August stream of consciousness post

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It’s mid-August which means that classes start pretty soon- two weeks from Monday in this case- so it’s time to reflect on the summer and think about the year ahead. I took last week off from working at all- not that I’ve had an especially busy summer- but I have had various things going on up until August 2nd and didn’t get to go on any trips so figured a no-work-week was in order before I have to get ready for classes. When my daughter was younger we always made a point to go on a trip in the summer- to see family, visit national parks, etc. But recently my husband has been doing long trips home to help his mom and our daughter is 19 now (one year of college done!) so it hasn’t been a focus for us. My daughter went to California with a college friend to visit my mom for a week in June, so that was nice for them. I didn’t want to intrude on their friend trip so stayed home. It’s too expensive for us all to go to Kenya every year, so I skipped that trip that my husband took, too. I guess my big hurrah was going to see ELO in Columbus a couple weeks ago (my husband came too). It was a great show and I’m really glad I was able to go. 

So after my staycation last week (which has been really relaxing) I’m gearing up to get back into work mode on Monday. I need to get syllabi finalized, email students about a change in advisor (I’m stepping down after six years!), and generally make some plans for the year. I need to update some course content and finally give up some older documentaries that I’ve been showing in class, trim down reading for one class since we never get time to discuss it all, and try to start thinking about research again. I had an REU student this year who worked on agricultural fires in Kenya, so I could look into expanding that. I definitely need to do more reading on that topic. We had unanswered questions that I haven’t yet found in the literature. In Spring I’ll be teaching three classes again since I’m no longer doing advising. One will be a new prep so I really need to start planning that one early. 

So plenty to do! Getting ready for classes will be my first priority next week, but I also want to spend some time my daughter before she moves back Chicago for school. This might be her last full summer at home and she’s been busy working the last few weeks. I’m really glad I did the week off- I feel incredibly lazy but hope that I’m rested for the busy semester ahead now.  
 
Jeff Lynne's ELO in Columbus, Ohio (July 30, 2019)
 

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