so why? why am I always up against the deadlines?
yesterday I made a small, but costly, mistake in my planning. I went off to the class I audit (we saw Shelly Duvall's The Princess and the Pea) and I brought the cello with me (ok, I left it in the car) to take it to get the endpiece fixed right after class. so far, so good. did not occur to me that replacing a little piece of cork would take 3-4 hours. did I bring my *urgent* grading with me so that I could sit anywhere downtown and finish it while waiting? no, I had to go back to suburban land, grade there (sure) and then return downtown, all before 5pm since ben t. had a concert last night. traffic is miserable going in and out of downtown these days -- not so much when I go in and out for class, but 4pm? took 2 hours there and back instead of my usual 20 minutes each way. could it have been done a few days before the concert? a week before? why?
so I was grading until 2am.
and today? cleaning for the guest arriving right this minute at the airport.
and tomorrow? still have to read and grade for the class at 3pm.
meanwhile, my sleepy groggy self also had to do a security stupid HR thing (due tomorrow) and the BC/BS health survey to keep my whole family's co-pay down (thought it was due tomorrow, turns out I could do it anytime this week. but I did it anyway).
why don't I even think about what I'm teaching next week? is it possible to prepare in advance? you know, I know it is, since a couple of the courses I'm teaching, I've taught before. it's kind of nice to have things flowing in there. to change 10% in a semester instead of 100%.
lest I forget, there are two significant conference proposals due tomorrow, but on one, I just joined another's panel and the other? well, I have until tomorrow. my co-panelist and I are still emailing back and forth. looks like sometime in June I will fly to Cincinnati and then back home for two hours and then on to Hawaii! all while teaching summer online sessions. looks like a plan to me. better get those proposals in.
btw - the concert was great. ben t. is really making enormous progress. his football team won the playoff game without the two cellists and will play in the finals on Sunday. almond joy is stretched to her limits with swimming and school and all of the politics of who-will-be-elected-captain?
final postscript: we have an amazing maple tree in the front yard that has yellow leaves. for some reason it's always 2 weeks behind every other tree, even the maple across the street. some years winter comes while it still has green leaves and they just sort of wilt and fall off. this year it's finally yellow today. the wind is tearing through and the leaves are falling fast. I may be the only timna to see it yellow this season if the others don't get home fast. on the other hand, not having raked the leaves in a timely manner means that the neighbors are getting most of ours as the leaves fly down the street. too bad the back yard is fenced.
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