I had plans for this month, to provide a proper essay, but that didn’t work out as I was kept occupied by three things. I’ll go through them, before I map out what I hope to accomplish, hopefully sooner than later.
Firstly, and most obviously, I had to make sure that the students get their points and their grades. I am a teacher, so they do priopritize their work. It’s sometimes a bit … well … how to put it … frustrating that my time goes in to … all kinds of things … of which … perhaps … the most annoying one is admin. Back in the day, when I started out my studies, it was the department of … office that handled the admin, but they gradually axed the support staff, so that the teaching staff is responsible for just about everything. The office only does a bit of this and a bit of that these days, which is fair enough, considering that it’s typically just one person doing it all. Anyway, I’d love to get to focus on research, full time, instead of either half assing it (or, well, not really, but that’s how it feels, because it’s not full time research), but it is what it is and if my job title is teacher or lecturer, it’s what comes with the territory these days. That’s what they pay me for, so that’s what I do.
Secondly, and most excitingly, I had to work on a funding application. It’s for a new project that’s related to landscapes, but I’m keeping it to myself, for now, so that, well, obviously, ya’ll won’t steal my great idea (although, if you figure it out, on your own, fair play to you). I still need to work on it in January, but it is what it is. To be clear, I don’t have high hopes for this project. It’s pretty out there, kooky, which is what the funders claim to want, but then, later on, gets labeled as too acidic or too on acid, or something. It’s my best idea so far, so, yeah, I’d really like to get to do it. I’m not too pumped up about it though. I’ve never had any luck with these applications, so there’s that. I honestly don’t really like the way the system works. It’s this weird, n-year plan, like something out of the Soviet Union, as if you could plan a project that way, now, with everything working out great, when it’s obvious that the whole plan is just … well … some made up shit that’s not going to work out the way you planned. It’s all hype. I’m way more, intuitive and agile, willing to make things happen, here and now, when that idea hits me. To me, it makes no sense that you wait for the next application period and come up with some plan for the next three to four years, in hopes of getting to do it, when you could already be doing it. Like what kind of motivation is conditional motivation?
Thirdly, and, well, most painfully, I was out with a flu for like two weeks this month. I already endured two flus this semester, without missing a single teaching session, mind you, and this third one just wasn’t a great timing. Of course, it is what it is. What else can I say? Not much, I guess. It was a tough opponent. That’s for sure. Gotta give credit where credit is due. Totally had me on my knees, hallunicating like … not like never before, because that’s what you get with a tough flu, but, yeah, it was a pretty bad trip. It was pretty agonizing, but, again, it is what it is. You just have to make it. There’s no alternative.
What I hope to get done then? Well, I’ve done most of the work on an article re-write, so there’s that for early next year, but, for this blog, I definitely want to do more Spinoza. He’s just … well … that good. I also have some aces up my sleeve, stuff that I keep close to my heart, so, there’s that as well, but we’ll see, we’ll see.