I'm settling into the routine: things to read, things to outline, paragraphs to write and submit, comments to sift through and respond to. The online format is less uncomfortable and in both classes I am working on projects that I am feeling very enthusiastic about. I'm a bit concerned that I am overstepping my abilities in my html class, but that's what classes are for. It feels very, very nice to be producing work that people look at, comment on, grade. It's what I have been missing in my life for the past 20 years. At work your accomplishments are rarely recognized in the same way. You have contributed towards the goals of your supervisor and co-workers, but there is always an underlying conviction that they really aren't taking a look at what you've accomplished but they have hastily moved on to the next project.
I have to stay on top of things, because last minute panics are just as unpleasant as I remember them to be. There are uncertainties each week: the internet goes down at home, the power goes off at work, an unexpectedly complicated doctor's visit, family "discussions", guests, both unexpected and expected, a birthday "kidnapping" to accomplish. Any one of these things can through me off of my schedule, so it is best to always be as caught up as possible.
