First week (almost) well done

Settling into a rhythm here, and that feels good, with fewer surprises and some actual relief now as I contemplate more time "off" than I had at all on the GT either year: no class til Monday, and all I have is paper-marking and some trip organizing, but nobody to herd onto buses or trains.

Today I gave my first essay and so my weekend will be full of marking--but this group is actually a lot of fun to teach, so far: they're kind of puppy-like, and I caught a couple of them talking about Jane Austen novel-to-film right after class--not something that EVER happened the last two years. It's actually a kick to be teaching this stuff--and to discuss whether Alice is actually exhibiting classic ADD symptoms (Toad too--is he bipolar? Yes, according to a couple of them, and their argument is pretty convincing).

The past couple of days have been ultra-crowded with prospective students and their parents filling up the city and colleges on two "open days," which has made me reluctant to ask any college person for anything extra in the way of favors--hence I haven't approached the Oriel folks about a library tour yet. On the other hand, I have been continuing my runs out into the countryside, all the way up to Godstow along the main river, which is actually farther than I've run in a long while. No ill effects so far, though I've elected to rest today and not risk overuse injuries to my joints. The chest is better, my tooth is less of an issue, and even the hip that I tweaked a little following Julius around a weight room in Brussels seems to be recovering.

So--maybe I'll head down to London and visit other folks / scope out for next Thursday's trip, or maybe I will take a wee break and just grade and exercise. Weird to even have the option.... But I am going to take care of the physical side, I'm determined.