Busy busy busy, tired tired tired

Oh my, what a busy week! But the first week of term is always so busy that you think you're going to die, then you remember that the first week of term is always like that... and you're not going to die and you get through. On the whole, I have felt really GOOD all week - it's a little bittersweet but true that this is the first time in several years that I've been able to do my job without being dead tired and stressed by my homelife, always worried and run ragged by the demands of an invalid. As well, this is the first time in several years that I haven't been in a great deal of pain a great deal of the time. Crap, it's no wonder I collapsed in a heap when my mum died... Anyway. It does feel wonderful to be back and to be myself and to be in control of things again.

But it's been non-stop all week, getting started and meeting students and having orientations for my online courses (not to mention doing last minute throwing up of material in the new course). My two face-to-face literature courses seem really good; I have a nice bunch of students who are responding well, and all technology went off without a hitch. It is a little wierd going from Beowulf to Swift with an hour in between - for the students, too, as about a third of them are in both classes, and one poor child is in my online comp class as well. She's going to know me well by the end of the term!

I have to figure out whether to work at home or at work. I thought to work at work, then spent a lot of time being interrupted by one of my neighbours who wanted to tell me all about his latest research project or his enthusiasm for his new online course or to enlist my help in uploading files or operating the email system... And the doggies are showing signs of not liking to be left for long periods - this is one disadvantage of my mum no longer being here. I may have to consider daycare for dogs if I'm going to be out for long hours.

Oh well, I have my latest installment of Buffy to watch tonight, and a nice easy supper, so I think I'm going to go and relax now!

Vox

Thanks to oursin, I now have a Vox space, as intertext (I'm so unoriginal). Actually, so far I quite like it, apart from the ads, which are a mite annoying. I like the layout, and love the fact you can hook up with Flickr. I like the little book icons you can put in - this is something that comes in from Movable Type, I think. I've always wanted to do a "what I'm reading now" thing with pictures in the margins. Seems like a nice combination of all the features of 6 Apart's various offerings. Interesting that it has scooped up my flickr tags, which now appear in the sidebar. It'll be worth watching to see how it develops, I think.