Starting Fresh

I started classes today with an 8:15 meeting, the perfect way to start a semester. The host at that meeting said something that I had thought of before, but it never hurts to be reminded. She said that we as professors are really blessed to be able to end one semester and start fresh with a new one. No matter how badly one semester went, we get to start with a blank slate. No matter how well a semester goes, we cannot rest on previous success. It's nice to have the ability to start fresh.

Today, I nearly finished my pre-tenure portfolio. It has taken much more time than I expected. I thought it would just be a matter of printing stuff out and shoving it in a notebook, but it's been a lot of work. I've got a couple of things still to add, but they are some things that I've got to finish this week anyway. It's nice to know that it'll be done this by the end of the week.

I've got a week to go on the grant that I've been working on for more than six months. It needs to be finished off by Thursday so that I can get the right signatures. I've got a little more to do on it, but it should be done on time. After a frustratingly busy end of last semester, it's great to have a fresh start!