Friday, May 30, 2008

Shadow Stabbing #13?

"I thumb the cool blade but I know this can't last."
CAKE


I'm not generally a superstitious person, but my luck appears to be following some kind of system these days. (Live by the sword, die by the sword, I guess.) I had already decided to reduce my video posts from 16 to 14 episodes this semester. This week, I have reduced my goal further to 13. I haven't had the time or the strength to make the season finale yet but I'll hopefully get it done next week.

The good thing is that I'm learning. This semester, I've been trying to concentrate my work into sixteen working weeks, and I am gettting a much better sense of what is actually possible, given both predictable and unpredictable interruptions and distractions.

Establishing a schedule and carrying it through gives you a way of keeping track of how you work. It lets you learn from experience what you can realistically expect to accomplish. Next semester, for example, I will definitely only have one 16-session workshop (this semeser I had two); I will make only 12 (not 16) videos. I am also going to pay better attention to how much time I actually spend on my core service: editing journal articles.

The semester is winding down, and I'm looking forward to the summer. Episode 13 is on the way, I promise. I will be offering an interpretation of the theme music, i.e., Cake's "Shadow Stabbing". Until then, keep searching, and keep writing ... "Yeah, adjectives on the typewriter, he moves his words like a prize-fighter..."

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