One down, twenty-nine to go

It is the end of the first full week of classes of fall term. The week was much busier than I had expected, but mostly in a good way. I spent lots of time preparing for class and teaching and working with students, which is almost always fun. The first batch of homework assignments roll in today, however, so soon I will be back on the grading treadmill. Grading, while necessary, is surely the least fun aspect of teaching.

Despite not serving as an associate dean this year, I still got almost 100 emails a day this week. But nevertheless it seemed almost managable. I managed to exercise twice this week—Tuesday and Thursday evening—which was good. Last year I was lucky to find time to exercise once during the week. Hopefully I'll be able to continue throughout the term.

I'm currently in my office but soon will head to the Bar Harbor airport where Doreen is arriving after around two weeks away in Amsterdam and Washington DC. I think she'll be home for a few weeks and then away for around three weeks in October. She didn't mention where she'll be going. (Or maybe she told me and I forgot.) My guess is Mexico.

The weather here has been nice. I really like fall in Maine. This morning was crisp, but the hummingbirds are still around, fighting and gorging themselves at our feeders. I suspect that they'll leave within a week or two, not to return until late May. So each glimpse of a hummingbird is especially noteworthy, since it might be my last for over half a year.