Getting through

I got a good wodge of P&B work done today; yesterday I marked all the assignments (well, the few I had) for today's classes, so I had the morning free to crank away. I looked at all the promotion folders for the folks I'm mentoring; there are two more that I should look at, just as a good Do-Bee, but next week is early enough for that.

I have a fair-sized folder of miscellaneous flotsam to take home and mark over the weekend--as much as I can, but I also must must must finish the proposal for a paper I want to present at the ASLE conference next summer, and that has to take priority. I'm having a powerfully difficult time getting any genuinely interesting thoughts to coalesce, but I'll fall back on the "write anything and see what comes out" technique.

I was playing to pretty empty houses today, in my role as Spinster Professor. As was the case yesterday, some who had been there on Tuesday were not there today, and some who'd been absent were there. I really do not know if the students will be able to read enough of the novel and understand it well enough to write their papers. I'm not sure what to do if we get closer to that point and they're utterly lost. I suppose I could ditch one of the preliminary versions... But I'm not going to get into the "what if" scenarios. I said I'd be improvisational, and that means no planning.

A sweet moment: a student arrived at the end of class to withdraw. I asked if he was OK, how he'd gotten through the storm--but honestly, he'd pretty well vanished long before the hurricane. I asked if he was sure withdrawal was his best option (I was pretty sure it was, but I thought I'd give him the chance)--and he said yes, but that he was really sorry. "You're the best English professor I've ever had. I've had two here before you, and I really mean it, you're the best. You're so organized." I've heard that before, and every time I do, I'm pole-axed. Me? Organized? OK, if you say so, but it sure doesn't feel that way from my end (pearls falling through the floorboards).

 But I'm as organized as I'm going to get today. I am completely grateful that I had lights and heat when I got home yesterday, and thus should still be returning to a warm and lit apartment tonight. I wonder how long it will be before I forget to notice and give thanks? But before I go home, I fully intend to go to a cozy restaurant and have a nice meal and a fucking enormous drink. I'd have two if I thought I could drive home safely. I may even literally let my hair down. Six weeks left--including Thanksgiving week, which hardly counts (and which is almost on top of us). The roller-coaster ride begins: hold onto your hat....