For the start of this semester, I am in Alberta. Covid-19 numbers in Ontario reached four thousand, but they’re coming down. Today they’re at three thousand. Before the holiday, Alberta was bad too. I got a flu shot before flying here, and had a little panic attack about maybe being sick, and had to get a covid test and reschedule my flight, then quarantined in my mom’s basement for 10 days. Now, the numbers are under one thousand here. I don’t know when I’m going home. These specific details don’t really matter, I guess I’m trying to outline that this is going to be a semester with disruptions. Last semester was difficult. The workload wasn’t unmanagable, but the stress of returning to school combined with global events that demanded daily exercises of personal responsibility ie: not riding transit, limiting how often I went outside, navigating school online and screen fatigue… it was a lot. In recognizing that, I plan to take one class this semester, on decolonization, fitting seeing as I am stuck in Alberta. I am excited as there are a number of inclusive design students in the course.
What am I going to do with my extra time? I am trying not to overload myself. It’s important I focus on my health and managing a sustainable routine, with daily exercise and eating well / regularly. I haven’t had a lot of pain in recent months, my cycle is disrupted from pandemic weight gain, but there is still some (IC and muscular recently). I have signed up for a critical theory course I don’t know if I can drop yet, that I would like to audit, and have submitted an application to audit a course on Senses in Artistic Practice, and have a stack of books I want to read and a new ereader … all of that is sounding overwhelming.
Setting some achievable work goals:
- Organization: Develop and use index card note taking system.
- Organization: Integrate Zotero into my organization system.
- Organization: Set up spreadsheet to assist visualizing.
- Reading: Work through my self-directed reading, set goal of 3 books to read and in what order. 1) Crip theory, 2) matters of care, 3) man with the compound eyes.
- Reading: Set time limits and word count limits to help avoid being precious about reading.
- Workflow: Use timer to help with work periods, bullet to-do list in binder.
- To mitigate difficulties with online courses: discuss with faculty accommodations for participation.
- To maintain connections with program: attend the IAMD meetings on a biweekly basis.
- Upon return to Ontario: increase regularity of studio practice, pick up MRI images to work with, etc.
Okay, cool beans. Time to do some reading.