Tasks for the Day

I have a lot of shit I need to do. And so, a to-do list:

• Go for a walk on this beautiful day.
• Look at abstracts for MLA panel; decide whether to extend the deadline to get more submissions.
• Minor revisions to review essay.
• Grading for at least 2 if not 3 classes.
• Dishes.
• Work on research reading, and at minimum get through ILL books that will come due sooner than the other books I've got checked out. (I've got like 28 books checked out of the library.
• Read novel that will be the cornerstone of at least one upcoming conference paper, as well as of chapter in NB.
• Prep for classes next week.
• Begin work on conference paper.
• Make notes for pedagogy essay that I REALLY should submit for a special issue of a journal. Deadline isn't until June, but if I'm going to do this, I should really do some preliminary stuff now to decide whether I will actually write the thing.
• Email to chair reminding him about my concerns re: our language in our dept. handbook re: going up for full professor. (The issue is that we don't really have language about what "counts" in terms of scholarship. Historically it's been a "book" of some kind, but let's be serious: we are not a school that should require two books for tenure. We should have some sort of language that makes it more flexible, i.e., book or series of well-placed articles. And yes, the main reason that this is on my agenda is that even though I'm working on a Next Book, I'll have a series of well-placed articles more quickly than I'll have the next book published, and those should count substantially and not just be icing on the cake.
• Decide whether to email chair of MLA panel to which I submitted an abstract weeks ago to check on status.
• Put money on laundry card.
• Achieve zen-like acceptance of the fact that yesterday came and went without getting any news on house, in spite of claims that I would hear something yesterday. Also wish that more houses would be listed that fit my criteria so that I can start looking at more houses next week if possible. Though I suppose wishing for something isn't really an item on a to-do list.
• Minor revisions on other essay that I should have completed MONTHS ago.

I think I'll tackle grading first and foremost, then the two revision tasks. If I get those things accomplished, it seriously would be fine if I do nothing else. Actually, it would be a miracle. Might as well aim high, and maybe I'll actually get those three things done? Doing so would go a LONG way to eliminating the stress I'm currently feeling.