holidays

  • Isn’t it nuts how Christmas music can bring you to tears… and make you hopeful all at once? It’s as if it doesn’t matter why we celebrate this holiday; we need to be reminded of why we’re here. And these two holidays, Thanksgiving & Christmas, come in the fall/winter when everything is freezing and/or dying. Nature hibernates to be reborn later. The days darken, and while we still have lots going on, we stop.

    We slow down.
    The lack of sun almost forces us inside to others.
    To cozy up on couches. To think and dwell and cherish.

    “The only blind person at Christmastime is he who has not Christmas in his heart.” — Helen Keller

    “Once again we find ourselves enmeshed in the Holiday Season, that very special time of year when we join with our loved ones in sharing centuries-old traditions such as trying to find a space at the mall. We traditionally do this in my family by driving around the parking lot until we see a shopper emerge from the mall, then we follow her, in very much the same spirit as the Three Wise Men, who 2,000 years ago followed a star, week after week, until it led them to a parking space.” — Dave Barry

  • “I saw mommy kissing Santa Claus last night.” Turns out, it was Tiger Woods.

    Anyhow…
    New desks in the office. Oooh la la. I get easily distracted when there are things to be put back together. Re-arranging to be completed. Oh well. Thus far, I’ve kept up with grading. Stuff was turned in Saturday & Monday; those items were assessed last night. Right now, a few assignment have come in at midnight last night and I had a 10am deadline today for my English 110ers. So, yea. I should get to those things before my 4pm deadline today (for my English 120 on-campus students).

    This morning, while getting ready, I cranked some Christmas tunes. Then, I wondered… could I really get in trouble for blasting Holiday music? I mean, REALLY? Even late at night… blasting “Silent Night” would be ironic right? And funny to me. Hmph. Perhaps. Something to try out. An experiment.

    “So, this is Christmas; I hope you have fun.”

  • Maybe I am wrong. (It’s happened before.) But when I am not at on campus in my office or in front of students, I am still thinking about how to improve it all. I’m thinking about education and how it can and should impact everyone’s lives. I’m thinking about how to better my teaching methods, how to make practically everything in my classes relevant, how to connect this with that, how to make it all worthwhile to even those who come in with the “it’s just bonehead English” attitude. What I may be wrong about is that I assume (eeek) that others of other professions do not do this when they aren’t at work, if ever. Do bankers think about how to make things easier on their customers, or real estate agents think of trying to only sell “green” houses, or lawyers about how to make the justice system work faster and better for all involved?

    These constant thoughts are what possibly keep me from enjoying my breaks, yet I need them to continue to be passionate and current with what I am doing, with what is going on.

    Now… I’ve heard my own dad say, “Yea, he takes his job too seriously.” Am I doing that too? And if I am or if people do, is that such a bad thing?

    [I wonder if I can use any of these thoughtful blog entries in my tenure-track portfolio? Now, that's a better, more-light-hearted thought for the season.  Thank you to my sister, Alisa, for making me laugh very hard yesterday and today.]

  • Does it count if you have been RUNNING your brain at like 50 miles an hour, even if your body hasn’t seen “regular” exercise for a week? I am mentally out of juice right now. At this very moment. Thank god our workstudy decorated my office today; it feels cheery & holiday-ish.

    I need to go home. I need to stop grading. I need to turn my Christmas tree lights on and drink some warm cider. And try not to think until tomorrow.

  • Well, the dusting of snow melted before you could say, “Santa.” The trip to and from the cities wasn’t too shabby, although traveling early in the day causes the day to extend itself. We returned around 1pm on Christmas Eve, and when my brother said to someone later on in the evening, “Yeah, we got back this morning,” I had to rethink that fact. Odd. It was also odd to CRUISE down 494 in the cities that morning. It was eery to not fight traffic.

    Anyhow, I received some excellent gifts (The Office calendar for my office, a new dictionary for my office…), ate way too much (I only eat fudge once a year so what the heck), and, of course, watched National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation – a classic!!

