Vogue sur les flots August 15, 2008
Posted by eternalwriter in Français, overflow.3 comments
Ah, quelle aventure, les amis.
Je veux dire: le travail, la vie, l’été inconstant à Montréal… tout, quoi. Non mais, quelle aventure.
Heureusement, il semble que ça ne m’en prenne pas beaucoup pour trouver l’aventure. Ainsi je viens tout juste de compléter une étape euh… qu’on ne pourrait même pas qualifier de «préliminaire» pour une demande de subvention à venir (coming to you this fall) — c’est donc une étape antépréliminaire — et j’en suis toute tourneboulée.
Non mais c’est vrai, j’ai tendance à devenir complètement sur-stimulée quand je fais du travail intellectuel intense — comme si j’oubliais de respirer quand je réfléchis trop. Ce qui fait qu’au bout de trois heures d’un tel régime je suis tellement speedée que je dois me lever, tourner en rond, achaler les chats, et que sais-je encore.
Pas bon pour mon rythme cardiaque. Mais… ça rend la vie d’autant plus palpitante.
Tiens je vous conseille ça, pour vous sortir de votre prochaine phase léthargique: oubliez le trekking en Amazonie au milieu des serpents, oubliez les sports extrêmes — faites plutôt une demande de subvention, de préférence à la dernière minute! Y’a pas mieux pour s’échauffer le gros nerf frontal et aiguiser ses réflexes de défense stratégique.
Et là, si ça ne vous dérange pas, j’ai de l’adrénaline à écouler: une bonne partie de chasse aux bouquins usagés m’attend.
The countdown has begun — but to no avail… August 13, 2008
Posted by eternalwriter in English, blurb, professional procrastinating.2 comments
Yes, I am talking about the countdown to the first day of the semester. Suddenly, everything is urgent — or should be.
Because in fact, yours truly is not working enough, considering the urgency. Not near enough. I’m not even making lists, in case I might then remember something I had forgotten I had to do in the next two-three weeks.
Well, just so you know (and here, magically, my list appears):
- prepare four courses (new ones, which means I’ve never taught them before). Course packages (nor syllabi!) are not even close to finished;
- put together first-year evaluation dossier: half-done;
- finish grading one final exam turned in late from two months ago (I don’t even remember the questions I asked in said exam);
- torture myself as to whether I will do a grant proposal, but since I have no choice, torture myself about what in the world will be the topic my grant proposal;
- contact two of my colleagues and prepare a special one-day course for professionals; in order to do so, contact the Collective Services at my university in order to understand how the heck these things work;
- read a book and write a review for a journal;
- take care of an academic journal in need of new publisher;
- evaluate one PhD paper;
- evaluate one article for academic publication;
- think about maybe writing a new article myself (…);
- meet with grad students.
Actually, I have had this list for the whole summer.
But I’ve become really, really good at online Boggle-like word games.
Really good.
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How I Killed SW August 12, 2008
Posted by eternalwriter in English, new life, overflow.10 comments
Well, it was easy, actually. I pulled the plug and — almost — did not look back. I mean, I had all my posts saved to my hard drive, as well as everyone’s comments.
I must admit I had a bout of… aesthetic regrets, though. I liked my old “home“, the way it looked and felt.
And I liked my occasional readers and commenters, too. It was lame on my part, to desert you in such a brutal way. I have kept on reading your blogs, in case you wonder.
But the hardest part of leaving SW behind just hit me a few weeks ago. Everything I had written about, everything I had… contained in the blog page, well it is all coming back to me now, at night, in the form of vivid dreams. I am awake, now, and it feels like I have forgotten something very important, it feels like I’ve misplaced some thing or another. I cannot shake the feeling.
I am swarmed by my old life. Nothing is contained anymore. I find myself wishing I had not deleted some e-mails, and wishing I knew why, and wishing I did not wish so much.
Here’s to yet another life.
