The week of "what did I do today???"

I thought this week would be a bit more quiet but it seems that I vastly underestimated the time it would take me to wrap up on the teaching business and on the travel fund application stuff.

So in order to wrap up teaching (for now) I still had a pile of essays to mark, and two piles to read to cross check marks given by the TA (we’ve been working on these together and they were new so we thought two people marking would be better than one). Also had to prepare questions for three exams, and prepare brief expected answers for them so that I can mark them consistently and more efficiently.

There is also one last funding application for the Long Stay Abroad that I want to send in, and which is due next week.

On top of that there are a few tasks, more or less important, that I have to squeeze in: a paper review (short paper) and website updating stuff. And a conference abstract to submit.

I very stupidly thought I would be able to do all this during flights to and from the weekend trip to Husband’s country; that did not work because: on the way to there, the passenger in front of me put his seat back and I could barely see my screen or type (I have a largish laptop because I need a big-ish screen), and the flight back, well I was very tired and the flight was delayed so no energy left. I also thought I could do a lot of this on my train commute. But trains have been packed, I’ve had to travel standing, which is really not great, even for flipping through reports.

So I resolved to drop (again hhhh) the research for a few days and just clear my desk of all these things. Not going as fast as I wish but making progress nonetheless. I have:
-finished the application. Only need the department chair’s signature.
-almost done with the abstract. I mean, really, this time.
-finished with marking the essays. I’ll compare them all one last time tomorrow and then will drop them at my colleague’s. Have to check for some plagiarism crap.
-made good progress with the other two piles (about half way).
-for the website, I’m mostly waiting for colleague’s last comments, I will speak to our webmaster tomorrow for a few last details, and that’s that.
-finished two sets of questions, and have a few ideas for the next one. (“Is this question worth 5 or 6 points?” pfff).

So hopefully, stepwise girl will be back in the business on Friday. Fingers crossed.

Wow. Long post about nothing. Sorry about that. And by the way, I am brewing some thoughts on writing, following ecogeofemme’s question. Also next week I’ll be attending my country’s association of women in science general assembly – my first. Hopefully some good stuff to report there.