  • It was neat to walk out this morning (around 6am) and find a dusting of snow on the ground. “It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas…”

    And it was nice not to have to drive any part of our drive this morning. Usually, I am a primary driver on holiday runs to the cities…

  • love “Put a little love in your heart,
    Put a little love in your heart,
    and the world will be a better place
    for you and me.”

    It was finally a relaxing weekend. And while we don’t have snow like this photo (yet?), it was filled with fun and that holiday spirit. I think I simply like the atmosphere that comes along from Thanksgiving through the middle of January. I just hope I can tap into that atmosphere even as I attempt to get some work done today. This week looked quiet days ago. But, now, I will maybe have today, half of tomorrow, and Thursday to get school-related things worked on. Oh well… there’s always procrastination and the week before the spring semester starts up again.

    Even though I got really pooped out halfway through last Thursday, I did accomplish quite a bit. So this week’s agenda is a matter of getting the important things taken care of first and then making my way down the list. A) Final Grades, B) Preparation/Syllabus creation/revision for English 105 & English 110, C) Revising the World Lit online, and D) Re-working the heck out of English 120 Online.

    p.s. Happy Birthday Jan! [belonged on a Friday post]

  • It’s difficult to get any really good sleep at the beginning of any semester and, again, at the end of the semester. Only the diffculty now lies in the grading anxiety, the excitement of the holiday season, and the anticipated break from students (because, no offense, we need it right about now – who figured out 16 or 17 weeks was enough? hmph).

    I know I won’t get through half of the stuff I’d like to do over break. That’s a given. But at least I know that and accept it. I used to think I would get my spring classes prepared wonderfully AND have time to read about 5 books. Not so much. I think this break needs to focus as much on my family (I’ll get to see g’pa for the first time since his heart attack) and friends as possible. In fact, I have decided to use my Office Hrs this week (when students will be picking up final grades & assignments) for spring preparation. That way, I can try to relax over break and not have the “I still have to do _____” hanging over my head.

    Speaking of configuring grades… I really need to look into that HTML EZ through UND. I think I signed up last year, but never got around to actually using the dang thing. It would really help out with the adding up of points at the end since it’s got a built-in gradebook feature, I hear. I dislike math (hey, that’s why I am in English) – especially simple math. And lots of it. Luckily, I handed out mid-term grades, so I just have to add up the last half of the semester. For 90+ students. Eeeek.

    Meanwhile, I had a fairly relaxing weekend even with the grading, the shopping, the writing of Christmas cards/newsletters, the wrapping attempts, the last washing of the bug, the naps, and the watching of football.

    p.s. Happy Birthday little Bug! You are 7 today!

  • xmas10-01Much of the text in my blog entries the last few days has been dull. So, I decided this blog entry needed a funny image and colorful text. To spice things up, naturally.

    I love cartoons. Especially ones that play with language.

    Today’s agenda is a “piece of cake” for me, and somewhat more nerve-wracking for my English 110 students. Just like Wednesday, they are presenting and it’s the last day to present their PPTs. If absolutely necessary, we’ll delay some people until Monday but it can only be due to us running out of time in class – if they aren’t ready today, “too bad Chad”… I am such a Grinch. Maybe.

    My English 105ers get bonus points for handing in their Portfolios today. The Portfolio is due by 11am Monday; the rest of Monday’s class is devoted to Fake Company Presentations.

  • Monday night: Christmas shopping in FF.
    Tuesday night: TA meeting & Laundry?
    Wednesday night: Family photo & dinner in Fargo.
    Thursday night: Earl & Office, of course!
    Friday night: ?
    Weekend: Grading… finish up English 110′s P3s, English 105′s Proposals/Projects (any early portfolios)
    Next Monday: Regular classes (110: Final Test, Eval of PPT, My Words; 105: Portfolios, FC Presentations)
    Next Tuesday-Thursday: Finish up this semester & start to prepare for Spring…

    I am still stuck on my dad and my brother as far as Christmas gifts go, but I have time… I am quite content to leave this weekend for grading… curled up with hot chocolate, keeping warm in my apt with my three short Christmas trees hanging out in the corner… This is how I hope things go.