worst semester ever: officially over

so, i kind of dropped off the face of the earth again, hey? sorry about that, if you’re the kind of person who notices and/or wonders. basically, after prepping my new grad class in a whirlwind and getting settled at the beginning of the semester, i was very soon hit with devastating news about an incredibly beloved colleague. she was diagnosed with an aggressive lung cancer (the kind healthy non-smokers get) in week 3 of the semester, and she passed away in week 8 of the semester. to say it was rough is an understatement, but i’ll just leave it at that. many, many tears were shed. ❤

on top of that, there have been aaaaall kinds of stressors and shenanigans at work this semester, and it has honestly ranked up there as the worst one ever. i spent the vast majority of it just willing it to end, and now it finally has. whew!

on a happy note, my new grad class went super-well. i loved my students and i loved the material and we all had a grand old time. so at least even in the worst semester ever, something awesome happened. yay!

summer school starts tomorrow, and i’m teaching two classes — one face to face, and one online, as has been my custom. i prefer to teach in the first six weeks of summer because it feels more like a continuation of spring (and less like i’m “working during break” or “cutting my summer break short” or whatever). in a rare burst of productivity, i got both classes totally prepped and ready to go with time to spare, so i’ve been enjoying a little downtime this weekend, including sniffing around this blog again. i hope to be back soon with on-topic vegan stuff, but i thought i’d at least post an update to get some momentum going.