I am very grateful for my job. And not just because I’m still collecting a paycheck, which is definitely a part of it. No, I am grateful for my job because it gives me focus and purpose and helps to shape my days, much like I said about the obligations in that O post.
I am, thankfully, experienced with online teaching and recently completed another round of training in distance education. That made the transition to emergency remote instruction just a little bit smoother for me.
The D key on my keyboard doesn’t work. Worse, I have to press it down so hard to make sure that a D shows up when I want it to that the letter has rubbed all the way off–so much so that you can see the light from the keyboard pretty clearly. The D key is also cracked, which you can’t see, but which I can tell because of how hard I have to press it. Oh, and this all started with my E key sticking and now my R key also doesn’t work that well. You know, I go to type “press” and it comes out as “pess.” Super fun with chatting.
The point is that it sucks. It’s hard to type anything. This has been bugging me for ages. I mean, at least a six months, easy. If not a whole year. Ahem.
1. This past week was Teacher Appreciation Week, and I want to give a shout out to all my colleagues and teacher friends past and present. They inspire me every day and help me in so many ways. I was going to try to list just how they do that, but I realize that it would just be too much to catalog because it’s just that much and that often. I am just truly grateful to have so many awesome people in my life.
1. This conference started at 1, and they didn’t provide lunch. This information was provided at registration. Guess who still didn’t eat lunch today? To be fair, I ate breakfast and thought I was going to get a chance to eat lunch before I got here, but nope. On the plus side, I do have snacks.
2. I am exhausted, too. So that’s an A+ combination right there. Do you ever figure out how tired you are AFTER you actually get to sit down? That happened to me yesterday and today. The thought of standing up again makes me want to put my head on the table.
1. A lot has been going on this week. I asked some friends how they were and what was happening, and then I listed two things for myself and thought of a bunch more. But then I remembered I have a blog.
Not really, Willy Wonka, and to be honest, I don’t like your tone. (source)
2. The non-working part of my vacation is officially over since I spent today doing some course prep/lesson planning. My goal for this semester is to bring back fun assignments so that grading isn’t as much of a chore.
The problem, of course, isn’t finding fun assignments, but fitting them all into the course schedule. My ambitions are so grand, but the semester is always too short for me to do everything I want to do.
It’s a step up from “I should be grading,” so I’ll take it. (Also, as a content warning, the Terry Crews and Johnny Iuzzini stories both discuss sexual assault.)
Terry Crews understands that he is in a unique position to speed up that progress. So, instead of internalizing his abuse and spreading it to others with toxic actions of his own, he is taking the steps necessary to break the chain before our eyes. — What About Your Friends? Why Hollywood’s Abandonment Of Terry Crews Is Unacceptable
I haven’t finished any books this week, so here is a general update:
1. I had my first houseguest(s) on Sunday! I volunteered to host my writing group, so host I did. Only one of the women was able to come because the other was sick. However, I still had two guests because the woman who did come had her mom meet her at my place.
I missed posting yesterday because I fell asleep at 6:30 and didn’t wake up until about 1:45. Then, I drank some water and ate some food before going back to bed. I wasn’t feeling that great yesterday, so I obviously needed the rest, but I hate that I blew my streak.
Also, and probably more importantly, I missed a day of grading so am even farther behind. (I was going to put “further,” but I am behind by a quantifiable amount. Also, I strongly advise not counting how many papers one has left to grade. I do this constantly and it never makes me feel better. Because I always have so much more to go, see?)
I am supposed to go to a book club meeting/cookie exchange on Saturday, but I am SO FAR BEHIND I may not be able to go. I really need to consider this. Because I really do want to go AND I read the book. But Psych >>>>>>>> everything else coming up in my life. Which! You would think that would have motivated me to get more grading done today, but no. I chose instead to procrastinate by talking to a colleague about how to teach a class I might be teaching in Fall 2018.
I may have a problem.
Anyway, that discussion did help me figure out what novel I’m going to assign next semester: Station Eleven. Unless I do A Wrinkle in Time. Both could work with the theme of my class! (All books pretty much work with the theme of my class. The theme, btw, is cultural literacy.) (Also, now that I have reread my reviews and because the movie is coming out, I am leaning more towards A Wrinkle in Time. I will probably change my mind again.)
Also, I did finish drafting the rubric for my students’ final paper. So it’s not like I didn’t do any work.
I really need to learn to eat the frog. It’s been 13 years. Do you think I’ll ever learn?
I just saw Elizabeth Taylor’s White Diamonds commercial. In 2017. Once I see a Chia Pet commercial, I’ll really know it’s Christmas time. Ch-ch-ch-chia!
Well, tomorrow is Sunday, which means it’s back to reality. Which is just a depressing way of saying I have a ton of grading to do.
Also, it’s that time of the semester when grading is basically all I’ll be talking about because there are only two weeks left (!!!!).
I’m not ready.
I mean, I am definitely ready for the semester to be over, but I am not ready for the end of the semester–mostly because of all the grading. But also because I need to write final exams and rubrics and also, of course, grade.
Always with the grading.
I did have a lovely weekend with my friend and her family, and I did get some grading done and a rubric written (on Thanksgiving itself, no less). So I am definitely grateful for the time with delightful people and the space to get work done. Also, let’s be real: I got a much needed mental break by taking the past two days completely off.
But, as Shang from Mulan says, “Tomorrow, the real work begins.”
The Englishist 
