Academic burnout

Classes ended 2 weeks ago, yet all my work carries on. This won't be a restful summer at all, but I really need some rest. I've been going with classes non-stop (that is, including both summer sessions) since Fall 2006 and this is my first semester without class since. But with so much funded and group and independent research to finish and my goals of having a dissertation topic by Fall, this summer won't provide much relief!

I still feel so mentally tired from this last semester that I can't get anything done lately. Nothing works and nothing helps anymore: not caffeine, not naps, refreshing jogs, TV time, getting up early....I don't know what to do right now but take the chance to focus on other things. But my advisor will still expect a draft of this Presence conference submission before I go to bed tomorrow night.

Thursday several of us are driving to Montreal for the biggest conference in our field where three of us will present our study of Facebook as a social support venue. Hopefully I'll also get to see the city! I wish the trip wasn't right now because I feel like I've been traveling so much; I'd like to just stay home for a weekend. I'd also like to see less money moving around so I could get a grasp on where my savings for the wedding are.

Also, Brian starts an internship at Merck in New Jersey next week so he's moving there for the summer this weekend. What stupid timing. I wish he could just live here for a summer finally. This of course also stifles our wedding planning a bit--we still haven't even picked a location for the reception.

The only thing to do now is go to bed and see if I can get up at 6am to work in the coherent hours of sunrise.