Since I hardly have the energy anymore to devote to writing long entries, one more listy blog entry will have to do:
1. I have never had so many students coming in begging for incompletes: medical problems, family problems, laptop theft, eviction, and a lot of general overwhelmedness, you name it. There's something in the water that's precipitating all this panic and I don't know what it is.
2. Which means, as you guessed, that I'm in grading hell -- 10 20-page papers, 20 12-page papers, 50 final exams coming in the next week and a half.
3. Some cool news though: my former student Krish is coming to a TV near you.
4. For some reason or other, students actually want to be my teaching assistants next spring. (It's not paid work, but they get credit units.) This is also good news; must be something in the water too. I can't make them grade (against union rules), but this means that I can set up those discussion forums / blogs as I did in previous classes.
5. Plus some random musical thoughts that will either make you pause to reflect on your achievements in the last decade or make you slap yourself upside the head and go, "It's been ten years??"
a) Belle and Sebastian's If You're Feeling Sinister is ten years old.
b) Beck's Odelay is ten years old.
c) Fiona Apple's "Criminal" is ten years old.
d) Tortoise's Millions Now Living Will Never Die is ten years old.
e) Diana Krall's All For You is ten years old.
f) Underworld's "Born Slippy" is ten years old.
And proper debut albums were released ten years ago by this stellar bunch of veterans: Modest Mouse, DJ Shadow, Gillian Welch, PUFFY, Squarepusher, Cat Power, Fountains of Wayne, Godspeed You! Black Emperor. (And as someone reminded me elsewhere, Jay-Z.)
6. Okay, the reason for all these recent ruminations on age and the passing of time is because I'm turning a year older tomorrow and thinking about what I've gained and lost.
7. There is a stack of bluebooks on my desk. I'm staring at it willing it to shrink. It's not working.
8. If I see "definately" and "predominately" (and, I swear, "ludacris," but just once) one more time... "adequite," however, my students get right.
9. But a week from today I'll be on the coolest Xmas break ever (though much of it will be spent revising a manuscript), including Disneyland with Izzy for four days. Yessiree.
woo-hoo! party in the mission! (i think you'll love your bday present)
Posted by: poeta on December 14, 2006 04:45 PMWow! another Sag! Feliz Cumpleaņos!
(I do a quick scan to see if your itunes are showing up on the network, and they're not, so I assume you aren't in the office today)
Well, If you were here, I would sing you Las Maņanitas to you.
you're five days older and many years younger than I.
Posted by: ktrion on December 21, 2006 01:58 PM5. If If You're Feeling Sinister and Millions Now Living... were kids, they'd soon be on their teens... amazing. I remember reading a magazine article somewhere about Cat Power being around since the mid-90s and I thought, wow.
6. Happy birthday! I missed it.
9. Merry christmas! Sayang, sana umuwi ka. Christmas party ng Terno Records sa 27. Rumor has it acoustic ang set ng UdD. That'd be interesting.
Posted by: Ruthie on December 23, 2006 11:00 AM5. If If You're Feeling Sinister and Millions Now Living... were kids, they'd soon be on their teens... amazing. I remember reading a magazine article somewhere about Cat Power being around since the mid-90s and I thought, wow.
6. Happy birthday! I missed it.
9. Merry christmas! Sayang, sana umuwi ka. Christmas party ng Terno Records sa 27. Rumor has it acoustic ang set ng UdD. That'd be interesting.
Posted by: Ruthie on December 23, 2006 11:00 AM6. Happy belated birthday Sunny!
7. Don't worry! It took me almost a week to process 50 cases at my work desk.
8. Um... I don't do that! Thanks Microsoft Word!
9. Disneyland! I love that roller coaster and the "soarin'" ride in California Adventure.
Happy Holidays!
Posted by: Aaron on December 24, 2006 02:24 PM