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Canberra is such an exciting town. By this you may gather that I slept all yesterday, am wearing my down dressing gown right now, and have a very nice cough.

All this is a bit irrelevant. I've had my sick day and the work has now backlogged and must be dealt with. If the cough gets worse, I shall go to the doctor, but, in the meantime, I've hit the busy time of the week with more work than I had intended to carry there. Efficiency is my byword from here on in. Also coffee. A big pot will get me through...something. Almost anything at this stage, for I'm not used to doing so little work over a weekend and then doing only dribbles the next day.

Four thousand words before teaching - that's my goal. And something after teaching. And then an early night. Tomorrow I'll reverse everything (for my teaching is in the morning) and then do today's schedule on Thursday and on Friday (with luck) I shall be where I need to be.

One thing that's intersting: I finally feel as if I'm doing a doctorate. It was all a bit imaginary without a thousand looming deadlines.

On another note, last night's disturbed sleep was rather good for planning. I remembered that I am teaching at the Writers' Centre of Saturday and have worked out what I'll do with my students (to my students?) and a whole bunch of other matters that needed thought are somehow sorted. I wish I could say I knew how I did it, but I don't, so I'll accept the sorting as a gift and I shall move on.

Speaking of which - coffee!

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Two things I have accomplished this morning. I filled the lacuna in my novel (my dreams last night reminded me that a key character had just drifted off, twenty pages before the end - now I have humiliated him and all is well) and I significantly revised my conclusion so that it was transformed from a complete mes to a partial mess. My supervisor now has the conclusion and I'm where I should have been this time yesterday. I have enough time before lunch to do one more thing.

Each item I do makes me so much less worried. I am not at all comfortable when I have two dozen tasks - I never know what to begin with and I need up dithering for a half day. Now that I have two fewer tasks, I am beginning to undither.

By teaching-time I shall have an air of amazing confidence.

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I told my class this evening that they were too quiet. They're a very thinking class - their faces are alive. I have to push them to talk, though.

When they don't talk, they get Gillian focussing on her favourite topics. This doesn't seem to be a problem. I do think I might have given them nightmares tonight, for amidst technical discussion of comparative cosmology and of the Somnium Scipionis and of medical theory, I managed to sneak in ghost stories and eerie Arthurian tidbits and (of course) Hellequin's Hunt.

I will know how many nightmares I gave when they return next week. If my students are full of questions, it will be to save themselves by being led into strange places again. Mind you, strange places are inevitable next week, for we are focusing on French political history.

Watch this space.

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My typing is still astray. Expect more fascinating typos for a couple of days. This is because my breathing is astray. It's why I'm choosing my tasks with great care.

I knew I had a bit of a cough, but I didn't realise it was an asthmatic one until I read my recent posts and was entertained by the typos. Medicine has been increased and proper exercises completed (with - alas - more planned) and in 24 hours those typos will diminish. Until then, enjoy the unexpected!


ETA: I just checked the local news. The need to burn off potential fire hazards every weekend (and now on weekdays) is the cause of the asthma. This is why it looks as if I'm never well. This year the ACT Government is preparing for bushfires by burning off so often that there is smoke in the air almost all the time. I am sensitive to smoke. So, more asthma medication is already underway, but it appears I might need other medicine as well. Also, an annoying level of patience.

Anyhow, at least this means that I totally must not run any messages tomorrow or Thursday. Not running messages will give me more time to catch up with stuff *and* more breath to use in the catching. Bargain!