Good things (a list to get me through the week).

Surely I am not the only academic who feels perpetually buried under — well, under stuff that needs doing. It’s a very daunting pile, and sometimes I think that the only plausible way that I could catch up would be to fake my own death.
But one must not lose perspective. Progress is made occasionally. And, in the background, there are cool things that make the press of obligations more tolerable.
So, this Tuesday night, I urge myself onward by taking stock of some good things, and some wee bits of progress.

We’ll start with the progress, for which I am indebted to the strategy of structured procrastination, also noticed here by John Wilkins. (Memo to Wilkins: I’ve actually used John Perry’s structured procrastination methods both to put off writing, and then later to write, a paper for John Perry. How’s that for using the master’s tools in his own graduate seminar?) Anyhow, I wrote some letters that needed writing (in my capacity as chair of a committee). I wrote up and mailed important Spring soccer information to the members of the team I’m coaching. I completed my 5th year “summary of accomplishments” for my departmental review.* I graded a bunch of case studies, leaving what should be a do-able stack of case studies to finish grading tonight after the sprogs are tucked in. Possibly I won’t even have to get up super-early to grade the stacks of short essays on Nietzsche that I’d like to return tomorrow.
Sure, tomorrow I’ll get another stack of papers to grade, but clearing the grading decks for even a few hours will feel like an achievement.
Now, the good things:
Good theater:
I got to see the A.C.T. production of Hedda Gabler on Saturday, and it was fabulous. As my better half put it, “It’s cool to go to the theater and see great acting that isn’t done by children.”** Beyond the acting, I suspect Paul Walsh’s new translation of the play from Norwegian had a lot to do with the awesomeness of this production. Although the play was set in the past, it really didn’t feel like a period piece. By and large, you could grasp the motivations of the characters, even as you hoped that you might be above some of those motivations. I was kind of shocked when the title character threw books, but she managed to win my (conflicted) sympathies by the final curtain, which is really saying something.
Good (low commitment) body modification:

Uncle Fishy came over on Saturday to sit for the sprogs while we went to see the play. He came bearing a Meyer lemon tart, a bottle of late harvest Riesling, and this cool serotonin temporary tattoo from RMD. The temporary tattoo came from Made With Molecules, but I can’t find a link on their website from which to procure more temporary tattoos. I will need to investigate further, since temporary tattoos are a hot comodity in the Free-Ride household. (We have had the requisite discussion about how your reputable temporary tattoo parlors always use clean washcloths to apply the tattoos.) Meanwhile, until my serotonin wears off, I am happy.

Good character:
The sprogs have been watching The Electric Company on DVD, and I have to say, Easy Reader (as played by Morgan Freeman) is one of the coolest characters in the history of television. His trademark song holds up even better than I could have hoped. Plus, he likes reading!
Good gadget:

For my birthday, my better half got me this awesome juicer. Sure, you can’t juice carrots with it, but there isn’t a citrus fruit that can withstand the PSI generated by this elegant piece of manual machinery. In light of the constant onslaught of citrus at Casa Free-Ride, it’s good to have a tool that’s up to the task. Also, there’s something about a well-designed gadget — especially one with no motors or plugs — that just makes me pleased with humanity and its accomplishments.
Yes, that fellow perched on the handle of the juicer is a skeleton who is part of a string of skeleton lights. Sometimes it’s nice to have an audience of skeleton lights when you’re making fresh squeezed lemonade.

I’m not saying all the things that make me happy are objectively good things.

What features of your environment are helping you smile through your week?
__________
*At my university, we have “big” retention/tenure/promotion reviews years 2, 4, and 6, and “little” reviews years 1, 3, and 5. My “summary of accomplishments” is for a “little” review, but it’s still the kind of thing that can become a time-suck.
**Locally, we have kids who can out-act most adults, so this should not be taken as damning with faint praise.