A Hodgepodge of Things

Don't worry - I'm not reverting to the list-y, insubstantial posts of the first part of the summer. Well, I am, but only for today. Why can I not do a real post today? Well, I've got a lot going on - work-related, social, as well as plans for posts that are in the works.

First of all, I've not abandoned the Photo Meme project. In fact, I'm hard at work on it, and I've decided that I'm going to create posts that go with individual and/or groups of photos because to me it seems like that would be much more interesting than just putting up a bunch of pictures. (This is probably because I'm not a particularly visual person, as well. To me, a picture is not equal to a thousand words, no, not at all.)

Second, I've had a post about rejection percolating for months, and I think now might be the time to do it, but it's going to take some effort. Also, I've been spending lots of time thinking about how I'm going to commemorate my Anniversary as a Blogger (which isn't really this blog's anniversary, since I switched spaces, but still, I feel like this is a good time for a year in review as I began blogging on July 22, 2004), which will also double as my Birthday-Self-Evaluation-post, as that's upcoming a couple of weeks after the blog anniversary.

As far as non-blog-related things, I'm hard at work on the following:

1. House-cleaning. I spent approximately 2-and-a-half hours cleaning my bathroom from top to bottom yesterday. (It was filthy, but I also think I went a little OCD on the thing. I mean, scrubbing the whole place down with bleach and then scrubbing it again to make sure it's clean with other products? That's kind of insane. The place is SPARKLING now, though.) On today's agenda is the living room and dining room. I've also been weeding out MOUNTAINS of paper, which is an ongoing process. And then this weekend I shall tackle my filthy kitchen.
   
2. Finishing touches on the mini-journal project. Finishing touches which I MUST have done by Monday. There isn't terribly much to do, but it is tedious work. I guess that's what I'll do on Saturday.
3. Reading my diss/book manuscript from beginning to end, making notes, changing chapter titles, and deciding which couple of chapters would best represent the project in terms of book proposal stuff. Because I'm turning that piece of crap into a book if it kills me, and now is the time to do it. So I feel like I need to read the manuscript by Wednesday, and then I can make a schedule about the other things I need to do. My aim is to have the thing turned into a book proposal to send out by mid- to late-September.
4. The awesome (not) task of updating my PRT Book (as in, the notebook I must turn in yearly for reappointment/tenure/promotion). No third year reviews for this establishment - I'm reviewed every damned year. I think this is actually kind of positive, but I also think it's a big pain in my ass. Tasks related to this include things like updating my CV, writing all of these self-analysis-type letter things to explain the contents of the book, and putting "documentation" in plastic sleeves - but only after highlighting stuff to make it easy to see what's important! The whole thing is a thorn in my side. Especially since we're limited to one binder but at the same time they want us to show "everything" we do. If I don't find a way to edit, I'm going to be S-C-R-E-W-E-D. I'm only just finished with my third year and I already am on the second to biggest binder that you can buy (at least as far as I'm aware).
   
5. Diet and exercise. Annoying, but throughout my travels I'd put back on about half of the weight I'd lost in the spring, and even in terms of the weight I'd lost in the spring, I hadn't reached my goal weight because I crapped out after the 10-week point. At any rate, things are going well with that.
6. I sent out a call for papers for a panel that I'm trying to put together for a conference. I think it's a cool idea, the idea for the panel, and I hope that I get some responses that are cool. Otherwise? I may just nix the whole "organizing my own panel" idea and submit an individual paper proposal. The coolest thing about the call for papers is that it's gotten me back in touch with a friend from my Master's program with whom I've not been in touch for like 9 years.
   
7. Preparation for job market. As of right now, this mainly includes agonizing about how to ask people for letters. And calculating who will be best to write letters. And then agonizing about that. And then coming up with a B-list in case anybody refuses to write me a recommendation. Oh, and then I throw in - just for variety, you know - a little bit of agonizing about the job materials, as I don't really know how to go on the market as a non-new person. I mean, clearly my cover letter, for example, will be slightly different. As will some of the other things. I'm just not entirely sure HOW. (To be honest, I'm not really that stressed about going on the market. I mean, the agonizing is just my process for this sort of thing, but really the market right now is not something I'm dreading or something that is terribly upsetting to me. You know why? The worst that can happen is nobody wants me. And I'm in the job I'm in. That's really not so bad, you know? Except for the teaching load. That is totally shitty, and there is no way to dress that up as anything but shitty, especially given the amount of research/service I do.)

So yeah. That's everything that's going on with me. Oh, and tonight a good friend of mine and I are going to dinner because she's in town on business. Very much looking forward to this dinner, and in preparation I am now off to the gym so that I can feel ok about eating, say, mashed potatoes.