YEEEEEE-HAAAWWWWWWWW!!!!!

The papers are graded, the exams are all marked, the final grades are calculated and submitted....
I am F I N I S H E D!!!!!!!! My semester is O V E R!

(And no, for those of you not familiar with academia, I don't get four months of summer holidays. The next 6-8 weeks are professional development time - to catch up on those endless professional journals, revise curriculum, review new textbooks, become familiar with new technology, etc. Our holidays run from late June to mid-August, 40 working days in total - which sounds great if you are one of those who only get 2 or 3 weeks per year. But when you go flat out for 8 months - doing marking, prep, teaching, answered endless emails from students, holding office hours, giving up many evenings and weekends - well, that 40 days seems far too short!)

What I love about May and June is that it is totally unstructured time. And that means I can read when I feel like reading (academic material or for pleasure), work outside when I feel like working outside, ruthlessly clean out my files when I feel like being ruthless, and actually eliminate the piles of work on my desk without more piles appearing. And the critters think it is pretty cool too, 'cuz their mom works from home for the next four months and if she goes to the university at all, at least one of them gets to come along.

So my friends and family can expect to see me/hear from me a wee bit more frequently now. Especially if they issue a dinner invitation...hint, hint, hint.