I have started and deleted so many posts here over the last several weeks that I have no idea what --if anything -- will end up on the page. Let's just see what happens.
Tomorrow starts the last week of school for the kids before break. Friday they have a half day and then they are off for two full weeks. Last year their last day of school before break coincided with the opening of Star Wars: The Force Awakens. We made plans weeks in advance to meet our friends Kevin and Susan for the movie and then go out for dinner. The movie was a lot of fun, we treated ourselves to margaritas at dinner, and most importantly, it was simply a special way to start the holiday break with friends and family. This year we wanted to do the same with Rogue One, but Kevin and Susan are flying to Europe that afternoon so it won't work out. That's okay -- with my final exam I'm not sure how easy it would be to get to the theater at a reasonable time anyway. We'll see it with them when they get back, in 2017. I should think of some other special way to celebrate our first night of break.
Of course, this year the kids' break will start off differently for me because on Friday I proctor my final exam. I have 140 students this year, up 41 from last year. Any ideas how long those exams will take to grade? Yeah, I don't want to think about it. My task this week is to write the perfect exam: fair and easy to grade. I'm not sure I'll pull it off. My graduate student TA will be available to help me grade, but I'll still have to work several days after the kids are officially on break. Last year my exam was earlier in the week and I was essentially done by the time I picked them up. This year I anticipate will be a bit rougher, but let me live in the present and not worry about next weekend!
As for the present, I'm sitting by the Christmas tree in my favorite chair, kitty reclined on the top behind my head, fire in the fireplace, and I'm typing on my new iPad. The light is soft and soothing. I'm supposed to be at my department's Christmas party tonight, but getting a babysitter tends to be an issue for us, and it's expensive. So we're at home, enjoying our own quiet company. In a few minutes we'll round up the kids and watch TV together. We finished The Flash season 2 and have moved on to Legends of Tomorrow. It's not as good, but it's entertaining enough and it's something we do together.
Hey, speaking of presents, the iPad was a present to myself, purchased with discretionary money that was paid a few years ago when I gave a couple of workshops at another university. The money sat untouched in an account the last several years until I realized how stupid that was. I don't know what I was saving it for. Then my iPad pretty much died, and my laptop was on its way to doing the same, and I thought an iPad Pro with keyboard might replace both of them. So far so good. I think some people might hate typing on this little keyboard but I'm okay with it. It's way better than typing on a screen.
Okay, I am horrified by how boring this all has been, but at least it's words on a page. That's what I'm going for these days! Let me work up to interesting stuff.
Tomorrow starts the last week of school for the kids before break. Friday they have a half day and then they are off for two full weeks. Last year their last day of school before break coincided with the opening of Star Wars: The Force Awakens. We made plans weeks in advance to meet our friends Kevin and Susan for the movie and then go out for dinner. The movie was a lot of fun, we treated ourselves to margaritas at dinner, and most importantly, it was simply a special way to start the holiday break with friends and family. This year we wanted to do the same with Rogue One, but Kevin and Susan are flying to Europe that afternoon so it won't work out. That's okay -- with my final exam I'm not sure how easy it would be to get to the theater at a reasonable time anyway. We'll see it with them when they get back, in 2017. I should think of some other special way to celebrate our first night of break.
Of course, this year the kids' break will start off differently for me because on Friday I proctor my final exam. I have 140 students this year, up 41 from last year. Any ideas how long those exams will take to grade? Yeah, I don't want to think about it. My task this week is to write the perfect exam: fair and easy to grade. I'm not sure I'll pull it off. My graduate student TA will be available to help me grade, but I'll still have to work several days after the kids are officially on break. Last year my exam was earlier in the week and I was essentially done by the time I picked them up. This year I anticipate will be a bit rougher, but let me live in the present and not worry about next weekend!
As for the present, I'm sitting by the Christmas tree in my favorite chair, kitty reclined on the top behind my head, fire in the fireplace, and I'm typing on my new iPad. The light is soft and soothing. I'm supposed to be at my department's Christmas party tonight, but getting a babysitter tends to be an issue for us, and it's expensive. So we're at home, enjoying our own quiet company. In a few minutes we'll round up the kids and watch TV together. We finished The Flash season 2 and have moved on to Legends of Tomorrow. It's not as good, but it's entertaining enough and it's something we do together.
Hey, speaking of presents, the iPad was a present to myself, purchased with discretionary money that was paid a few years ago when I gave a couple of workshops at another university. The money sat untouched in an account the last several years until I realized how stupid that was. I don't know what I was saving it for. Then my iPad pretty much died, and my laptop was on its way to doing the same, and I thought an iPad Pro with keyboard might replace both of them. So far so good. I think some people might hate typing on this little keyboard but I'm okay with it. It's way better than typing on a screen.
Okay, I am horrified by how boring this all has been, but at least it's words on a page. That's what I'm going for these days! Let me work up to interesting stuff.
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