Summer's over

***I looked really hard for a free version of Jonathan Coulton's "Summer's Over" to go with this, but couldn't find one. But I highly recommend the song, so go look for it.***

Well, after I finished my last exam, I promised myself that I could take the summer off. "Off" only in a loose sense, of course, since this summer I started working full time. But "off" from school, "off" from scholarly work, "off" from my dissertation proposal. It made for a nice change.

But now summer's over. And school starts tomorrow. And I can't put if off any longer -- I have to start thinking again in earnest. I can't say I'm looking forward to it. It was kind of nice to tune out for a summer. I knit, I read, I made my way through my netflix queue. It was wonderful. And now I have to shift my mind back into student mode. Not to mention into teaching assistant mode. I'm a little nervous about that.

This fall's gearing up to be pretty busy. In addition to the job, the t.a. gig, and the dissertation proposal, I'm also committed to write a book chapter by February. I'd like to think I work best under pressure, but this may be too much even for me.

Firmly believing that a new school year requires new school supplies (even if I am technically in grade 21 by now), I have a new book bag and new shoes for tomorrow. After work tomorrow, I'm going to head over to the office supply place for new pens and a new notebook or two. It's sort of a psychological boost to help me get ready for what lies ahead. I just wish I could think of a good excuse to buy some new crayons...