I seem to have made it over some sort of mid-semester hump where my to-do list seems finite, my schedule is manageable, and I can work on tasks that aren't due the very next day. It's crazy when your 40-hour a week job only takes 40 hours a week, right? Don't worry, I plan on making up this hour on Sunday.
Therefore, I think it's time to lay out a few things that I'm super excited about that now seem within reach
1. I joined a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) and come mid-June, I'll get a box of organic, locally grown veggies every week until December! I also have to put in 18 hours on the farm, which I hope will bring back some nostalgic feelings of my apple orchard back home. I went with Grant Family Farms due to positive experiences my friends have had with them. I can't wait to start getting these mystery boxes and cooking new foods! I'm currently reading Kingsolver's book
Animal, Vegetable, Miracle where she and her family eat locally for a year and reading it each night is making me crave vegetables like crazy! My lettuce in the garden can't seem to come up quickly enough for me. My 4X8' plot is clearly not going to sustain me, so the CSA is my key to reducing my carbon footprint via eating local foods. My garden, after the lettuce finishes, will consist of only tomatoes and basil if I have my way. I look forward to sharing food ideas with you as things get rolling!
2. I'm going to Boston for a week! I have a conference in Boston coming up and I'm excited to spend a few extra days there and check out this historic city. You should let me know where to stay and where to visit while I'm there if you're at all familiar.
3. I am only teaching two days a week for 8 weeks this summer, which means I can work from home the majority of the summer. I worked from home last summer and loved it. I worked maybe 6 hours a day, read out by the pool, gardened, cooked, and got lots of class prep done. I'm only on a 9 month contract, so technically, I don't get paid for summer work, but I can't keep myself from working. Summer school will give me a tiny amount of extra cash, maybe just enough to pay for a few plane tickets I have to buy for summer travel (wedding, family vacations, extra days in Boston at $200 a night). This leads me to my next one...
4. I am going to teach a new class in the fall for freshman called "Global Climate Change" and I am dying to get to May so I can start prepping for it. My colleague and I proposed this course ourselves, so I can't wait to put all of these great ideas into action. I'm also putting this goal out there, that I'd like to get back into my Greenland research since shit is hitting the fan on Greenland with that whole melting thing and I'd like to help out in any way possible in the research world.
5. Lastly, since I have to go meet folks for happy hour, I'm looking forward to late-spring weather! Summer is too hot around here and I don't actually have air conditioning, but late-spring weather is the best! 70's, storms, cool nights, lots of sunshine, it can't be beat!
What are you looking forward to that seems almost within reach?