Tuesday, October 22, 2013

Structuralism, houses, lists...

I am taking a temporary break from finishing up a powerpoint presentation for my students on Structuralist Criticism. I know, I know, you are jealous.. Seriously, though, this is not late-night work for a tired brain!

It's been a long day, starting early this morning when I had to get ready for my biggest home-ownership purchase since buying the house itself: replacement of the HVAC unit. After years of worrying about the old unit giving up the battle in the dead of winter, I decided on a preemptive replacement. The crew arrived today at just after 8:00, although I had to be ready for them much earlier, since I was told "they'll be there between 7:00 and 8:00." The guys worked hard and were done by 2:20 and I am now the proud owner of a new unit *and* a shiny new touchscreen thermostat.

Having people here in the house most of the day made it hard to get anything done that required extended, uninterrupted attention (including anything to do with structuralism). But I did get lots of other tasks done, the kind that I could work on in 10 or 15 minute intervals: all my advising prep, a observation report for an adjunct, tons of emails, some department documents, and a couple of letters of recommendation. It always feels good to cross a bunch of items off of my to-do list.

This HVAC replacement has been weighing on my mind as a kind of "big and stressful day" to get through. Now that it's done, I am breathing some sighs of relief.

(Rather boring post, I know. It's mostly a powerpointing-break!)

1 comment:

AMT said...

I'm glad that's done for you! I want to get a thermostat I can control from my phone but luckily our system itself is fine.