Best laid plans are…well, never that well laid, it seems, when they’re mine. I managed to finish the proposal and the grading of the midterm, so that’s something. But my editorial duties and homework grading still await.

I wish I felt more relaxed. My kids have had a real break; I wish I could have had it, too. But jobs with real breaks don’t usually come with very good salaries, at least not in this society. So yeah. Thanksgiving  grading and proposaling it is. 

Some days, the job really feels like a job. It used to feel like such a privilege, and there are still many such days, but the longer I do it, the more frequently I feel the jobbiness of it all. That’s probably natural with any long-term job. 

Someone asked in the comments to the November post why I remain in academia. I still owe the reader  a full post, but for now, I think it’s because an academic job is still the best job someone like me can have. In no particular order: no direct boss, lots of flexibility with time, working with young people, working with smart and interesting colleagues, working on fun and creative projects, job security of tenure, good benefits. See, listing it all like that does remind me that my line of work is a privilege. 

Tomorrow’s Monday again, so I bid you farewell, because that cheesy show isn’t going to watch itself  before bed.  

What do you do to unwind, blogosphere? Do you watch something? Read? Exercise? Bang head against wall until you pass out? Meditate?