Done! (At least until somebody tells me I've got to do more to it)

Yes, it's true: I have finished the Article.

I know that you, my readers, are very excited. This makes you think that I will go back to being my pleasant and un-whiney self. Or that I'll only whine about boys. Or that, I don't know - I'll go out and blow off some steam or something and that this will make for a good story.

I'm sorry to have to break this to you, but this is not true. Why? Well, because remember how I said I was over-committed a couple of posts ago? Well, I really am at the moment. I blame the reassigned time for giving me a false sense of security and well-being. At any rate, I've just realized that aside from all of the teaching stuff and end-of-semester service stuff that I have the following on my plate between now and July 3, when I (because I'm an idiot, but also because I want to pay off a credit card) begin teaching a summer class:

1) Review all submissions to issue of mini-journal I'm co-special-editing and respond to authors with comments.
2) Transform my MLA paper from this year into something for said mini-journal, because the other co-special-editor and others want it included because the other papers from the MLA panel that I organized will also be included. At least this needs only to be 10 pages long max and also - joy of joys - will be in MLA style! Yippee!
3) Write a paper for Big International Symposium that takes place every other June and generally falls right around a Very Important Imaginary Day. Need I note that I wrote the abstract having done no real work on this particular topic? And need I note that I wrote the abstract when the idea was freshly rattling around in my head from teaching the text about which I will talk, but that now I don't really know why I wanted to discuss what I'll be discussing?

And I'm dating. And I've got a boatload of grading that will come in. And I need to visit my family. And - and, and, and.

That said? June is going to be one fun month. And as far as the course I'm teaching - it's Intro to Lit, and thus I don't feel that stressed about that at all, as I could teach it in my sleep.

And actually, I'm pretty happy with all of what I'm doing. Lately I've really been feeling like I'm quite good at this job. Even though of course I'm frazzled and I've got too much to do, I really do feel like I'm doing good work. And I think that at the end of the day that the work that I do in this particular institutional context really means something, and I'm glad that I get to do what I'm doing here. (That isn't to say I'll never consider moving on to something else, but I do feel like working at this kind of institution has real value.) I don't know. How can I feel so good when all of the obligations feel so bad?