Day 213: Observations during working moments

Day 213 (7 Jul) Sunday. It occurs to me it is some 18 years since I moved into this house. That is most definitely the longest I've lived in any one place. Sounds like a reminiscence to kickstart a blogpost...

Still reading, at 6.12am

Colouring the day

There's been an even distribution of work and 'relax' during the day. I don't mind the odd day at home and do nothing (much) kind of days. It's different. At 6.12am (I note I'm actually waking up without the alarm now) I continued to read the same book I was reading yesterday, the novel about North Korea. I'd like to have it finished by next week, in time for incorporating it in the Northeast Asian security course. 

Once up though, there are chores to be done, notably the washing. That is task number one. I need to do a bit of tidying up around the garden too...random leaves and twigs all over the place need picking up. Task number two. I recall I had a moment's thought about taking a week off to do these sort of things before teaching starts but time has caught up and I won't have that luxury. 

We'll be finalising the Conversation piece today too. I've been giving much thought to it and how to best account for the fact I've been asked to check. Working with journalists and editors this way is a really valuable experience. It gets sorted by the end of the day and will go out tomorrow...anticipation. It's quite different from the usual academic publishing route where an article can take some years to get from 'thought' to print. The internet has changed that. Whether my university will consider it a valuable metric or not is yet to be seen...

Observed

I've noticed that a moth on the door has barely moved all day. I think it tells us something about taking it easy. It has spectacular colouring, I think. I also spend the afternoon clearing up the leaves and matter out the front and notice the different texture in the lawn. I have an idea about a new #project365...but let's see if this one gets finished first. 

Dinner, cooked! at 6.12pm

I've spent some time reading the Anna Goldsworthy Quarterly Essay. It went in some directions I guess I didn't expect it to go. Interesting and while it was 'political' by definition, it was not the analysis of the politics I was anticipating. 

By 6.12pm, it is dinner time, unusual for me to cook at home at this hour. Sunday night simple fare: scrambled eggs. I keep reading, I keep planning the writing which will be done this evening. I remark on the fact I've been here 18 years and this is day 213...all at once. I remember it's important to make life's smaller observations of the whole.