Current mood:	stressed
Entry tags:	life, stuff, work

I'm still alive ...
I'm still here, really.


Just trying to get through a crazy period at work. Another two weeks until semester starts, and then things will get back to normal. Which sounds weird, but it actually makes sense. At the moment we are so busy trying to get everything ready before classes start, that things will become much quieter once semester actually gets underway. Had to fly to Sydney again last week, which was even worse than the trip last year. This time they scheduled meetings for me in the morning, starting at 9.30. Which means I had to catch a 6am flight out of Brisbane. Mother of god, that was possibly the hardest thing I have ever done - getting up at 4am to get to the airport in time. And then, the ditz that arranged my meeting had a mix up with the people at the other end and no-one actually told this guy that he had a meeting with me! So I'm sitting at a cafe at UNSW for about an hour waiting for someone to tell me what was going on, which made that 4am start even harder. The 5 hour meeting from 12 to 5 was a disaster too, which I came away from really angry. Such a waste of time, although in the long run it will be good that I went. The only thing that made any of it good was the 3 glasses of champagne that followed the meeting :).

All sorts of craziness going on with my phd, too. I do my phd at a different uni to where I teach, which has caused a bit of confusion over the last year. Now the Dean of the faculty where I work is trying to convince me to move my phd over to my work uni and have him as a supervisor, which would be fun, but could also possibly be a disaster. Then the various heads of schools weighed in, and they think that I should definitely bring my phd over ... and not to worry about the reams of paperwork that would involve, because they'll take care of it for me. Which is an incredibly generous offer, and it's definitely something to consider. The main concern I have is that changing universities and supervisors would necessitate a change in topic, although I'm not sure how big a change. At this stage in my phd, I don't know that I really want to change topics. But I have to be realistic about my chances of completing my phd, given that my current supervisor has absolutely no interest in what I do. One memorable conversation we had last year was about whether I wanted to have children, my supervisor assuming that I did, and that I should take into account that if I left it until I was in my 30s I might not be able to have children, and therefore I should consider having kids now ... which she followed by saying that 9 out of 10 women who have children while doing a phd drop out. I didn't know whether to start crying or to beat my head against a wall after that.

I've also been really reluctant to write anything about the various tv shows that I watch, because I think I (and I know everyone else) would get tired of the constant stream of vitriol that would pour out onto the page. I haven't read anyone's reactions to BSG or VM for awhile, which I will have to catch up on, but mine haven't been pleasant, except for some small exceptions. I also think Rory Gilmore needs to be smacked upside the head, making it hard for me to enjoy Gilmore Girls and even Supernatural has been getting on my nerves. How weird is that?!

Totally different topic: the boy started his new job today, which has been pretty stressful. He was really sad to leave his old job, but that was more to do with the people in his office than the company that he worked for. The actual work they had him doing was pretty wretched, so I'm glad he's out, but he's had mixed feelings. Haven't heard anything about the new job yet, so I'm really looking forward to seeing him after work. The fun part is that we catch the same bus now, where before he had to drive an hour each way to his work at the Gold Coast. So now we can sit on the bus together and hold hands, just like two kids in high school!

Sorry.


Will try to catch up this week, next weekend at the latest.