In which Matthew buries a leprous laptop

8/25-8/31: Amy arrives and we all go down to San Diego, where Ara performs. We come back but everything remains in vacation mode for Amy's visit. Classes begin.

9/1-9/7: I bounce back from vacation mode with backed-up dissertation and teaching-prep work to do. "I will get this prospectus draft done by the 9/5 deadline if it kills me," I say.

9/8-9/14: I get a partial draft in, just before my mom arrives for a visit and everything goes back into vacation mode. The timewarp torque of any parental visit is always felt, but we have a good time, and I am a fabulous host. When she leaves, I must bounce back again into backed-up work. "I will get this grading done by Monday if it kills me," I say.

9/15-9/21: It kills me. I become violently ill (at times this is nearly literal) and somehow the symptoms spread to my laptop. It had been held together with a rubber band (literally again) for months; now keyboard letters were popping off at random and cracks were growing in the chassis. Light movement causes the battery to disconnect. My advisor's comments arrive, and they are very helpful, but they send me back to the drawing board in a more intense way than I'd expected. But all I can do is order a new computer.

9/22-present: My health improves. The new computer arrives. It is wonderfully distracting, especially now that I finally can play Portal. I am still behind on my work.