:(

I am happy for her, I really am. I think that her move will be wonderful and that her career will really be in a place where it has needed to be for some time now. But damn it, I am really going to miss her. I mean I am really going to MISS her.

Diane Sawyer is leaving GMA to replace Charlie Gibson when he retires from World News Tonight. George Stephanopolous is rumored to be be taking her place next to RR and CC.

These are all great things. I'm just gonna go pout some more...

Say what you need to say

I know I have said this before...

"Where did Alex's hope go?"

It's the first line of the funeral service for the guy who dies in The Big Chill. And, yes, today that is just kinda where I am.

At a funeral for the death of critical thinking.

Break broken

Wedding was really great. Time with friends was also really great. Having a weekend for the weekend was really, really great. It seems my vocab is in the drain and my only adjective clinging to the rim is great.

Oh well.

Back to school today and trying not to drag so much. Giving a quiz and a quiz and taking up a ruthlessly long homework assignment. Going to do my best to get a lot graded before I am on 40 again.

We shall see.

Hoping that this just-got-out-of-bed feeling doesn't last all day. I can see myself being unproductive at 2 when I need to be doing things and not getting behind.

It's already the late side of October. I have things I am anticipating and things I am anxious about doing.

Seeing an old friend on Friday has me thinking about what feels like a lifetime ago, but in reality it has only been a few years. Isn't it amazing how much we change and how much we stay the same? I guess it is good and bad, but for now I am just going to focus on the good and try my best to do what I don't want to do.

I wonder what this day will be like? I am going to put on my positive face and hope for the best.

Going to the temple and we're gonna get married

Ahhh. This little part of the week is almost over. Got a jump start on the grading in hopes that the forthcoming Fall Break will actually resemble a break.

My sweet friend Julie is getting married this Saturday to her long-time honey, Tony. I am so excited to go spend the weekend in Nashville with her and my other awesome pals, Sarah and Brian.

Looking forward to spending most of the weekend with good friends and just having fun and then having two days home before school starts back. I know Julie didn't plan anything around me, but, gosh, it really couldn't be any more ideal as far as my little schedule goes.

Have to pack a few things, figure out what "cocktail casual" means, and maybe get a few things checked off my list before I head east on Friday. Have a big step to take on Friday at 10:30, and I am mostly just trying to focus on what needs to be done and hope that it won't end up messy. More about that when there is more.

I haven't ever been to a Jewish wedding, and I admit, I feel like I need to look up what the ceremony may be like. Julie and Tony are having a Jewish Inter-Faith wedding, so I guess it will be a little of both their religions. I feel certain that the whole weekend will be full of new and exciting experiences.

Hope my car makes it!

Shalom, y'all!

Revolving office door of inspiration

I really should change the name of this thing to something pertaining to teaching or students or something more relevant than a title with an homage to my last year's battle with the big C.

Moving right along...

40 students made appointments with me to talk about an upcoming paper. All 40 students showed up, AND they were on time. Pause for reaction...

40 appointments beginning at 9:30 am and lasting until 6:00 pm. They came through the door every 15 minutes with only two exceptions of lapses in the schedule near the end of the day. I had a 30 minute break around 3:00 and then an unexpected 15 minute break at 4:30 because a student from yesterday had double-booked.

Mostly I am just done with hearing my own voice. I do have little butterflies though. A lot of them left today with little words of thanks and oh-I-get-it that will get me through the last round of appointments tomorrow. I am not sure how many of them were serious and how many of them were just telling me what I want to hear, but I am going to hope that out of 40 students that at least a few of them were telling the truth.

I saw 35 yesterday, and I had similar reactions from both them and myself. I couldn't write about it yesterday because on Tuesday I had forgotten to supplement my day with enough coffee. Today, yeah, I did NOT make that mistake!

Emailed a 6 page assignment for them to do over the break, planned tomorrow's very intense verb class, wrote the verb quiz they will be taking in a week, and I printed the directions for all the places I need to be this weekend. I just can't help it. I am feeling a little proud of the productivity.

That quiz? It rocks.

Tomorrow? Who knows? I am just going to coast on today all the way down I-40.

Good job, you.

The sun is shining somewhere

The pep talk didn't work as much as I needed. I was sick all weekend and fear that I may be handing back infected papers. Do I tell them?

Student appts all week, and I am looking for the inspiration I need. 78 ppl in 3 and a half days. I can do this, and I think it will help them.

Some of the papers I read this weekend really have me worried. Is this really all these kids know? What keeps them from saying what is on their minds, or am I assuming too much (again)? It's frustrating and saddening and just a little deflating.

Today is rainy and kind of off to a bumpy start. I will brew some coffee, grade until my first appt, and later I will teach the hell out of verb tense.

Today will be the day that one of them will get what hasn't been understood. I just know it.

Pep talk

Alright young lady... You have been working pretty hard, but you know you aren't prioritizing very well lately. Friday is a day you are just going to give away because of the promise you made to Nathan. That still leaves Saturday and Sunday for you to get back on track. Have you ever been as behind on grading as you are now? It's time to just do what you need to do; quit thinking about how you know it will get done, and just start doing it.

Also, I get the feeling that your professionalism is slipping. It is so difficult to establish; why would you give it up just so they will laugh at your jokes? C'mon, kiddo, you know better than that.

You have some really big steps to take. You have that thing next Friday that will very likely change the future in a way that you never anticipated. You are going to need to have your ducks in a row because you know this new thing is going to absolutely require concentration, committment, and a little of your soul.

Get your game face back on, be the mom you need to be, be the teacher you have to be, and start attacking like you used to back when things were a little tougher. You are stronger now, and this next obstacle is tough, but you are made of stronger stuff. Walk the line, do everything according to the rules, and reclaim that go-get-em attitude that put you where you are now.

No slacking, missy. Chin up and eyes open. You have work to do.

A ponytail and a PhD? Where do I sign?

Giving a pop quiz today. Insert maniacal laughter here.

Good class yesterday.

Still haven't finished grading the essays. Thinking tonight may be the night of inspiration on that front.

Kissed a guy that I have wanted to kiss for six years last night. I am g-i-d-d-y.

Seriously. G-I-D-D-Y.

English does math

Hey you,

I am thinking in numbers again. 78*3*2*3*2=2808. Can that actually be right?? Let me work this out in words...

I have 78 students. They each wrote 2 papers. Whew, I already see a problem in my math. Ok. One paper is about 3 pages long. The other paper is 2 pages long. Let me do the math again. 78*2*3*2=936?

No that can't be right.

I have 78 students. Each student submitted 5 pages of written work. 78*5=390. Ah, that's it.

This is how I think. Surely I am not alone in this. This weekend I will probably read 2 novels. That is my usual weekend read. I start on Friday and somewhere before Sunday night I am able to work my way through 600-700 pages of fiction. So maybe this weekend I will just read one novel, and then I can read this other novel of 1010 papers.

Oh no. I think my IQ just dropped at the thought of it.

I bet I left out the best part. They are all freshman papers about current affairs. I get all tingly just thinking about it. That is usually what comes right before the numbness takes over completely.

Take care of you,
SB