RBOC

Things have been strange around here - an odd combination of novelty and routine, that have kept me busy but also surprisingly unable to describe these events in a coherent way. So here go the bullets

• I know everyone hates doing their taxes. But there is something soothing about organizing everything and accounting for everything. Because I use my vehicle part of the time to earn money, I also now know that I spent $461 on fuel last year. Not bad. I don't drive everyday, but even with that, I'm delighted that the number was that low. Of course that was also diesel fuel, which for most of the year was cheaper than gas.


• I've had really good conversations with my committee members lately, so I'm feeling good about the dissertation. This unfortunately is coinciding with a huge amount of other work that takes me away from it however.


• Even though I'm teaching two sections of the same course, there are vastly different dynamics developing in each classroom. This makes it hard to deliver the same content to these two very different classes.


• I've requested spring teaching, but am ambivalent about it. I like the idea of teaching (and of course the bit of money this brings) but also have a lot of writing that needs to get done. Perhaps I wouldn't be so ambivalent if I felt like I had a bit more time available for working on the dissertation and other writing projects.


• We're planning on doing some home improvements over the next several months. I know it's a recession, but we've been talking of these things since we moved in, and the announced tax credit for house renos has made those conversations take on a more pragmatic tone. At the same time, I'm a bit reluctant to commit to them. So we'll see.


• I will have to clear out the library/playstation room downstairs sometime over the next few weeks. Say, that could be the punchline to a joke. What do you get when a geek marries one of the cool kids? A playstation/library!
  


• I feel weirdly disconnected from the things going on around me. I don't know if it's some kind of strange after-effect of being sick this last week, or a more garden-variety ennui, but it's really messing with my planning. It's hard to put together a plan for the day, or the week, or the project, when you don't feel like any of it is relevant.
  

I suppose that last bullet is why I'm having problems writing as well. "Strange" is definitely the watchword for this week, that's for sure.