Tuesday, June 19
What is it with academics and summer?

While school's been out for a while, for reasons I can't blog about, my summer's just begun. Everyone else seems to think that summer's almost over.

As I see it, I still have more than two full months of summer left, minus a couple conferences or commitments here and there. Yet, inevitably, any chat with a fellow academic (fellow faculty, grad students, or friends) is about how summer is "slipping away" or is "almost over" or "has just gone by too fast."

Trust me, I'm not an optimist. Why do I feel like there's still so much more time left, that so much more that can be accomplished?

Summer, my friends, is definitely half-full. Every day I get to come into my office and work without students to cater to, lectures to write, papers to grade. There's no line at the campus coffee shop and faculty meetings are a thing of the past.

The rest of the world can continue to treat summer like it's on its last leg, but I'm going to enjoy this break for the half-full martini or margarita or mocha latte that it is. I hope you will too!

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

maybe some people feel like it's on its last legs b/c they got out in early may. i am used to a mid june ending and hence, am right there with you. there is much fun left!

--strawberries

Anonymous said...

My final examiner's meeting is at the end of this week, so my summer doesn't really start until Monday - ooo boy, can't wait!

Poppy Red said...

Oh my goodness, I hope the summer isn't almost over! I have a lot to do (for my degree) and also a lot more fun to have! I've been teaching summer classes, so in a sense my summer hasn't truly started yet either...

Anonymous said...

I agree with what poppy said--I sure hope it's not over, because I have a lot of writing to do yet! I think those of us who teach summer classes are also feeling that claustrophobic sense of not having enough time to do research or other things, given the pace of the summer term. I keep wondering when I will actually have a summer . . .

Turquoise Stuff said...

It's definitely not even half over! Even if you're at a school where teaching starts in early/mid-August, you still have almost two months over. But if you're in one that only starts well into September then almost three months to go! So yes, it is still full, even more than half in many cases!

Julep said...

I dunno about those fools but it feels half full to me because I've accomplished about half of what I had wanted to accomplish by this point in the summer. ARGH!

Unknown said...

The more you shall honor Me,
the more I shall bless you.
-the Infant Jesus of Prague
(<- Czech Republic, next to Russia)

God bless your indelible soul.