Another roll of the dice

I may get a little more work done today, but I'm not counting on it. No good reason to shunt it aside, other than the child's complaint: "I donwanna." There's nothing odious in the to-do stack, not even very much there--it's a pretty light load at the moment. And that's part of why I'm taking the gamble that I can bail early tonight and still get things done in a timely manner.

It's a very interesting experience grading the short story revisions. Because I am grading on revision, not on talent or the quality of the story, some of the less-splendid in terms of literary merit are getting high grades. I don't have a problem with that--it's the nature of the beast--but it is an odd experience for someone who is usually fiercely insistent on the quality of the finished product.

The class was a bit odd today, too. Several students were missing--and the class is small enough that having three students out changes the composition of the chemistry significantly. Tyra (not Kyra: my apologies to the writers of Friday Night Lights) would not such up, talking about herself, herself, herself: I finally had to give her the "tone it down" hand gesture--which she didn't entirely pick up on: firmer measures are apparently needed. I may talk to her outside of class: she's definitely moving in the "obnoxiously dominating the class discussion" direction, and I need to (as my students would say) nip that in the butt--or at least get it checked before it gets any worse.

Discussion of the story we read for today was pretty flat (Sherman Alexie's "The Approximate Size of My Favorite Tumor")--though the students generally liked the story. I tried to come up with a "jot down ideas" exercise on the fly and it rather bombed... I let them go 20 minutes early. Again.

I am going to e-mail them one of my stories so we can--if time permits--critique it in class on Wednesday, after we discuss Le Guin's "First Contact with the Gorgonids." I want them to read that story because it's funny (humor being the motif at the moment) and also because I want them to see the difference in style between that and "Malheur County." I'll be interested to see if the students can also detect any ways in which--despite their glaring differences--the two stories have a similar voice. I know Le Guin's work well enough to hear her voice in both stories--but I'm not sure I'd pass a metaphoric blindfold test: would I know it was Le Guin's work if I didn't know it was Le Guin's work? But I think it's good for them to see one writer working in very different modes.

I do, however, need to remember to send them my story tonight, so they have time to read it. The students who missed today's class and who don't check their e-mail are simply out of luck.

On another front entirely, I submitted my sabbatical application today. (Set off the confetti cannons! Cue the parade!) I'll be curious to see what feedback I get from P&B, but until I'm told something I need to include or change, as far as I'm concerned, I'm done. If there's more correspondence between now and when the thing has to go to the college-wide committee, I'll include that as well, but really, it's as complete as I can think to make it: I don't know what else to put in it.

And I don't know what else to put in this post. It's raining like mad outside, wild wind, so I'm not in a huge hurry to get in the car and head home. I will noodle around here in the office a little while longer--at least make some photocopies, even if I don't accomplish anything more substantive. And that will be the day.