Once the slow start has passed by

 If I were a major league pitcher, I'd be down by at least three runs by the end of the second inning.
If I were a quarterback, I would have turned the ball over twice by the end of the first quarter.
If I were a professional cyclist, I'd be barely ahead of the broom wagon by the first feed zone.
In Jeopardy I'd be down $3000 by the first commercial break.
In Age of Empires I'd be overrun by the Hun before I got an army together.

I'm the slowest starter I know.  Once I get going, I'm alright, but it's a hard slog there for a while.  Every semester is this way--I flounder for like three weeks before I finally have my head in the game.  I think I'm at that point right now; it usually hits right about the time I have to drive eastward for my annual pilgrimage to Jefferson's Dream . . . In the Mountains.

Also, as I begin to think about the remainder of the semester, I wonder how best to spend my time. It's not like I'm short of options.