listies

I have finally compiled my read-a-thon list, which is so exciting that I think I might have to do a little dance before typing any more...

*long pause*

Allllrighty then. Back to business!

My read-a-thon list is quite awesome. Starting at 5 a.m. on Saturday morning, I will be reading...

"Non-negotiable…" selections

Much Ado about Nothing by William Shakespeare—for my Shakespeare class

Antony and Cleopatra by William Shakespeare—for my Shakespeare class

The Devil's Dominion: Magic and Religion in Early New England by Richard Godbeer—for my American History course (I'll probably add this to my non-fiction five challenge list)

And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie—for the Intro to Lit course that I teach. My students start discussing this book on Tuesday…

Henry V by William Shakespeare—for my big ‘ole paper due in a month (blah)

The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins—I have to write a paper on this novel before school is out to finish my incomplete in my last nineteenth-cent. British lit course. I should re-read it or at least get a good chunk re-read this weekend.

Just for me, but still academic-y.

The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne—because it’s soooo good.

Hard Times by Charles Dickens—for my Classics Challenge J

Little Dorrit by Charles Dickens—because Dickens is my homeboy

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen—because I’m the only one (and by “one” I mean mushy book-crazy girl) I know who hasn’t read it.

For fun, for ME!!!

All Cooked Up Elvis Cookbook—to make the read-a-thon hip shakin’ good (for Non-fiction five challenge)

Being Perfect by Anna Quindlen

The Messenger by Lois Lowry

Dr. Dredd’s Wagon of Wonders by Bill Brittain

Does my list make you happy too? Enough to dance?

Here's another list. It's things I've done in the past 24 hours. Lots of numbers.

I have...

1. graded 39 essays, 4-7 pages each
2. slept 2 hours
3. taught 2 classes
4. caused 2 students to cry
5. written about 15 emails for the transdisciplinary Text course
6. received my big Amazon box in the mail with 7 new books!
7. danced 1 happy dance
8. spent about 1 hour w/ hubby
9. eaten 1/2 of an enchilada that I brought home from El Ranchero a few nights ago. YUM.
10. compiled my weekend's read-a-thon list
11. danced 1 more happy dance
12. made a list on my blog with 12 items

And the answer is "yes" if you have asked, "is she going nuts?"

10 lords aleaping

So, I'm trying to keep up this maddening pace of finals, grading, seminar papers, etc.

Here's today:
wake up and realize the hubby and I have both been pressing snooze for about an hour
bake my famous spicy chicken
prepare chicken and veggie stew for crockpot
submit final grades for both classes
finish Hair paper
find my enormous stack of Wilkie Collins articles
sample stew, say "damn, I'm good"
drive to school, with only a very brief Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf detour
work at writing center 7 p.m.-10 p.m.
make huge pot of coffee
start working on Wilkie Collins paper for 19th cent. seminar
wallow in self-pity
drink last sip of coffee
wish I were at home in bed

God's love

I'm trying to pace myself with posting my students' funny sentences, but the truth is that they are just too good to keep to myself. The following are laugh-out-louds, head scratchers, or just plain bad:

"David also worked very closely with Robert Moffat, who arrived a few weeks after him. He had a daughter named Mary and they were deeply in love. They got married on January 2, 1945; they had four boys, and a daughter who died on the mission field due to sickness."

Okay, besides the correct use of a semi-colon here, there is not much about this sentence that is good! Of course the daughter died, if the diction is to be trusted! My student commited the unforgivable crime of creating an incestuous relationship for unsuspecting missionary workers!

"These feelings were all about to be reversed in an event that would change his lives."

Hmmm...just for the record, exactly how many lives does this man have?

"According to The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Augustine was raised in a Christian atmospheric home."

Well, if The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy says it, it must be true!

And my personal favorite...

"Anyone can come out of the deepest depths and God's love reaches every corner of every bottom."

Yes, indeed.

Oh, the funny just won't stop

from a student's recent essay on Sojourner Truth...

"Like her mother and many slaves had done, Isabella watched as her children were torn out of her fingerprints and sold to other farms."

First of all...ouch! Second of all...thesaurus much? Ahhhh. I just LOVE this time of the semester.

These snozberries taste like snozberries!

