Well, the semester really and truly has begun.

I notice that I'm once again in that mindset where it feels like I'm running on a treadmill, where I'm awash in work that swirls by me in an uninterrupted stream. (Stream, ha. Like drinking from a fire hose, as Russ says.) For tomorrow's classes, I have a quiz to write, a handout to write, and inksheds to transcribe. And I'd better get a jump on the class for Wednesday - they also will have a quiz, and I have to come up with 90 minutes of appropriate activities, leading into their first major assignment. I'll have scant time to deal with that on Wednesday, because for Thursday I'll have 44 papers to read, 44 quizzes to grade, and two hours' worth of activities to plan . . .

It's now officially the time of year where I work during the day (more or less; admittedly, today I got to campus at 11:00), then spend at least two hours after dinner working on class prep for the next day. This will go on Monday through Thursday. (Well, actually, the evenings will probably only be Monday through Wednesday.) And I can count on putting in 4-8 hours over the weekend, too . . . I'm just astonished at how much work it all is. I'm already exhausted, and the semester has only begun. (Part of this can be accounted for by the Training Effect; once I'm up to speed with teaching in a few weeks, I won't be nearly so tired.)

It's still better this semester than it was last year at this time, though. And yes, this kind of workload is still worth it to me, if it means having the summer off . . .

But I've definitely hit the time of year when my exercise is severely curtailed. Hence the subject line: Although the weather is wonderful today, I elected to spend half an hour on the bike trainer rather than spend 90 minutes outside in the fresh air getting an equivalent amount of exercise. If I ride the trainer, I can read, too - two hobbies at once!! That's how it'll go from now until Christmas, I'm afraid.

Well, office hours are over, so I'm going to hit that ribbon o' highway . . . This is the last week for the outdoor pool, so I'm going to go lie by the side of it and write my quiz for tomorrow . . . (oh, yeah, and a guitar lesson tonight, too. I've hardly practiced! Gaaah . . . )