Danielle Blog

Can I please not have another week like this one?

This week was reeeeeeeeeeeeeeeally rough.

(I just made this huge sigh unconsciously, and then I caught myself sighing)

Why was this week so rough?  Well, I spent Mon, Tues, Wed, and Thurs night working until about midnight each night and then, like usual, getting up at 5:15 each day.  Now, for some people this may not sound bad, but for me, the one who is used to getting 8-10 hours of sleep, this really sucked.

Each night, I would eat supper knowing that I was going to have to gear up and get to work preparing a lecture for the next day.  And there was this little part of me that just wanted to take the night off and cancel class the next day.  Buf, of course, I didn’t.  Because that would be Not Doing My Job.  And we all have weeks that suck because they take a lot of work, right?  Why should I be the exception to hard work?

In the end, it is Friday, and I made it through.  And this weekend, I don’t have to spend a day grading exams which will help me prep 2, maybe even THREE! lectures this weekend.  Three would be awesome.  I would love to be ahead by a couple of days.

The other things that took chunks of time this week which contributed to my busyness is that I wrote 2 proposals for summer research money.  They were both really short, so don’t start feeling TOO sorry for me.  But, they had to be readable for the non-scientist, which made it tougher than usual.  Plus, for the larger one that I turned in yesterday, I was asking for quite a bit of money; this is “quite a bit” on the grand scheme of school funding at a small liberal arts school i.e. $5000.  I really hope that I get 50% of the money at least.  I’d be thrilled with all, okay with 50%, squeezing by with 25% or so, and really in a tough spot with 0%.  At this point, I can’t apply to national funding agencies, because I’m not a permanent faculty member.  Not to mention, national funding agencies want to see some sort of proof that you can do at least a hint of what you are proposing.  Thus, I need to get the data this summer to be able to apply for national money in the future.

Conclusion, think good thoughts for me and this committee reading my proposal!

I guess that is all for now.  I’m able to write this now, because I left work at 1:30 and came home to nap.  I just couldn’t prep Monday’s lecture on so little sleep and energy.  And now, I’m feeling more like myself.  I think I’ll go eat a snack.  A nap, a snack and a weekend ahead to get caught up.  Life looks pretty good right now.

Not to mention that HB and I will be going out to eat for Valentine’s Day to a nice restaurant downtown!  I’ve been there for dessert back when I was in town for my post-doc interviews, but never for supper. Note: this would be the cake in the picture toward the end of the entry.
Hopefully, the regular food will be as good as the dessert. And if not, well, there is always dessert, isn’t there?