The Weekly Wrap: August 7, 2022

One of the last tasks I complete before leaving on vacation is setting my Out of Office message. In the past, I always worried about missing something.

Setting my out of office time was easy; everything else gave me anxiety. Did I give a reason why? Did I set expectations for how often I would check my email? Would I let people know what types of messages would get responses? How many places should I redirect people?

My second guessing of these questions always depended on the duration of my leave and the point of the semester we were in. I wanted to be helpful but I also wanted a real break.

Then I went on maternity leave. I had zero qualms about staying offline then. My automatic reply essentially said: I will be gone these dates on maternity leave. Contact this main email or schedule an appointment with another librarian here.

That was it. 

It's a recipe that still works. Now, I just say what dates I will be away, give an alternative email, and link to our appointment scheduler. I don't say why I'm gone. I don't say I'm going to check email. If I do check (and reply) to email, it's a bonus.

I've been using this system for three years now and it's never been an issue. People don't complain. Nothing gets missed. More importantly, I don't feel the need to justify why I am on leave or working while I'm away.


All of this is a nice introduction to say that I will be out of office next week. There will be no posts on the blog. I will resume my regular posting schedule on Monday, August 15, 2022. 

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• Glutamates make things taste better. [Atoms vs Bits - reader submission]
• MLB's baseball mud comes from one man. [NYT - may be paywalled]
• Academics are finally refusing to work for free. Good! [Slate]
• How to dejunkify your Instagram. [NPR]
• The people who keep the cloud running. [Aeon]
• This highlights why our kiddo is in swim lessons right now. [Popular Science]
• Adding this culinary adventure to my list of things to do. [Atlas Obscura]
• If you need to make a decision, use pen and paper. [HBR - may be paywalled]

• Spicy Food: For flavor or the kicks? [Short Wave]
• How to be less online. [Life Kit]
• But does the wild horse fire brigade get to wear cute helmets? [Short Wave]
• I need to use my olive oil faster. [Gastropod]
• There's a reason the monkeypox vaccine has been so hard to get. [Science Vs]

• I haven't watched a Men in Black movie in, perhaps, a decade. Men in Black 3 is an amped up version of the first two films in the series. There is more tech, more CGI aliens, and more backstory of the characters. Additionally,  a masterful casting decision makes this movie work. Nothing will top the first film, but this one is pretty darn good. [Netflix]

• While we're staying with my in laws, we're trading off cooking duties. My mother-in-law made a delicious version of our gnocchi with summer vegetables. Her version was just zucchini and, I think, had a little more lemon. I added several cranks of freshly ground pepper which gave it a nice zest. [Martha Stewart]
• On our second night here, my in laws made duck. It was a quick cook from CostCo. The packages came with half a roasted duck and an orange sauce. They were a fast cook paired with rice pilaf and roasted carrots. So good! [Maple Leaf Farms]