Believe it or don't...

I actually had one day when I didn't have to grade papers!  So, what did I do?  I wrote lectures and recorded podcasts.  Sounds like fun, huh?

The day was gorgeous, and I was inside.  What was I thinking?  Today, however, is also beautiful, and I have three + sets of papers.  But, you know what?  I'm going outside for a while anyway.  The papers will wait--the grass won't.  I need to mow one more time before the cold weather comes.  I think the temp is going to 37 or something on Monday night.  Winter all ready?  That was fast.  That probably means we're in for a cold one.

I slept until 10:30am on Friday, but I didn't go to bed until 2am, so I think that's not too late.  On the weekends, I get my times screwed up, and have to adjust when Monday comes.  Next semester, though, if all goes well, I'll only be teaching on campus on Mondays and Wednesdays, and my first class doesn't begin until noon.  But that means I'll probably need to be on campus by 10am, since I can't count common hour as an office hour (which I think is stupid, but I'm not "the boss").  I'll have more time for my online classes, which, sadly, I don't this semester.  I'm usually all over them, but I've had too many other tasks that needed my attention. 

Podcasting, which I've just started doing, is fun, but requires time and energy.  The good thing is that I've got the podcasts done, and I can use them next semester for my class, since they aren't dated.  I still need to record podcasts for all of the drama sections, but those will be forthcoming.

I heard the dryer buzz, so I need to fold clothes.  I'll go out for a while, then jump right on those papers.  Sigh... Thanksgiving is right around the corner--I think a trip to Austin is in order.

Let the Madness Begin...

Classes begin in five (count 'em-5) days! Where has the summer gone?

I guess teaching summer school for two months does eat into spare time, as do grading papers and driving 90 miles every day. But the class was good, not stressful at all; I had a wonderfully small class of students who wrote well and were funny, too. So that made the time pass quickly.

This semester, I have four classes--one Intro to Fiction (with 35 students), two Advanced Comps (one of those online--each class has 20 students), and a new class, Writing in the Humanities (this one has 13 people so far). In addition, I'll be teaching an intro knitting class for Continuing Ed for six weeks; that just provides me an excuse to knit and talk about knitting for two hours! It's built-in relaxation for me, a good reason to begin new projects, buy more yarn, and escape from academe for a while. I forsee, however, long days. The good news? I have a semester of three-day weekends again!

I mowed the grass this morning. It's so dry that I may not have to do this again for a couple of weeks, unless we get some rain (I'm not holding my breath!). I complained (sort of) about all the rain at the beginning of the summer, but everything is dry and dusty now. My garden has suffered greatly--first from an excess of moisture, then from its absence. But isn't that nature's way? Always the extreme!

Even the cats feel the heat; they spend most of their time inside (I keep having to clean the litter boxes--they've got an entire acre for a litter box, but they still come inside to do their business!). I would think they'd be out chasing the neighbor's chickens, but even that's not enough to tempt them right now. I can't blame them. I don't even like to go out to get the mail until the sun goes down.