A Mind Becalmed by the Rigors of the Known
Those of you who know me know that I typically use the summer months as a time to focus on software projects. I run a writing center, and during the normal academic year I teach, train, and supervise as many as 45 undergraduate and graduate student workers. So I use the summer months as a time to withdraw (a bit) from the demands of running a busy writing center to write software for the Center.
This summer, however, was quite different. Our Center hosted an international writing centers conference in early August. Five or six months of intense preparation followed by five or six days of very intense work. On top of that a colleague and good friend of mine resigned his position in the Center (in favor of a tenure-line teaching job in Bellingham, WA), and I chaired the search committee that found his replacement. Sheesh! It was a ton of work and stress.
At any rate, both the conference and the search ultimately turned out quite well. We got props for how well organized we were for the former, and I have a great new colleague as a result of the latter effort, so all's well that ends well.
Having said that, there was no time for writing software and no time for blogging. What's odd is in the wake of this surfeit (or one might well call it a "hurricane") of work, I'm finding myself oddly calmed by what I've typically recoiled from: the startup process of a new academic year. Don't get me wrong, I'm quite busy. But the labors of the known process of getting the Center and its programs up to speed for the fall pale in comparison to the rigors of my summer "vacation."