In the weeds

You may know the title of my post if you've ever worked in a restaurant. That's the only place I've ever heard that expression, anyway. You have two tables already, then someone seats you with a large party. The first table wants mustard, more bread, a side of ranch, another beer, a spill wiped up. The big party wants to place their drink orders. And who's going to run those salads to that second table so that their entrees don't come out five seconds after their salads?

I love "in the weeds" as a metaphor. You're standing in weeds, some already tall, others getting taller by the minute. Still others are quickly sprouting up out of the ground.

"In the weeds," obviously, can apply to any line of work, including academia. I've been in the weeds for weeks, especially with teaching prep for two new courses. I'm told this is one of the worst things about the first year or two on the tenure track. It looks like I'll be teaching another new one in the fall. After that I'm going to try to teach the same courses for a while, if I can.