lately the question "how's your break going" has come up a few times and i feel myself edging towards irritation when i hear the query. this is mostly due to the fact that i haven't really felt like i'm on a break yet. i have already started teaching my two summer classes (in week two and three of them actually), i've had to finish up my annual review, attend some meetings, plan for some more meetings, and finish grading. SO it has been a bit of a crazy few weeks and i'm still trying to get used to the idea that things really will eventually slow down.
now, don't get me wrong, i know i should be complaining because people with non-academic type jobs don't get the summer off and i realize that. AND i really do love what i do most of the time. but after this crazy year, i really feel like i need some down time or i'm not going to have a good third year. the thing a lot of people don't know about this prof gig is that to some degree, it can be never-ending. for example, this summer i need to get ready for the fall and my january term course, do some research, register new students at conferences, do some more research, possibly participate in some more meetings, and deal with the two courses that i'm teaching. when the semester starts, it will be back to the grind with more meetings, more grading, more figuring out what i'm doing in classes, and so on and so forth. so though yes, officiallly i'm not on contract this summer....i won't be spending the time lounging on the beach. :) hopefully eventually when i've done this for a while i'll be able to take a real break, but until the tenure clock stops ticking, i have a feeling life will be busy.
in the meantime, i'm going to have a piece of wacky cake, enjoy a cold beer, avoid grading, read some of the current non-academic book i'm working on right now (A Long Way Down by Nick Hornby), and get some sleep. :D
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