One week to go! Yikes!

Yep, I don't feel ready. I felt fine, a few weeks ago. But now I'm looking at my non-populated course webpages, and I'm feeling dread. I knew there was no way that I would have all three classes finished (for the entire semester), but I certainly hoped I would be farther along than I am.

Part of the problem is the other things that are starting to appear and fill in the time that I would otherwise be making progress on course materials. Tomorrow I have a Title IX training. It is important, but it won't help me make lecture notes and homework. There is also a welcome party. I'm excited for this, but it is a potluck. I have to take some sort of food item. I went grocery shopping today, and did the first step of cooking. Tomorrow, after the Title IX training, I'll finish the cooking before I get picked up for the party. Fun, yes, but still another item on the agenda.

Prioritizing is challenging right now. There is the "minimum" I must do for the first day of each class, and then there is what I would need to do to feel comfortable. I have an outline of what I want to cover in each class (and the first lab guide for electronics), but I haven't timed it or gone through it in detail. I never did an inventory of the electronics components we already have, and I'm pretty sure I could use a few more components in the first lab (due to another student registering). I'm trying to pull together a list of the components I anticipate wanting (without having the exact lab guides written up), so that I can put in a component order ASAP.

Lastly, there is all of the non-class "stuff". I've signed up to help with an orientation excursion - to a baseball game. I got a book on the physics of baseball in anticipation of this - clearly I don't have to read it, but I like the idea of being able to explain some of the neat physics limitation in baseball at the game... given that I can't say anything intelligent about baseball.

The other big "time commitment" right now is preparing for the Departmental Fair this Saturday. I want to have fun physics demos. This is one opportunity to reach students who might never consider physics as a major - a student might walk by and see something cool and I could talk to her and possibly get her to take Intro. Possibly. I'd love to do a Cloud Chamber. I've procured an aquarium, but I need to do some modifications and get the alcohol and dry ice... and see if I can make it work. I've also though about doing Oobleck on a speaker, but I'd need to get an appropriate speaker. All of this, of course, by Saturday.

This week I've felt very tired. I hope that actually teaching will energize me a bit - I do love being in a classroom. Right now I don't know whether I should try to relax a little and 'take a break', or push myself harder to make some progress. I need to feel "better" some how, in a week, but usually being prepared is what it takes to make me feel good!