Someone decided that Zoom meetings should last an hour. That’s probably too long, but you can get a lot of stuff done in an hour. And that’s a good thing. There’s always the pleasant surprise when some of them wrap up even more quickly. On the other hand, sometimes they can run longer. And at 90 minutes today, I tried the first of the “thanks” and “goodbyes.” Later, I was more successful with the “thank yous” and “get outta heres.”

It was a beneficial meeting. I got a page full of notes. Some clarity was brought to plans. We have two separate steps of action to take, and also another new role for me at the office.

If anyone is keeping track, I’m now sitting on five departmental committees, and chairing one of them. I’m also on a university committee. And then I have this new thing, which has to do with social media, which I regard as a hazing prank. There’s also the Center, for which I write. I wrote something today, in fact. And then I am doing new class preps seven, eight and nine this term. I have been here four terms so far.

The social media thing is directing a student employee who is working on departmental socials. This is as hard as you want it to be, and can be as fruitful as you want it to be. The good news is that I have a returning student to help light the way, and it is a person I’ve had in two classes, so we have some familiarity. And we have a meeting set for tomorrow, now. So two meetings, two days in a row, and it’s July.

I’m not even on the clock, technically.

Speaking of social media, I braved Instagram today, trying to search for something from both my memory and the even more vague and forgetful algorithm. Finally got frustrated with the whole enterprise, which led me to this funny, not self-referential haha, but also not self-aware haha.

It doesn’t become self-aware, in my view, until it cleans up its act.

The thing I wrote, which should be published later this week, is a 1,200 word column about baseball. It’s not hard. It’s fun — except for the part where my computer crashed. That was a setback. And that took up most of the rest of the day, a day which was just too hot to do anything else but to sit and sweat. And have meetings.

The herb I mentioned last week? Spearmint. And, friend, we have a lot of it.

Not pictured: the rest of it.

You can use it in teas, salads, ointments and chew on the leaves. (The novelty of that one wears off quickly.) You can preserve it. Why you need to preserve spearmint escapes me. You can’t get rid of the stuff.

I have also, today, settled on the schedule of my Criticism class. I selected two more great readings for it today. One or two more of those and the full outline will be complete, leaving me just the course, the syllabus and the slides to make. So I’m on schedule? Because, like everyone else, I forgot there is a 31st day in July. Yay! More time to work during my time off! (It’s a good thing.)