My husband is my main source of laughter, which is sweet, I know, but what I love the most is that the jokes have not gotten old. In fact, we laugh about the "same old stuff" more and more. I love that his belly button lint and my premarital pink socks continue to be sources of hilarity. And I love that he gets frustrated with the avocado every single time. I love that.

My students--on the other hand--crack me up in other ways. In spelling ways. Here are two examples of laugh-out-louds:

"Unhappy couples get caught in the viscous cycle of divorce."

"Many types of symbolism in Bram Stoker's Dracula are berried in the text."

You see, dear reader, I have a wonderful life. I have a job for which I am paid to laugh, cry, and grit my teeth right alongside the kiddoes (only they don't know why I'm doing it). And that's the best part.

Two households, both alike in Karen Beths

Two households, both alike in Karen Beths, in fair San Gabriel Valley where we lay our scene. Ahhh, if only Shakespeare was alive for that one! Moving is one of the hardest things about life. But even harder than moving is living out of two different residences while the moving is taking place! (Even harder than that? Planning for in-laws in town while the moving is taking place.) But...they actually ended up being a huge help to us.

Scott and I are finally moved all the way into the new place! We started looking about halfway through the summer because we needed more space and more privacy. The apartment we were in was in a great location and came at a reasonable price (if anything in SoCal can be called reasonably priced), but we didn't like the noise from upstairs neighbors, and we didn't like not being able to make our own noise as musicians...

We found the perfect place for us. It's a two-story townhouse in Glendora. We have two bedrooms, so one will be an office/studio for us to do schoolwork and practicing. The other will be our master bedroom. We have three bathrooms for some reason, we're still not sure why, but very excited about it. We have a garage, balconies, a patio, a bigger kitchen than the last place. All in all, as soon as we get more boxes unpacked, we'll be VERY happy and cozy in our brand new place. The best part about it? We don't share any walls! We live in a townhouse community, but our little place stands all on its own. We still rent, but it's progress!!



(note--hey, if you need our new address, just drop me a line by email)

I'm blessed to have a loving husband who only complained a leeeetle bit about carrying my many many many boxes of books up the stairs. In total, we probably had about 600 books to move from one place to another, and it was a huge chore. I don't feel too bad about it since at least 200 of them were his. Still, what a sweet hunk.

School has started again, which makes this whole moving/unpacking process even more stressful. However, I have so many things to be grateful for.

1. A fresh bunch of students with eagerness and expectations written all over their faces.
2. New books!
3. Getting back in touch with good friends.





4. Making new ones.
5. Carpooling with the hubby to school.
6. New classes=New challenges
7. New reasons to try my very hardest.
8. did I mention new books? :)

I just won first place in the "What was I thinking???" category

What was I thinking? I'll tell you what I was thinking: I was thinking that I would be just fine grading an entire Freshman Writing Seminar class's portfolios (15 students, 4 final drafts each, essentially 60 papers to grade...). Well, I was right. I could handle it. I actually did okay with that part. I am about 5/6 done with the portfolios! The HARD part of my life right now is grading my Intro to Literature class's final exams AND their final fiction essays at the same time as trying to write 3 seminar papers of my own. The verdict? Not freaking possible.

That's 32 final exams (4 pg. exam plus three essays), 32 final fiction essays (5-6 pages each), plus any work that anyone turned in late. I am just about to go nutty. If I see one more person cite sparknotes in their Dracula essays, I might just cry. SPARKNOTES IS NOT A REPUTABLE SOURCE!! Pllleeeeeeaaaase, people. For my health, I'm begging you...just don't do it!

I'm about a third of the way done with the fiction essays, and then I have to get cracking on the exams. I have a 20-25 page, 11 pt. font essay for my film music seminar due in 6 days, which has been on my brain for a long time, but isn't started in "real" life. So, the moral of this story is, what was I thinking???

This semester flew by and forgot to tell me. No sleep for me. Again.

You know what the sad part about all of this is? Don't tell anyone, but I really enjoy grading for the most part. It is hard, it is exhausting, it is mind-boggling, it is sometimes hilarious, but...it's part of my job and I love it. I just wish I had more time to devote to each student, each paper, and each idea individually. Right now, I'm just trying to stay sane.