Happy 2018! In the spirit of a true ‘New Year, New Me’ attitude, I’ve been busy these first few days of January.
New Year, New Me Activities:
1. Purchased a large pile of books in a country I don’t live in (one of my favorite activities and makes packing a dream come true! I once moved to New Zealand for 10 months and brought 1 pair of pants and 10 pounds of books with me)
2. Seen a Rangers game (they lost)
3. Been stranded in the bomb cyclone back-up at JFK airport (I do NOT recommend this)
4. Completed (almost) my first Coursera course (I HIGHLY recommend this–very interesting!)
5. Woken up at 2 AM for three days in a row, ready to take on the world!
Unfortunately, my work day starts at 9 AM, and I find by then I’m slightly fatigued. I’m not usually very susceptible to jet lag, but this return to Spain has been brutal. I blame the bomb cyclone.
I get a little keyed up coming back from vacations anyway (not sure if this is just a teacher thing?) so when my eyes pop open in the middle of the night, my mind starts racing immediately:
New Year, New Me Jetlag-Anxiety Train
Should I give partial credit to students who incorrectly define helicase, but understand the function of all types of DNA polymerase? Do students need more instruction on their biomes project? Does my SST meeting conflict with my Global Citizenship meeting? Are the bunsen burners still on in my classroom? When am I going to finish writing my book? Can mold spores develop on mushrooms? If yes, is my refrigerator a hazardous mold spore breeding ground? Should I diversify my pod cast listening? Is Oprah really going to run for President?
I’ve decided to just go with it. Instead of laying in bed and worrying about things I should do in the morning, I’ve been getting up and enjoying all kids of productive activities: emails to my family, blog posts, internet research about North Korean Olympic athletes, coursera lectures, reading, deep cleaning of refrigerator drawers….
2018: Embrace the jet lag!! New Year, New (slightly tired/really good at siesta) Me!
Winter pic from NYC below (slightly before we sank into the depths of bomb cyclone 2018).
Banner photo credit: Photo by Ross Parmly