Friday, April 01, 2011

Avoiding the avalanche

Minutes after I told a whole host of people how great I felt after completing several exhausting projects, a great big boulder of responsibility unexpectedly crashed down on my shoulders. Lesson learned: she who shouts her joy from the mountaintops may dislodge an avalanche.

So I don't want to say this too loud, but here's a secret: I'm not taking any school work home for the weekend. I thought I had achieved a work-free weekend a few weeks ago, but I was mistaken; this time, though, I think I'm in the clear: I've graded all papers and exams, commented on an honors thesis, met with advisees and updated their files, prepared Monday's classes, turned in receipts and expense reports, posted documents regarding faculty governance, and cleared up all the urgent items on my desk.

A few long-term projects could use attention over the weekend, but here's the thing: my college laptop is no longer portable. After all the time and money our wonderful IT department has invested in keeping this laptop alive, they've finally decided it's not worth the effort and ordered a new one, which has not yet arrived. I don't dare unplug my college laptop to take it home, but my home computer lacks the programs for working on these long-term projects, so I guess I'll just have to force myself to take a weekend off.

Yes, I'm going home empty-handed...but let's keep it quiet, okay? I don't know how many more avalanches I can handle!

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