I attended a college that was on the quarter system--great when stuck with a chemistry professor whose German accent was thick as Bavarian rye; not so great when you had to read 10 novels in 10 weeks, including Ulysses.

Winter quarter was always the worst. Ten grey weeks straddling January and March--a swift, but dreary slog from mid-terms to finals and papers.

This feels like winter quarter. Lots of wan sunny days, difficult projects, my best work eluding me.

But this helps: