Whenever I start to leave needlessly elaborate comments on other people’s blogs, that’s a signal I should probably write my own post. The exhausting semester proceeds apace, with the pace being one that gives whiplash. Sunday evening is a time of dread as I face the calendar of upcoming obligations.

Last week, I had a group meeting till half an hour before my afternoon lecture. A normal person would assume I’d use that time to go to the bathroom, maybe glance at my notes, and just generally get in the headspace needed to prance with markers for seventy-five minutes (plus up to an hour after class). Alas, I had to squeeze in another online meeting into those thirty minutes. Yes, that was the only possible meeting time. As they say, FML. I felt so lucky and so grateful that the squeezed-in meeting ended ten minutes early and I could, in fact, go to the bathroom. This is not normal.

I wrote on Twitter (that would be my long-neglected xykademiqz/Sydney Phlox account) that, if I could get rid of service in exchange for more teaching, I totally would. In a heartbeat. Maybe I should pitch it, see if my chair would go for it. Probably not, but a girl can dream.

I take Saturdays off (yesterday I had all these relaxation plans, many of which were sidelined by me taking a three-hour nap in the afternoon, like an infant, and still going to bed at a regular hour, and watching more episodes of Invasion with hubs. Today (Sunday) was shopping, cooking, chores, and catching up on work, student question through the discussion portal, random shit I needed to send to colleagues (papers, data, slides), etc. I’m hopelessly behind on everything that actually matters (e.g., papers going out so our grants would get renewed and other “unimportant” stuff).

OK, I’m bumming myself out. Here’s some levity from the platform formerly known as Twitter, where one could previously find a humorous tweet followed by plenty of wit in the comments, but can now generally finds a humorous tweet followed by a trashfire of unrelated comments.

Without further ado, from my bookmarks:

https://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/how-rock-and-roll-stays-relevant-in-middle-age-and-beyond

This is officially the busiest semester I’ve ever had in my life. 😭

Teaching overload; insane service; the two afternoons I am not completely swamped with the former two,  I’m desperately trying to finish and submit some papers.

I am not twenty or even thirty anymore, and my body no longer tolerates lack of sleep. If I get less than 5 hours, I’m useless the following day; this wasn’t the case when I was young, but I suppose  all good things must come to an end.

Face time with students and colleagues is so much more draining now than it used to be. On days when I teach my classes, I need a good 30–60 min after the last class for the adrenaline high to dissipate before I am human enough to head home.

Bottom line, I really have to do all my work at work and I can’t skimp on sleep or downtime like I used to, because there will be hell to pay if I do. I have objectively more work now than I did before because I’m more senior, and while I am better and more efficient at my job, I also can’t work nonstop like I used to, nor do I want to, if I’m being honest.

How is your semester going, blogosphere?