s*UH*bbatical. Emphasis on the "uh?"

s-UH?-bbatical. Emphasis on the “uh.” A weary academic documents her quest. GOOGLE "sabbatical" and these are the images that pop up. What the what? What does this mean?!? In academia we are lucky to still have the idea of sabbatical, but only for some. In most cases, you have to be tenured. Then you can apply for this “break.” During this time, one is supposed to focus on their research. But that is all they tell you. So. Here. I. Am. I applied for and received sabbatical. And the idea terrifies me. And I don’t know what to do. You mean I won’t be slammed by emails? Teaching overloads? Chair duties? Committees? Commuting? Event planning? Grading? Independent studies? Rec letters? The idea of having unstructured free time, frankly, freaks me out. So, I have decided to blog. I am inspired to blog during my sabbatical because of 2 individuals and one big science-based motivator!  One, Dr. Rosalie Aldrich has a regular blog about academic life. She updates it monthly! I d