a week of no posting

[arguchik]

weird. a friend called me a little while ago (glaucon, actually) and observed that i haven't posted in awhile. sure enough, i haven't posted in almost a week. there's no real reason for that, except that i have been extremely busy this week. i had a pile of grading to get off my back, plus other end-of-quarter stuff to take care of. in addition, i have been extremely stressed about not having funding for next quarter. here are the respective outcomes of those stressors:

1. finished the grading. now i have a blissfully open weekend, with nothing to work on except my own academic work. very, very nice.

2. on wednesday--yes, that's 12/7, less than a month before winter quarter starts--my department offered me a teaching assignment for next quarter. i had already pretty much decided to apply for a completely different part-time job, so i was startled and not completely thrilled to get the teaching appointment. i decided to accept it, though, and *also* to apply for the other part-time job. if i get offered that job, i will accept it. that means i might end up working 2 jobs next quarter. stress stress stress!!! or maybe not. together, they amount to a full-time job, and both are on or near campus, so there's not some crazy commute involved. i will simply plan *not* to accomplish much (or anything) on my dissertation next quarter. but working 2 jobs will enable me to build some savings, maybe even enough to fund that trip overseas i'd like to take next summer. that is a goal worth working my ass off for. also, i've been thinking about this a lot, and i might end up surprising myself by how much work i'm able to get done on my dissertation while working two jobs. sometimes having too much work to do *energizes* me and enables me to be more efficient and therefore more productive. so i might end up getting more, better work done next quarter, working 2 jobs, than i did last summer when i was working zero jobs and living on loans. (i KNOW i don't want to do that again! it was a waste!)

the upshot of all this is that my self-confidence seems to be on the mend, and i'm a lot more focused on what i *can* do, rather than feeling like there's too much that i *can't* do. this is a Very Good Thing (VGT)! funny, to understand how critical this is to running one's life, but to have such a hard time getting over to that side of the line (the "can" vs. the "can't" side of the line, i mean). hard to express this. i hope y'all know what the hell i mean. :-P

ok, that's all i've got for now. hope everyone is doing well. my holiday break is almost upon me. the only task i have left before it officially begins is grading final portfolios, which i'll be collecting from my students on tuesday. yee-ha!!

Comments

[the-kender.livejournal.com]

Speaking of break -- what do you plan on doing for your break?

[arguchik.livejournal.com]

not sure yet. basically staying in seattle, but i might head down to portland (vancouver, wa, actually) to spend some quality time with my friend tim. i haven't talked to him about that yet, so this is contingent on whether or not he's even going to be there, and if so, whether or not he wants me to visit.

[arguchik.livejournal.com]

the other thing i'm going to be doing over winter break is madly prepping for my class, so i get as many of the handouts and other materials written and finalized *before* the quarter starts, rather than writing all that stuff up as i go. this will be especially helpful if i end up with two jobs, like i'm hoping.

[marina-82.livejournal.com]

Sounds like your going to be a busy little bee!! It will keep you on your toes and with plenty to do and thats a good thing...I'm sure the hard work will pay off in the end...Have a Merry Christmas and a happy and prosperous New Year!!

[arguchik.livejournal.com]

thank you--you too!