20140924.0651

Things are finally returning to some semblance of normalcy from the tumult of the weekend just past. My wife, Ms. 8, and I were in Texas visiting my father-in-law and his family, which was fine and dandy. Less so was the fact that I took a head cold or some such thing, and I took it badly; I am not often laid out by one, but I was this time, such that I was still not in a condition to work Monday. (The Mrs. seems to be getting it, now, which is also bad; we have things at the house, and she works at a pharmacy, but still...) My wife and daughter did well, though, and so I am not displeased to have done what I could to help them see family.

I spent most of yesterday trying to catch myself up. It worked, more or less, but I find that I am not as...composed this morning as I would prefer to be to face the day. I think my students will appreciate not having a quiz today, but I also think they will be a bit annoyed at my not having gotten done the grading that I would normally have done. I would not worry, but their evaluations do factor into whether or not I get renewed, and as I do not yet have a stable job to which to go from this one, I need to secure this one as much as I can.

The job search is progressing, if slowly. There are not as many postings for my field this time as there were last time--so far as I have yet seen. Freelance work and the demands of teaching, as well as of the many research projects I have waiting for me (and to which I have not attended as diligently as I ought), have interdicted it somewhat. I try to send out one a day at least, but I have not done so well in that as I might otherwise hope. I press on, of course, as there is no other way, but I am not so...prolific this time around. What it says about me, I am not sure.

I do think that I have been busier this year than last. Ms. 8 accounts for some of it, of course; not only does she need attention in herself, she has prompted much more in the way of travel and visitors than had been normal for me before. (I am not complaining; I am instead glad she is so well loved.) Too, I have been working to improve myself so that I can land a more stable job and thereby do more to secure my daughter's future. I am working to get more material into print (which is working, if slowly) and to be of better service to my discipline. So far, I have been keeping up--but the illness of last weekend, minor as it is compared to what some others I know face, points out the difficulty I face in doing so and the instability of the situation.

I have got to get things done.