In which I request a do-over.

Yesterday, a colleague stopped by the table where I was sitting in the Writing Center. "htms," she said, "I've just been meaning to ask you. Is there some work we're supposed to be doing on that XYZ committee?"

I didn't exactly jump out of my skin, but I did the super-tired inner version of that. (It was simultaneously super panicky and inert.) "ZOMG I need to call a meeting of the XYZ committee!" I said to her. And I wrote: "CALL MEETING OF XYZ CMTE" in my agenda.

This failure to have called a meeting of the XYZ committee brought to mind another committee I have not called a meeting of. I have been contemplating both of these committees and how I need to call a meeting of them, but to be honest with you, the people? I don't have time for either one of them.

Which leads me to how I would like to roll the calendar back. The question is, how far? back to the days of late August when the English Department had a retreat and we formed a bunch of new committees and I stuck my hand in the air? Or before that? Before I ever had a big idea, then said to my department, "Hey! How's about this big idea? What ho?" and we went ahead with the big idea but since it was, after all, my idea, I was in charge of it and therefore: the meeting-caller.


Well, you may not be aware of this, but this isn't Back to the Future and I don't have a DeLorean anyway, and neither do you, the people (do you? if you do, we need to talk.). So I'm stuck with my over-committed present. Either that, or maybe I will have a nervous breakdown? But then, I always think that at about week seven or so of the semester, especially spring semester, where the downhill slide inherent in the second semester also means that stuff I started in August is as we speak cascading in a landslide-ish fashion toward me, which means I better keep running or else.