Diary 10-1-19
Awoke close to seven. That’s later than usual, which is great because I teach tonight. I will be well rested. Usually I wake up by 6, regardless of alarms or light. My thoughts turn to work while I’m still in bed. I have to finish an essay that’s due today. I’ve left it late, instead of finishing it up a couple of months ago, as I had planned. I’m frustrated by running up so tight against the deadline. This kind of work turns out much better when I let a draft sit for a few days and read it with fresh eyes after a break. Inevitably I catch stupid and embarrassing mistakes. But today will have to do. The deadline is firm and I have too much else to do to let it linger.
Get up, head downstairs, make tea, look at Twitter. B. watching morning news talk show. A somewhat manic discussion of impeachment provides background noise as I move around. I tune in and get a mix of feelings: a little annoyed by having to listen to this constant barrage of handwringing and a low level of anger about our sleazy leader, and his many sleazy supporters.
Weather is perhaps the most mundane thing to put in a diary, but today’s forecast predicts a 92 degree high temperature. On October 1st. Hmm. I wonder why we’ve had such hot temperatures so often lately.
While eating some toast, I read article in the New York Times on a new report about eating red meat. It relays the results of a meta-analysis of research on the topic which suggests that the evidence for limiting beef and pork is not as strong as we’ve been lead to believe. There’s a fair amount of hedging in the article, which seems to conclude that there is some evidence that eating too much read meat is unhealthy, but that not enough to make any conclusive claims. Well, that’s confusing. I think I’ll stick with my occasional burger or steak, but keep limiting my intake to a few cholesterol- and fat-laden servings. I also read a quick article about ESPN purchasing the rights to air Bundesliga soccer games. That’s good, hopefully.
Around 8:15–I pour a second mug of tea and get to work. First, I answer a few emails, then start editing.
Now it’s 11:55. That took longer than I expected, but I got it done. I think it’s okay, but as noted, sometimes I’m not the best judge of my own stuff without letting it sit and coming back to it later. It would be better if I did that but the deadline is today so I’m sending it. That’s the price I pay for not getting it done over the summer. I’ve got lots of other stuff backed up. Hopefully I’ll have a chance to polish later in the process. I’ll look it over once more after the lunch hour, send it in, then get ready for class tonight.
Now I’m stiff because I sat too long. I will head to campus, do a short visit to gym for a workout, grab some food (either sandwich or salad) and eat at my desk while reviewing the essay.
It’s now past 5 pm. The afternoon felt hectic, focused on of all sorts of work. Diary writing got away from me for a while, so I need to catch up. To recap: I drove to campus, stopped in gym for workout—about 30 min plus a little stretching. Showered and went back to office. At the gym I ran into a colleague who reminded me about some work due later in the week. Uck. I hadn’t quite forgotten, but I hadn’t gotten to it at all yet and it was going to require at least a few hours tomorrow. At the moment, I need to get this essay out so I can catch up on all the other work I’ve ignored. I did a final review of essay, which was definitely necessary, and sent it off. There’s some feeling of satisfaction when I hit send, but it’s quickly eclipsed by a sense of urgency about the next pile of stuff. There’s no time for celebration. I respond to a few emails, complete some dull office tasks, nothing interesting or memorable. I need to catch up there too. An email pops up reminding me about some commitments I have tomorrow. Those will chunk up the day, which is annoying, and make it harder to get that other work done. I felt some urgency about getting my essay off so I didn’t bother with lunch after the gym—I thought about it but the lines were too long. Around 3:30 I went looking for a late lunch across the street from my office, in the campus food court. Based on long lines, for other counters, I opted for a chicken burrito bowl. Bad decision. Ended up feeling like I swallowed a bowling ball whole. At least it’s not red meat. Won’t need to eat anything before I teach at 6:30. Maybe not ever.
I reviewed materials for class and graded one outstanding paper from 4-5:30. Readings are familiar stuff, so mostly I had to go over notes and organize a plan for the discussion. I like the group so I’m looking forward to it. I felt a bit drowsy around 4:30, which is not uncommon for me. I often feel that way late afternoon, only to be wide awake later in the evening. The heavy, late lunch doesn’t help. I stop for some Diet Pepsi (caffeine!) to perk up before class.
[Back to diary at 10 pm.] Class went ok—several students were thoroughly engaged, others not so much. Some of the reading assignments were challenging, so I understand the reticence, but a few were accessible, so I expected broader participation (it’s a seminar for grad students, so it’s largely discussion based). I’ll need to figure out how to tighten things up and also to get them to zero in on key arguments faster. Discussion meandered at times. That’s on me, so I will have to adjust. Class went quickly, and we ran out of time to dissect the last readings as thoroughly as I’d like, because of our early inefficiency. I generally like to give grad students a lot of rope, especially early in a session, but I may need to tighten things up.
After class, got email from my elderly aunt, the last of her family, about her medical conditions. She had an eye stroke, which seems to be tied to her other ailments—a complex combination of blood cancer and other ailments. They’ve been able to stabilize her condition over several years. I hope that isn’t changing. I emailed a quick response and will call her tomorrow. I feel bad for her, the last alive of her large Irish-Catholic family.
Drove home in ten minutes—a Muncie commute. Arrived 9:45. Chatted quickly with B, who was off to bed. Turned on baseball—Nationals losing, per usual. Made a light snack of chips and cheese, plus some fruit (still full from my bowling-ball lunch). Diary writing, and vegging out for a bit. A busy, fairly intense work day, so it feels good to relax. Need to avoid staying up to late, an unproductive habit of mine.
The Nationals won! I can’t claim to be a real fan of the team, but my DC ties lead me to root for them here. I watched the last part of the game—it was exciting. It perked me up, so I used some of that energy to clean up the kitchen, which I’d neglected this morning (and the night before). Getting tired. Off to bed, 11:55. (Oops, I stayed up too late.)