During the last couple of weeks I’ve been staying downtown, where I live, on the days I don’t teach, rather than go in to school. This change in work habits seems to be working pretty well. I walk a couple of blocks to a coffee shop first thing, read and write for a few hours, then head to the downtown library and do some class prep.
There are only about 4 weeks left in the semester, and a bunch of grading is on the horizon. My classes are going pretty well, although since it’s been awhile since I taught composition, I had forgotten (not for long!) the dramatic difference between the student population that takes composition and the population that takes upper-division English classes. Although I am not a rhetoric/composition specialist, I would like to stay committed to teaching writing on a relatively regular basis. I’m rusty right now but getting better, I think. I teach the same course again next semester.
We’ll have a couple of friends over for American Thanksgiving next week (note that our neighbors to the north celebrated last month), which should be fun. The mini-break offered by this holiday is always welcome.
My health is pretty good. No hearing problems. I’m sleeping okay, and my energy level is not dragging. I eat the right kinds of things (lots of fruits, veggies, whole grains), but if someone brings candy into the office, I pretty much have to eat it all at one sitting until it is gone. I try to share to avoid this happening.
This afternoon, there’s an Honors Program colloquium to attend, and tonight, I give a guest talk in one of my colleagues’ classes on Alan Moore’s From Hell.
We’re still eating the leftover turkey.
Have a good holiday!