GREAT WALL OF PAPER

I have several hours in between the end of the half-school-day and evening parent conferences.  I could go home, or I could organize and file the mounds of paper that have slowly and completely surrounded me on my desk, on student desks attached to my desk, on top of file cabinets, and stuffed into drawers.

Essentially, my work space has become the Great Wall of China in paper form.  I haven't seen my desk's top surface in over a week, but I can totally hide from sneak-attack administration visits should the need arise.

This morning I ponder staying for a little while and pack myself a lunch -- sub sandwich, salad, and various snacks (both healthy and not) -- so I have enough food to keep myself nourished for three or four days.  I suppose this is good planning if one is tackling the Great Wall of Filing, and I do despise filing, so snacks will be helpful.

(Almost there . . .)

The sucky thing about filing is that it rarely ends with a few folders into a few file drawers.  One file usually connects to another and then another and then... before I know what's happening, I have filed half of the crap on the furniture and have only bothered the office twice for extra hanging file folders.

Four hours later I can see part of my desk.  An hour after that, I can sit at my desk and eat half of my sub sandwich in the small area of cleanliness that resembles a tiny voting booth.  One more hour and my desk is organized enough that I dare to breathe a sigh of semi-relaxation.  I make myself a cup of tea and head off to conferences, rounding out a fourteen hour day at work.

The bad news is that there's still more filing to be done the following day, but not much.  The good news is that the extremely long day seems to have cured my insomnia, at least for one night.