Is this thing on?
December 1st, 2003
It feels a bit strange to be picking up as if I had never let things drop again. I know the exact moment that broke my fragile habit. It was the first day of work, with no computer, no office sorted out, no preparations. From there I just had to dive right in to work and it is only now that I am feeling like I have a handle on things.
I am going to try and update every day in December for Holidailies. I am hopeful that this will make updating a habit again.
I was supposed to get a lot of work done today, but I ended up as Chief Gofer and arranged everything to do with the exam this year. I formatted and printed it off, ran it to the print shop, ordered the answer sheets, arranged pickup, and developed a whole plan of action. Saturday the 6th is my students' exam and it will be interesting to see how they handle things. I can tell you I am not so thrilled at having to spend a Saturday invigilating an exam, but it's the first day of exams, so I am basically free for the rest of December until classes resume Jan 5th. Woo.
Right now I am supposed to be marking the approximately 400 assignments I optimistically thought I would have done before exams. Hah! I say. It didn't happen with the first assignment, and now I have a TA who is marking the other 220 assignments instead of me marking all 625 so life is a little better, but I still am overly optimistic in how long it takes to mark assignments. Today was taken up with exam hysteria and helping students, so I am hoping to get a good stretch of marking in tomorrow. I also have a freelance marking contract for a computer course at school in Artificial Intelligence which is due Wednesday at noon, so I forsee lots and lots of marking in my future. The assignment is kind of fun to mark because I get to see how my students think a little and it is kind of fascinating to see what they come up with.
It's dark now (around 5:30pm). I am waiting for my last lecture this month, which is from 7-8pm tonight. My office window looks like a reflecting pool into an inky swamp. I wonder if it is still snowing. When I left for the print shop it was bright and sunny and clear. 30 minutes later it was a veritable blizzard. I didn't mind because it was my favourite type of snow. Big, puffy white flakes that drift down in a measured dance. I love that kind of snow. The air was really warm too, due to the sublimation. The temperature shifted though, because then the flakes went really small and fell really quickly so it wasn't nearly as nice afterwards.
On the weekend, Chris and I put up the Christmas lights and garlands outside. We put white mini lights on our three shrubs at the front, and then a yellow and a white spotlight on either corner shining up on the house through the skeletal branches of the spirea and the butterfly bush. It looks really pretty, although I think we will get a red or green or another yellow light to replace the qhite floodlight. I also put the garlands with the mini-lights up around the door, and hung the wreath with the red berries and bow. Immediately it's started looking more festive and cheery.
Books I have Read Lately:
- I have updated my reading list to reflect all the books I read while I was away from the journal. I'll fill in my thoughts as I go.
(All links go through Amazon.ca because of the affiliate program with The Usual Suspects. I spend so much time on there, that this is the least I can do.)