Long Week

I just got some sad news today. It seems another kitty from the catblogosphere has passed on. Bonnie was special to me in the sense that she was a "friend" of Ayla's. It's kind of hard to explain to the uneducated masses that some people love to write not only about their pets but from their pet's point of view. That's what Jen does over at the Bonnie & Victor site. That's what I did over on the Ayla the Grump site. Through them, we make virtual friends and we learn to love their pets almost as much as they do. It broke my heart to hear that Bonnie passed away and so suddenly.

Bear and I were talking about Ayla a few days ago and how I've been having so many problems starting up another kitty blog. He thinks that the Ayla site gave me a truly creative way to vent (unlike this site which is just venting). I think he's right but even though we have nine cats, none of them have the unique, snarky personality that Ayla had. I tried doing it with Monkee and while he is a well-spring of good material, it's not the same. Having an old, snarky grump around was good for my soul I guess.

I have started writing in my journal again. I tried to type up a journal but I like the feeling of handwriting in a book. Either way, I do need a way to get out all the stress in my life (without sounding constantly like a bitch here LOL).

Speaking of stress, I had my second interview last week. How did it go? I'm not sure. Because everybody already knew me it was a short interview. However, I got the feeling that a decision had been made before I even walked in the door. Of the other two candidates, I know that one had a PhD, which hurts for me. The other, who is a great guy and a decent teacher, is also the "pet" for the head of the department. That doesn't help me either. I'm thankful I made it to the final three but I wish I knew what real chance I have of getting the job. The head of the department told me that it "says something good" about me making it this far. The way he said it, though, sounded like I should be thankful I got this far and to not take it personally if I don't get the job. Then again, I'm overthinking things again. They said they are going to make a decision in the next few weeks. Until then, I'm going to think "happy thoughts."

My mom is doing OK. She is still having some problems seeing out of her eye but other than that it seems to be healing nicely. Unfortunately she now has a cold which doesn't help matters. I'll keep you posted on her.

As for school, well the new summer session has started and I already know which ones are going to get the As and which ones are going to get the Fs. Am I psychic? Nope. The ones who constantly raise their hand and participate tend to be the ones who get As while the ones who constantly show up late and then proceed to fall asleep in class get the Fs. LOL. Seriously, though, they don't seem like a bad bunch. My first class is full but everybody is trying to participate which is a nice change. My second class is small so they don't have a choice. It's hard to miss someone in that class who is not paying attention. I'm so evil. :) The only problem with summer school is getting used to teaching four hours straight for four days a week. This takes a toll on me, especially since I'm a very active teacher.

There is a light at the end of the tunnel. Bear and I are looking at a summer vacation. Yes, a REAL vacation where we actually get away and go out to eat and all that fun stuff. We're looking to rent a small house up on Cape Cod for a week in August. My bro-in-law will be joining us and I'm trying to get my brother and his family to come up as well. Yes, I'm strange. I actually like my brother and bro-in-law where I would actually enjoy vacation time with them. My bro-in-law was actually my friend before I even started dating Bear and my brother and I have always been close. Either way, I plan on spending at least one day at the beach and many days eating lobster in as many ways as possible. Above all else, I plan on RELAXING. OMG!!!! Me? Relax? Is it possible? LOL.

It Never Ends...

I first should start with the good news. My mom had the surgery and she's doing fine. The doctor is confident that all the melanoma was removed. Right now, my parents are back at home and are resting. They will see the doctor again at the end of the month to see how the reconstruction of the eyelid went.

Other bit of good news. I got a second interview for the tenure-track position I applied for. This means I'm down to the Round of Three. Not too bad considering there were over thirty applications in the beginning. What is left is the toughest part: convincing them I am better than the other two candidates. Hopefully that interview will go well. I have my fingers crossed.

As for the never ending part...what part of you failed and you earned that F do you not understand? I've got two students who are "shocked and outraged" by their Fs. One was very nice girl but she does not have any functioning brain cells in her head. She did not pass a single assignment or test the entire semester. She thinks it was her final paper that brought her grade down and has begged me to allow her to rewrite. I told her flat out that even if she did rewrite her paper and got a perfect score on it she would still fail. That shut her up.

The other one is more annoying. The kid missed 10 classes over the course of the semester. He had a B average but between the loss of class participation and the absences, he got an F. Now I'm getting e-mails saying how his cousin needed a kidney transplant and had to be with his family. If he had known how many absences he had he would've made a serious effort to get to class. Bah. I told him flat out: the time to talk about absences is during the course of the semester, not once it is over. He does not seem to accept that and wants to meet with me personally to discuss the matter. I will not do this. Now I have to meet with the head of my department over this. Grr. I don't need this right before my second interview.

At least the summer session is starting soon. Fresh batch of students and they tend to be better over the summer for some reason.

Almost There

I finished up every tiny last bit of grading this afternoon. It was such a relief to get through the last writing assignment and tally up the final grades.

