WHY is it that, you can sit all day waiting for a call from the garage yet they manage to call when you're in the bathroom? OVERHEARD: small child, crying inconsolably frustrated female voice: But I thought you liked your new haircut child, between sobs: I DO, but we left my hair at the shop! I had a bit of a breakdown at Easter - physical, mental, whatever.  Stress, overwork, whatever.  Basically back to the full post viral fatigue sort of symptoms I had 15 years ago without a precursor virus, coupled with stronger brain issues than I remember (lack of concentration, patchy ..read more

 My house is a typical northern terraced house with no front garden or yard, just step up to a door onto the street.  The upstairs front room is my bedroom and sometimes I can't help but hear what's going on... today's gem: I hear two little kids running down the pavement, giggling.  They reach an adult who says "Well done, you're both getting so fast!" Then a small voice says urgently: "Mummy I need the bathroom" MUMMY: "Why?  we just went" CHILD: "Running jiggled my wee!!!" I know exactly what they meant ..read more

 I'm currently on sick leave after hitting a mental and physical wall at Easter break.  Needless to say, being me, as soon as I could focus for an hour or two a day, I let myself be guilted/guilted myself into doing some of the most urgent marking (i.e. projects I supervised) and meeting my grad students and doing tasks for next year.  But. UGH.   Here's the latest stress canary sketch: Stress Canary contemplates the state of academic in the year 2022   ..read more

 Still here. Still grumpy. Still creaky. Re-reading Martha Wells' Murderbot Diaries, which are wonderful, highly recommend. And really, after having a moan over at Top Left Quadrat this week, that's all I have to say ..read more

 Everyone in the D&D group I run games for is involved with mock assessments at school or college, so attendance has been erratic.  However, those who CAN play are always very keen.  So we've been mixing our longer-running story campaigns with a "job board" game when only a couple of people can attend - I made up a noticeboard which lives in the Rapier & Ruin tavern, just inside the city gate of the city which I developed two years ago for a campaign with my nibling which is currently on hiatus (we finished an arc, then paused).  The premise is that this is where ad ..read more

 Today, in class, I discovered that I'd prepared all the slides for NEXT week's weekly seminar, not this week's seminar.  oops!  Wishing the trimester away... well, I am.  Aren't we all? Doomscrolling is so tempting, but it's not helpful.  But the news is so bad... As a tutor I was asked today to reach out to Ukrainian- origin students in our department, which went smoothly but was still an extra bit of emotional energy from a nearly empty pot.  This is the sort of tiny thing that students need, that matter, but that have no value in the career sense... I hate th ..read more

  Had a day on campus last week.  First I got up earlier than normal and fed Fluffball early - he was pleased but also confused so mixed EATING breakfast with YELLING for breakfast which is what he'd usually be doing at that time. Then I went downstairs and didn't sit down, just got my stuff together and left the house.  Which confused his brain, but he just wandered off again. It wasn't the best block of time on campus, between a Covid-denier student who has suddenly become exempt from mask wearing (last week, indeed ever since September, many arguments and resistance to univer ..read more

Things that (very very rarely*) happen when on campus: I'm on a call with an upset student - just as they burst into tears, I hear That Ominous Noise from behind me, the one all cat-owners recognise, and the Fluffball decides to return his breakfast all down the stairs.  I hope I managed to be professional and kind with the student... and Fluffball had just trotted off for second breakfast and a nap so didn't hear the mutterings as I cleaned up once the student call was done. *Very very rarely because there was the infamous incident of the class where one student had a crying fit and ano ..read more

 and I am not ready... (well, I'm ready for tomorrow, which is something?  Even if it is just tutorial?) Also Fluffball keeps sitting on my arm, my mouse (with my hand on it), my keyboard keypad - but if I actually stop and pet him it's never quite what he wanted.  This might have a little bit to do with Sister buying a humungous tub of his favourite cat treats for Christmas, and He Knows I Know where they are ..read more

 Well that was a rather rubbish week.  I'm really tired, not sleeping well, overwhelmed, and probably having allergies (it's very early, but also very mild climatically after a cold spell, and some daft things are flowering, so... either allergies or I got a cold from somewhere despite barely seeing other people).  I made several mistakes through lack of attention, but it's more inability to pay attention than distraction if that makes sense?  And we couldn't find a time for D&D this weekend which doesn't help - it makes me get up and it's fun and I feel useful/valued a ..read more