Saturday, October 3, 2015

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With the new month, there is a new tendency in the weather around Sherwood Cottage. It has cooled dramatically; yesterday ranged only into the 70s Fahrenheit, and it was in the 50s when I walked to work. The cool was invigorating, and my teaching persona was significantly more...emphatic as I conducted my classes and sat for my office hours. (In the latter, I worked on my book chapter and on a report, which I finished yesterday evening.) The Mrs. and I had the house open for most of the day, letting the outside air flow through where the air conditioner had long been running and refreshing much of the inside of Sherwood Cottage, which is to the good. Today seems poised to be much the same, which I appreciate, not only because it lowers my bills, but also because there is something nice about having an actual autumn--even for a dedicated indoorsman like me.

I'll not be able to enjoy as much of it as might otherwise be the case, of course, because work continues. (See how I slipped it in there?) I managed to get through the teaching week decently enough, and I spent time working on other projects--which is to the good. But a freelance piece is waiting for me, and although I have scaled back the freelancing to some degree (my client and I are okay with my working on one each week while the semester is on), I cannot let it lapse entirely. I have a novel to read today and a write-up to begin (and, it is to be hoped, to finish tomorrow; I should be able to make it work). Afterward, I have more writing to do, and students submitted papers yesterday; I will need to assess them before too long. (I did tell them I would not be rushing to plow through them, though, so I have a bit of time available to me for that task.)

Among that "more writing to do," aside from a book chapter, job applications, and an email I really need to send out to panelists of mine, is a response to a call for submissions. An email reached me that notes an agency is in search of age-appropriate verse and short prose passages for use in testing--and the pay-out for each accepted submission is more than adequate. It is a thing I need to answer, certainly, even if the idea of me writing "age-appropriate" materials for use on standardized assessments is somewhat...odd. I have long noted prioritizing my family over even my own personal ethics; working to support my wife and daughter takes precedence over other matters for me. I can do work for employers I find...questionable for such a reason. And I am aware that in saying such a thing, I put myself at the top of a slippery slope, indeed; I hope my stance remains steady as I stand here.

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