This has been an awful semester in more ways than one. You've heard about all the non-school crap I've had to deal with, and some of the academic poop as well. But you know life really sucks when you have to grade over 150 papers that read like this.

The opening paragraph to a paper on the Holocaust:

The Concentration Camps were where the Jews had to go after they got kicked out from there own homes from the Nazis. Things for the Jews got really bad.

Oh it gets better...

The good things were that Buna was a very good camp. People there were able to care for one another with out getting into trouble. The Buna camp was a bit better than the rest of the camps. The good thing about the camps was that people were given new cloths to wear and also were given two tents to live in...The whole point for the concentration camps was that the Nazis hated the Jews very much. They wanted the Jews to die in some what way or another. Right after the Hitler came into power, every one of the Jews was sent to the concentration camps to be tortured. The Jews were forced to work under the Nazis rule. Most of the Jews were not allowed to work with friends, brothers and their own dad. They were not allowed outside of the concentration camps.

Mind you, Buna was part of Auschwitz and how any concentration camp can be a "good camp" is beyond me. But this was written by a COLLEGE student. Have I mentioned how much I fear for the future of humanity?

Now, most everybody knows that the last few weeks of the semester are hell for all professors. Heck, even the most recent post in Rate Your Students explains what we normally go through. My in-laws have been very nice and even rescheduled Mother's Day dinner because they knew I would be concentrating on grading today. My parents? Bah. My mom is pissed off at me because I forgot to send her flowers. Um, hello? I forget my name at this time of the semester. you want me to remember flowers? Be thankful I called. She doesn't understand. At least Bear does. Last semester he tried to help me with grading. He got through two papers before he yelled "how the hell can you read this shit?" and gave up. So anyways, I'll order the flowers tomorrow.

Tomorrow, I'm going into the office and handing out final grades to those few who will actually show up. I gave out a lot of F's this semester. Nine in one class of thirty five students, but that class was my hell class. Still, I think I'm breaking the record of 15 F's that I gave out last semester. I haven't tallied them all up yet but it's a safe bet.

I also get to start working on the summer classes which start in a week. Yes, I get a whopping six days off before the start of summer school. Joy. At least I'm only teaching two classes per session. So it shouldn't be too bad. Ha. I say that every semester. :)

Writing From the Deepest, Darkest Pits...

...of GRADING HELL.

Oh yes folks, it's that wonderful time of the semester: the last week of school. And guess what I am doing? Trying to bury myself out from the huge stack o' shit papers. I am looking at my calender of hell and discover that I have...hmmm...let's see...fourteen more assignments to grade. Oh joy. Thankfully only four of them include term papers. The rest are just rewrites or short writing assignments.

Currently I am giving my brain a rest before it revolts and leaves on me. Nobody truly understands the horrors a teacher goes through this time of year. Case in point: I was told from a very early age that if you do not understand a word, go look it up in the dictionary. Now I realize that my vocabulary leaves something to be desired but I am always trying to improve myself. My students do not understand that concept. If you do not understand what the word "procreation" means in my question about how it is important to Xenophon's analysis of the Spartan constitution...well, LOOK IT UP. Don't try to bullshit me. I am sorry, but Xenophon's hatred of Athenian democracy has nothing to do with the way Spartans make babies!!!! I got FOUR answers saying that. *starts to bang head on desk*

On to a lighter, slightly less painful note...last weekend (and hence the reason why I'm so far behind on grading) I was subjected to my entire family at my cousin's weddings. Joy. I love my family. However, I find that the only time I actually drink alcohol any more is when I'm around them, and it's usually in large quantities. Hmmm. I wonder why? My parents stayed here on Friday, then we had to deal with family get togethers on Saturday (those are truly evil things), and the wedding on Sunday. I think I consumed more alcohol over the weekend than I have in the past two years. :P

My mom looks good considering she is worrying herself sick. She is having her surgery next Tuesday. She is nervous but she really is in good hands. The doctor she is seeing is one of the best in the country.

My dad, as always, was great. It really is hysterical how he has two different personalities: one with my mom and one without. My mother has a very domineering personality and she definitely wears the pants in that relationship (think of Greg's parents in Dharma & Greg). My dad on his own though is a pisser. I never realized this until I went to college and he sat down with me one day to just talk. He's a very intelligent guy with a dry sense of humor and he loves making fun of my mom whenever he can. :)

The highlight of the whole weekend was seeing my adorable four year old niece. OMG! She is the cutest thing! When I saw her on Saturday she went "Auntie Kitty!" and ran to give me a huge hug. I think that alone made up for all the torture of the weekend.

Did I mention one of my cousins (not the one who got married) is a pimp and a drug dealer in a country where it's legal? That was something I never wanted to know. And you thought your family was fucked up. LOL.

On a not so happy note, I got the results of my most recent MRI. Somehow I managed to put a small tear into the anterior talofibular ligament in my injured foot. How? Your guess is as good as mine. All I know it is four more weeks in the Boot From Hell. Joy.

On that note...it's back into the slave mines of the analysis of Spartan childbirth.