There's a certain form of tunnel vision that you get when you're grading. I've gone through about 50 of 120 exams (about 40 less from last semester -- thank you grad seminar!), and when it's going well I barely look up from the illegible handwriting.
Fortunately the level of writing has been fairly high -- in fact, it's been so good this semester (both in my Asian American Studies and Anthropology classes) that I'm wondering whether there's something in the water, or whether SFSU has taken steps -- both a good and bad thing -- to admit better writers... The Anthro students, for instance, are churning out very impressive, argumentative essays in their final exam, on globalization and mass culture.
[One week later.]
I'm going nuts -- it took me longer than I thought to grade about 120 finals, and now I have an equal number (well, a little less) of papers to grade. At least they're typewritten.
The problem with my routine is that I'm really most productive in the evening; the afternoons are when my regular six hours of sleep finally take their toll.
(I ended up taking a half-hour nap, but stood victorious over the 100 papers or so by 10:30 that evening.)
[About a week later.]
Most of the last two weeks -- prompted by talks with friends and family and one of my students -- I've been thinking about possibilities and endings, about anger and forgiveness, about healing and time, about responsibility and adulthood, and about my research topic (nothing to do with the above). Crap. This is all sounding really maudlin. I've also been thinking about getting a new used car, but wondering if I can afford it.
It's been an eventful two weeks or so. But it's also the time of the year when the regular grind of the semester finally ends and suddenly the day is wide open in front of you and you're not entirely sure what to do with it. (Work, what else?)
Gave out finals and graded like a madman. Arranged a round of interviews for June, and hoping to transcribe them and squeeze an article out sometime in the fall.
Izzy unfortunately wanted to stay at home and watch Puffy videos (the Japanese band, not P. Diddy) -- a shame because the weather was, and is, so beautiful -- but I managed to take her to the 1st Asian Heritage Street Fair. A bit of a bust -- nothing really for impatient kids, but she did like going to Kinokuniya and the Sanrio store afterwards.
Went for Round 2 of Pizza-and-Beer-Night on Clement with Tracy and Jeannie and Darren (this time with Tony and Candy), and D-Dog made us laugh and squirm with tales of his misadventures. Then Darren and I ended up going out with Karen and her friend Valerie: jukebox of Snoop and Kelis, free Amstel Lights on the bar counter from the female bartender who clearly had a crush on Karen.
Had great Thai food at Bangkok Garden *twice*: once with the AAS 833 students (took them out for drinks at dinnertime) and again with Tracy and Jeannie (this time Marlon paid).
Then it was AAS graduation down at the Sheraton in Burlingame; a few students of mine marched, much to the delight of their puzzled parents who probably wondered what an AAS major was going to get their children in the first place. The same evening found me and Darren and Jeff Chan in Bernal Heights looking for Al Wong, but couldn't find him.
And then there was Memorial Day: a so-called '80s karaoke / barbecue at Eloweez and Sean's mansion down in Gilroy. Myra's kids and Dave's kids running around, short ribs and oysters and sausages on the grill, rare '80s remixes, cumbia and bad hi-NRG on the stereo, jugs of beer from Rock Bottom Brewery. There are a couple of pictures that I hope won't see the light of day: a photo of the members of our high school batch singing along to "Build Me Up Buttercup" on videoke, and another of me, um, resting, with the horrible caption "Sunny remembers the soldiers who gave their lives defending the freedom of this country."
I'm heading off for the Philippines with Izzy in less than a week. Pretty excited to go and see my folks and sister, but I'll be missing the nice weather here in the Outer Sunset (it'll be in the mid-90s in Manila, but a little cooler in Los Banos). But I always feel apprehensive before a long trip, even though I'm all prepared with my pasalubong and mostly all packed.
More later, this time from the Philippines.
Posted by the wily filipino at June 3, 2005 10:37 AM