Nothing helps recovery as much as maintaining an active routine. Brain fog is lifting, muscles are moving, and I didn't have this kind of energy in literal months. I'm still feeling weak -- lost over 10% body weight to five weeks of fever, stillness and lack of appetite. Sorry for being a pain about it though.

Today I conducted my first class of the year, and while it's been nice to get out of my place or talk to students, it's more than a bit off to realise you're talking to an empty-but-not-really classroom. Yeah, I'm fast like that sometimes. I've been stumbling a lot and didn't get into the flow until the middle of it. In part because, mentally, this is how I rehearse material, not deliver. Wish I had more time to get into it.

Doctoral-level classes are, as usual, annoyingly inconsistent. One week it's little more than doing some reading, the other time we get slapped with a problem that takes 30-50 hours of collaborative work to solve. This time around, about half of my courses are seminars, which despite being very vaguely defined, here are usually a cross between a journal club and guest/relay lectures. In many ways they're the hardest to prep for or follow, often dedicated to cutting edge topics or methodologies. Pretty much define what I have in mind when thinking 'grad school'.

I noticed I don't have any real want for reading outside of studies recently and generally felt like my thinking lost its edge. Not sure why or since exactly when, though I think it snowballed since May. Realising it and knowing I don't like it is at least a good start for seeking improvement.