Happy New Academic Year!

I should make new (school) year's resolutions! Except I can't think of any at the moment.

I am reasonably ready for the first day of school. I packed my lunch and put all my bags together and laid out clothes like I am still a seven year old, but I really find that doing that kind of prep helps, even if it feels silly.

As part of this silliness I have to leave postit notes in various places reminding me that there is a lunch packed in the fridge, or else I always forget it. Yes, I leave them up all year, only taking them down sometimes when that in fact is not true and there is no food in the house.

Another nice thing about doing all that silly prep the night before is that my brain melts into a puddle of goo at some point in the evening, making actual work impossible, and this way I still get some stuff done. That's why I said "reasonably" ready. I have the syllabus copied and stuff together and the start of a class to do list --- lesson plan? well, it's nowhere near as fleshed out as a lesson plan. whatevs. --- but my brain rebelled when I was planning out the details of the first assignments after "read the syllabus together and yell at them for various stupid stuff they are bound to do anyway." And I'll need to get together more stuff for Tuesday's classes too. Luckily I have time tomorrow morning and will do a whole bunch of prep then while I am fresh and alert.

I feel like I should make resolutions. What sort of resolutions should I make? Am I so perfect I can't find anything to improve about myself, or maybe so damn egotistical I can't see all sorts of obvious things I need to change? Hmm. I have been quite good about keeping my "exercise regularly" and "go have fun with friends more" resolutions. The two cancel each other out at the weight-loss level, though.

If not resolutions, maybe I should be planning my Fall Goals? Hmm. I need to a) finish the article and send it out, b) do all my job market work, and c) do just enough teaching and grading that my classes hold together without giving them more priority than a and b. (Sorry, school --- if you wanted it you should have put a ring on it, or at least extended the postdoc.) I shall have to make a to do list for those items soon, but I can't think straight tonight.

What about everybody else? Does anybody else have any good new resolutions, goals, or funky new things to try? I would love to start a new hobby or some sort of new creative endeavor, but I just won't be able to manage it this semester.