Back to Work

Apparently the airlines know all about me. Our reservation reference number for our flight to Washington state last week was LEZKWR. That's some sort of coincidence.

Today is my last day of vacation. I've been working off and on all month, in five-minute to five-hour spurts, but beginning tomorrow, I will start following my 32.5 hour work schedule (3 hours of writing in the morning, 3.5 hours of "miscellaneous academic tasks" in the afternoon. I've got to stop this practice of sitting down for five minutes to do a task, only to discover eight hours later that I've lost the entire day to research. That kind of behavior makes me angry and resentful, and quickly reminds me why I hate my chosen career path. If I want to make it through the long haul, I need to start forcing myself to work within pre-set limits. I've downloaded an electronic timer, and as soon as I finish this post, I'm going to install it. Write for three hours in 50-minute blocks and then STOP. Research/academic tasks for three hours in 50-minutes, with an additional 30 minutes of wrap up time, NO MORE.

Anyway, as I said, today is my last day of vacation. We've just returned from eight days with my parents. We tarred the garage roof, painted the wheelchair ramp, mowed the front lawn, helped my brother build a new dog fence, ran a billion errands, went over to the Methow to explore Pipestone Canyon and drive up Eight Mile (ran into snow before the end of the road), went up the Sinlahekin, had dinner with my best friend from my hometown, visited with three aunts and two uncles, and watched too much TV. We flew into Spokane on the clearly omniscient Frontier Airlines via Denver, and I have to say, for an airline experience (of which I have WAY TOO MANY), it was pretty nice. Avis Rentals, however, will be hearing from me soon--what kind of car rental agency sends you off in a 4-wheel drive with transmission fluid in it? Did they think I wanted to get stranded out in the middle of the forest with frozen gears?

So, back to the grind. A list of tasks to be completed tomorrow afternoon:

Writing Session

1. Literature review notes
2. Adapt fellowship to intro
   

Afternoon Work Session

1. E-mail M.D.
2. SSRC-IDRF bio/abstract
   
3. Article revisions
4. Make copies of dissertation writing workshop forms
5. Find JS book!
6. Overdue library book
   

After Work

1. E-mail L.S.
2. Call tree surgeon
3. Trim photos
4. Pick up paint chips
5. Mail insurance papers
6. Check medivac insurance policies
7. E-mail Ayse re: bills