Random bullets of trillwing, up late reflective edition

• Had six appointments today, each at least an hour long. Thank goodness one was cancelled.
• Had lunch with Fantastic Mentor (formerly known as Fantastic (Dissertation) Adviser). She's so damn impressive. Over lunch we talked about mentoring, career paths, how a particular academic unit might be imploding and why, the ethics of being on the dissertation committees of students in my field (of encouraging them, even) when jobs are so hard to come by. Talked about teaching and how a love of it can wax and wane and that's OK. Talked about eggs, briefly, and about the importance of doing research and work one loves on both a micro and meta level.
  
• Learned how to host a videoconference using Adobe Connect (formerly Macromedia Breeze). Pretty nifty stuff!
• Sympathized and strategized with colleagues about a particularly difficult person who sees me as an ally. Tough decisions to be made, thank goodness not by me.
  
• Ran into a passionate but aggrieved grad student from my program, inviting me to a town hall meeting for current students and recent grads.
• Mr. Trillwing, today, in passing, in relation to something having to do with Lucas: "These moments are more special because you're never around."
• Feeling guilty about that last bullet. Must remind myself that work is necessary, for financial reasons and for my own sanity and self-esteem.
• Not feeling fully a mother these days, though. Mr. Trillwing shoulders the bulk of the parenting during the workday (except when Luke's in daycare, of course).
• Felt a little more like a mother when I heard Lucas coughing in his crib and went into administer grape-flavored cough syrup.
• Feel a great creative force swelling within me. Not sure what to do with it. I'm thinking the egg piece finally needs to be written, but when?
• When I come up for a job performance review (mine's slated for October), Fantastic Adviser suggested asking for a four-day workweek so that I could have one day a week dedicated to writing and personal projects. Not sure how that would work with Lucas and Mr. Trillwing, since I'm assuming I'd have to work 10-hour days. Ideas, anyone?