Confession: I Was on Bed by 9 P.M. Last Night. I Didn't Even Think I'd Made It That Late. Okay, Tuesday. Hello.

Sunday night brain unravelled into paranoia for the next few weeks and months and how it will all get done. That, and September sinuses decided they wanted to make my eyes bulge out of their sockets and ears want to explode. I tossed and turned a lot and didn't sleep as well as I should have. I also had an 8 a.m. breakfast meeting, a 9 a.m. coffee meeting and a 10 a.m. hotel meeting to get ready for Saugatuck.

It was then I made it to campus to work on a grant until the 2 p.m. and 3 p.m. meetings. At 4, I decided I needed to get off campus and came home to run and then take Glamis for a walk. I decided I wanted a cheeseburger, because those outdoor grilling nights will grow shorter and shorter, fewer and fewer. I'm very glad I did, because it was delicious.

Then I went back to the computer and had Alexa play me some music to keep my mind awake. It didn't work. I think it knows that today and tomorrow and Friday are more marathon meeting days. I am beginning to think I will begin to protest such meetings and wear a sign that says, "Don't expect me to be there unless there's an agenda to get something done and get it done effectively, strategically and equitably."

I'm done with talk. It's overrated and academics can be royalty with their words. That's what they're paid to do, but I'm always thinking, "There's a grant to write, a kid to recruit, a teacher to support, opportunity gaps to address, and love to be spread." Intellectual pontification is fun and all but as my colleague Rona once said, "I like to get shit done."

Then, with an exhaustive day triggered by bad sleep, I knew I had to crash early. And I did.

Yes, the burger was great and exactly what I needed! Hope it will be fuel for tomorrow's endeavors.