Exhaustion & A Non-Stop Treadmill
Too tired for much in the way of "creativity" today, so as was the tagline in "Dragnet"..... "Just the facts."
- My busyness has ramped up considerably the last week. Trying to keep juggling all the responsibilities without having a collapse of balls onto the ground is no easy task at the moment. It feels like I am trying to juggle 15 balls simultaneously.
- I have been persistent in maintaining my running.... even though it is exhausting with all the other things I am needing to do. I have gotten up twice at 3:30am to run (with a headlight) so I could get in enough miles to stay consistent.
- An old friend & retired colleague of mine.... his wife passed away, and it has been hard. She was also a good friend as well.
- A cousin passed away.... again hard.
- My student's research presentation of some of our lab's research went very well.... I went to see him speak even though I was not officially registered for the conference. It was close enough for me to drive to... but the drive time ate up a lot of time too.
- Grant spending deadlines are looming and I have to get all my ducks in a row about what I can order/purchase.
- Close-out document deadlines are fast approaching for one grant.... and the fussy paperwork is a logisitical pain in the posterior.
- U paperwork for a NEW grant needs to be accomplished as well, and the fussy folks in administration are sticklers for getting this paperwork done NOW.
- Animal Research and Human Research applications have to get done and submitted to give the slow as molasses folks enough (read excessive) time so (finger's crossed) they will have worked through the system and will be approved BEFORE Fall starts. Again, both are supposed to take only two weeks from the time of submission, but that is a pipe dream with both sets of the evaluators. I will be damn lucky if I hear anything back in 7 weeks.
- We are planning a party for a relative that is fairly labor intensive as well.
- In theory I am potentially going to visit an archival library containing papers of an historical biologist I try to write about biographically. But, to get to visit this place, I must do so before the end of the month, otherwise I will not have any costs covered.
- There is a lot more. But, now I am feeling stress about not actively gnawing away at the looming pile of work, so I had better end here.
- I do have to fully admit.... a pipe or two or twelve..... would be a welcome tool to support me as I wade through all this "deadlined" effort.
- Addendum….. I also had to big voice Lecture all day!!!! I am pooped and still need to a helluva lot more today!!!!
3 Comments:
I do have to fully admit.... a pipe or two or twelve..... would be a welcome tool to support me as I wade through all this "deadlined" effort.
Professor, I worry that one of these days you'll impulsively grab for that welcome tool at a time when you feel a particular need for support... and then you will guilt yourself terribly when you realize that you're feeling drawn back into full-time pipe-smoking. That's why I hope that you will instead find a time when you are under relatively less stress, and will THEN deliberately enjoy a pipe or two to ease you back into your beloved pastime. If you return because of wisdom and recognition of what your pipes mean to you, I expect you'll be happier in the long-term than if you return because you gave in to some temporary feeling of overwhelm. I hope you do return, Professor... but on your own terms in your own time and manner.
Oh, those were juggling balls that collapsed. Considering my circumstances, my mind went elsewhere. lol
This is SO much to keep on top of. It feels like some of the "balls" are ready to drop! Grant writing is indeed time-consuming and tedious, according to my older daughter. She's written quite a few of them.
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