Well, sorta...

I did get all the homework marked for tomorrow's 101--at long last--and I have at least embarked on the marking of homework for the 102. There is no way in hell I'll get their essays graded before class tomorrow, and the chances of having them graded in time for the sub to return them on Thursday are pretty slim. But I will try.

I realized a few minutes go that, in trying not to overwhelm the 101 students, I've actually left myself in a serious bind for the first class next week. The students will have done some writing (good), but ... well, based on today's experience, they won't have anything must to talk about. I may have to get creative about showing something. And as soon as I thought that, I thought of all the zillions of "industrial agriculture" videos available online and thought "oh, easy! And saves me having to do any heavy lifting." So, actually, I take it back. I'm not in a bind at all. I've bought myself a teeny breather. Whew.

Today I bailed on my Advisement time, but I legitimately did have a fierce headache. It was migraine-esque in the night, and although I had the pain pretty well beaten back by the time I got to campus, all day I've had the post-migraine stupids: the synapses just don't line up, and I don't feel like I can absorb anything through my eyes. There's nothing actually occluded or unfocused about my vision; it's just that the information doesn't get through very well, a kind of processing static.

Given the state of my brain, I'm actually relieved by the fact that tonight's planned dinner with Cathy and Paul got canceled (Cathy is struggling with a cold-type virus combined with monster allergies). I wouldn't have been much company anyway, and my body sure doesn't need the over-indulgence (which tends to cause a "food hangover" the next day, producing another kind of stupids). I'm looking forward to heading home in just a moment or two here.

It pleases me to report that I have all the stacks and piles of stuff on the radiator and on my desk in some modicum of order. I even remembered (just this second) to print the P&B minutes so I can have them copied before I am racing to get from class to the meeting.

And in preparation for coming attractions, I have the conference sign up for the next round of 102 conferences all ready. Some of you may recall that I've been kicking myself for assigning essays to be due the day before my birthday, necessitating my spending time over my birthday weekend grading--but I've just shifted the conferences so the first day on which I will see anyone is Tuesday, which buys me at least one day in which I don't have to grade. A lot will depend, of course, on how many essays I get (and how good or bad they are), but even if everyone remaining in the class submits, that's only 16 essays. I could potentially get away with having only graded four by Monday (as I only have four Tuesday appointments), but that feels more than a bit risky. Nevertheless, I don't foresee having to devote the whole weekend to them, and that's nice.

Shifting gears: the student from the T/Th 101 who has been driving me nuts with lateness, absences, missed work, frantic emails with no follow-through, etc., showed up today to withdraw. Oh, good. Two students showed up to today's 101 who haven't been there in forever and who are missing a ton of work. I gave them both the same talk. One opted to stay (you know my bets on his chances of finishing successfully); the other more wisely opted to withdraw. And a bunch of students were absent today, of course. It will be interesting to see what happens on Wednesday when I let them know that their essays will receive late penalties. My classes may get very small very quickly. I hope there isn't so much attrition that conversation in class comes to a complete halt, but I don't mind losing a few more than I already have. Attrition can be a lovely thing, in terms of the grading/marking load.

On the other side of the equation, a student from last semester's SF class dropped by to meet with me during my office hour today--and of course I hadn't posted a notice saying that I had to cancel my hour today (conducting an observation). At first I simply forgot to post the notice, but when I did think of it, I thought, "Ah, no one will show up anyway, so why bother." Oops. My bad. I like that student a great deal, too, so I sent him an apologetic email. I hope he tries again--and that he tries again on a day when I actually am holding those hours.

As for now, I am going to make sure I put everything I'll want to schlep to Advisement with me into my wheelie pack, run a quick "am I ready to leave" check, and toddle off home. As these things go, it's relatively early, and I intend to make good use of that time by winding down as quickly and fully as possible.