At this point in the semester–at this point in my life–I’ve given up on chasing the mirage called “catching up”: like a dog’s own tail, “catching up” is an impossible thing to grasp. But I still believe in getting ahead of the curve: a point where you are still running but not hopelessly behind, staying one step with or even ahead of your to-do list. You’re neither behind nor ahead, but right in step, right on time.
I don’t know what the term “ahead of the curve” literally refers to: for years, I’ve assumed it referred to the curve of a racetrack, with the horse that is ahead of the curve turning into the backstretch ahead of the others, rounding the curve ahead of the herd.
These days, I keep another image in mind as I chase the tail of my to-do list. I picture a line of figure skaters locked arm-in-arm as their line rotates like the second hand of a watch: an on-ice version of snap the whip. The skater in the center turns slowly, anchoring the line, with each subsequent skater moving fast and faster to keep in line. I picture myself as the last skater who has to rush faster and faster to catch the line…but once I catch it, I can coast on my own and my line-mates’ momentum, finally ahead of the curve.
Hoarded Ordinaries 
Nov 29, 2022 at 8:13 pm
I’d take even ‘less behind the darn curve’
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Nov 30, 2022 at 11:34 am
Oh my goodness, yes. Being within sight of the bus you missed versus not being in the same zip code.
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Nov 30, 2022 at 12:17 am
Friends of mine in Korea still teach university courses (I used to be a prof myself), and the Korean fall semester follows about the same schedule as the American one: late August to a little bit past mid-December. Upshot: semesters are winding down here, too, and profs here share many of the same end-of-term sentiments, so stay sane and stay the course!
Trivia: Korean winter vacation is very long—longer than summer vacation. It runs from about a week before Christmas to the very beginning of March. The Korean spring semester starts in early March and goes through June, with all of July and most of August for summer break. Slightly different rhythm.
If I were god-emperor, I’d eliminate summer vacation and have a long break during the fall, which is my favorite season. Another long break in the spring: summer and winter should be for schoolin’. Of course, I’m biased because I hate extremely hot and extremely cold weather. I can imagine a lot of people being bummed about not taking advantage of summer, but frankly, I hate summer. Probably good that I’m not god-emperor.
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Nov 30, 2022 at 11:40 am
I’m so used to living my life in semesters, I don’t know what I’d do if a) they radically changed the semester schedule, or b) I had to take a five-day-a-week, 9-to-5 job.
Academia, in other words, has ruined me for real employment.
I like to think of the US semester system as being somewhat akin to the Korean Zen monastic seasons of Kyol Che vs. Hae Jae: three months of retreat (tight practice) followed by three months of work, travel, or other pursuits (loose practice). Semesters are a little longer than three months–15 rather than 12 weeks–but there’s the same spirit of work, rest, repeat.
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