A Crazy Cat's Life

One of my favorite websites is Rate Your Students . It's for us academics who need a place to vent about the hells of our jobs. Until I found this site, I was losing my mind trying to figure out what I was doing wrong. As I discovered, it wasn't me but the students. That alone saved my sanity. This week, a lot of the entries have been about the end of the year conferences and the hell of job interviews. It really is amazing hearing some of these interviewees complaining about 4/4 teaching loads (four classes in the fall, four in the spring). They are looking for the ideal, lofty positions with 3/3 or even 3/2 schedules so they can focus on their research. To them, teaching is just an annoyance to pay the bills. I wonder what they would think of my 7/6/4 schedule (seven in the fall, six in the spring, and four in the summer)? They would probably shit in their pants as they ran away screaming in the process. The difference between them and me? Besides a higher level of...

...but I don't think vacations agree with me. While a good week off is quite enjoyable, I think having four weeks off is not the best thing for me. I'm trying to keep myself busy but I'm falling into the habit of sleeping in and just doing nothing productive. Trust me, I have plenty to do but it's like I'm getting into a rut. What's worse? My depression has been acting up. It got really bad yesterday after the insurance adjuster was over looking over the damage for the roof leak. I guess the prospect of dishing out $1,000 for a deductible isn't helping my mood. I also don't like people in my home. I'm an incredibly social person but my home is my sanctuary, my safe spot. People invading it is not a good thing. On the bright side, the insurance company says that not only will they cover fixing the wall but painting the entire room as well. As the room hasn't been painted in ages, they want to make sure that the walls "match." ...

I'm an avid reader of Fark.com. It's a fantastic website that finds some of the most insane news articles in the world. I tend to end my day reading a few of the articles just to get a good laugh. One of the news articles today was based on a controversy over a new PETA flash game . Basically, on the fourth stage of the game, you get to throw snowballs at Sarah Palin. Supposedly, Palin's office had a fit about the game and threatened PETA with a lawsuit if they didn't take down the game. Personally I had fun throwing snowballs at the Olsen Twins, Madonna, and (of course) Palin. Check it out if you are so inclined.

I have not lost my mind - it's backed up on disk somewhere. -- Unknown

...for not getting into the holiday spirit this year? I tried. I really did. I listened to Christmas music, watched some Christmas TV specials. Nothing I did could get me into the mood. Who knows? Maybe it's karma for giving that dipshit an F? Nah. When I looked back at his work, he truly handed in F quality material. Anyways, I raised enough kids' grades to make up for it. Every class got a curve in their final grade. Ya, I'm tough but I also realize that if the entire class is doing poorly that's more a reflection of me than of them. So pretty much 200+ kids got the grade bump (including said dipshit who got bumped back down anyways). Maybe it's just too much stress. The semester ended a bit earlier than normal but I've been dealing with a lot of crap since then. The roof leaking is never a fun thing. Also, I'm panicking trying to get my online class ready for the next semester. Oh yes, did I mention the horde of whining e-mails with student...

What a lovely way to be spending Christmas Eve: putting buckets down in the living room because the roof is leaking. The worst part is that we told the condo association on numerous occasions that there was a leak but they kept on passing the buck saying it wasn't the roof, that it was something inside the condo (namely, something they would not have to pay for). The leak is not only ruining the walls, it coming through a track lighting fixture which means that will have to be replaced as well. Oh and did I mention that someone stole our cover for our grill? Ya, just noticed that too when we went out back to check the leak. Lovely.

I handed in grades and the Semester From Hell is technically over. Unfortunately, it won't really be over until the last of the "Why did I get X grade?!!!!" e-mails stop. *sigh* This is the worst part of teaching. How can you not expect an F when you did not show up to class nor did you hand in the assignments? I realize that a) all of your living relatives over the age of 50 died/had cancer/required your constant care, b) Blackboard was constantly down/your computer crashed/your dog ate your flash drive, and c) if you don't pass you are going to lose your financial aid/get put on academic probation/lose your scholarship/get kicked out of the country. Not to sound like a complete evil bitch, but I don't care. I'm on vacation. I have an out of office message on my e-mail that says do not contact me until next semester because...get this...I'M ON VACATION. Please do not fill up my mail quota with your whining. I do not want to hear it. I've hea...