Now I know why a vacation is necessary for a teacher...the frenetic pace at which lessons, tests, assignments, entry of marks (internal and external), setting up question papers, valuation, preparing proposals, quotations, passing bills, coming up with solutions for dya-to-day problems like getting HCL, Numeric, Cooltec, Globearena and Young India Films to get computers, keyboards, monitors, software and other technical glitches working right, monitoring their work, setting up exam schedules, conducting practical examinations, running up and down staircases and floors to meet colleagues, students, electricians, office staff, counselling a few dejected souls, meeting parents, saying goodbye to the final year students who visit the department, writing in their autograph books, stopping to chat with alumni while on the run to the Mechanical Department from the Admin Block, noticing increasing use of plastic in the campus and editing and proof reading theses and papers of friends, verifying stocks, preparing attendance records and all...all these and more demand the athleticism of a long jumper, the stamina of a marathon runner and the strength of a weight-lifter. 

Now, I'm determined to find time to complete my papers, started about a year ago and in various stages of completion, complete the book I've been writing a word in a week, water the plants at home and clean the chimney in the kitchen that is grease stained and say hello to my long neglected neighbours ( before they think that I am the new tenant at my house)...