better. I'm halfway packed and have made a huge stack for DD and DH. I even made a big pot of veggie soup from fridge odds and ends.

Today I made a huge list and have been working it all day. And yesterday's mail brought something lovely: $350 for a survey I did in November about a new textbook. Honestly, I'd forgotten it.

It's pretty darn cold here, and I think I'm developing a slight case of cabin fever. Luckily I have a lunch date tomorrow.

Counting Down

January 12th, 2016 at 04:26 am

It's 10 days until we leave for London, so I'm in big countdown mode. Lots of things to eat up, lots of things to get done.

We've got a dog sitter lined up, I've hauled the suitcase up from the basement, and I'm going to officially start packing tomorrow.

I've been talking with a colleague about my willingness to take on extra work. The university situation is tenuous, and she's just had a class cut, cutting her income by 25% for spring. I mutter and curse the extra work, but I think she's right, it's fear motivated. So I'm hooked on work, hooked on saving money where possible, and realize it will probably always be this way. I will be happy when this Winterim class is done, Only eight days left of it and 8,000 papers.

In happier news, my MN friends are joining me in France at the end of February. My students go on a rather raucous bus tour of Scotland, and we're headed back to Nice. We got a triple room, a great rate at the hotel, and free breakfast (at 17Euros) for booking online. I'm flying British Air, and I actually am using my Avios points, so the flight from Heathrow cost under $100. I want to do some more traveling too, but will hold off on that until I get the semester sorted out.

It's so cold here. Ugh.

Slogging Through

January 7th, 2016 at 11:12 pm

I forgot how much work teaching on line is. It's always anxiety-provoking for me because it seems like it's never done. Everything takes twice as long to prep as in a traditional face-to-face, but I'm officially going to quit whining and keep grading.

My prospective dogsitter came over today to meet the dog. She's a trusted, much- liked former student, and she'll stay here with the dog while DD and DH are in the UK with me. Everything seems good on that front.

I've decluttered a bit in the past few days and (hooray) sold two books--one through my FB lists and the other on Amazon. They're the first sales of the year for a big $14. I've also started some London tasks like calling my bank and Credit card companies with travel alerts.

Lots to do!

Winterim Class Begins

January 5th, 2016 at 02:05 am

My online Winterim class began today with everyone except three or four logging in and starting to work. I'll wait another day before I remind them again. I've also begun my UK packing pile. I have a two dept meetings tomorrow, several errands, and a dentist appointment. And I'm incredibly grumbly. I'd much rather read all day, and maybe eat some deli lunch.

My goal for the rest of the evening is to find my lost motivation. It must be here somewhere.

Quiet Day

January 4th, 2016 at 05:26 am

I've spent about half the day working on house stuff--donate bags, listing some books on Amazon, laundry, cooking, etc. and the other half on school prep as that online class begins tomorrow. I'm hoping it won't take more than 3-4 hours a day with the grading averaged in, but we'll see how it goes.

Lots of administrative stuff around here--bills due, rebates to be mailed, papers sorted through but DD and DH are both back to regular schedules tomorrow, so I'm hoping to have a productive day. I'm also a bit antsy and could use a few hours out of the house.

I've finally ordered the blinds for my office, something I've been meaning to do for months, and my almost discarded old camera seems to be working again. Lots of odds and ends--obviously! But that's the way it always is on my term breaks. Things get put off and then picked up again finally.

The Force

January 2nd, 2016 at 01:54 am

The Force was finally with us today as we reshuffled our NY's plans to see the new Star Wars today. Why the reshuffle? The inane Ipic theatre wouldn't let anyone under 21 (even with parent) into a film after 7 last night, and our tickets were for 7:10. While we were a bit disappointed, we came home and played our new board games--and ended up saving over $20 on today's tickets.

I haven't worked out 2016 goals as I haven't quite accomplished all of 2015's leftovers. So we'll likely see some repeats.

As for now we're really enjoying the NY concert from Vienna and looking forward to Sherlock.

Happy New Year to my SA friends!