one more lazy post

My eyes! I cannot . . . look . . . away . . . from this site . . .

ridicu-links

The Chronicles of Narnia Rap

The Worst Christmas Card Ever

XTreme Christmas Lights

Muppets Mahnamahna (Why? Because I like it.)

post-Christmas post

Vacation is very, very nice. So are the holidays, although they always surprise me a little. Even though we have a lot of traditions and holiday routines in our family (especially around Christmas time), there are nothing like these annual marking stones to remind us how much things have changed. This is the first Christmas I've had where I've really felt like a visitor to my parents' house; I've always been living there or staying there for a few weeks in December, instead of just a few nights. I still think that one of the weirdest things about college and post-college life is navigating where "home" is and what home means--once you move away, it's never exactly the same. My sisters are also getting older, and much more strong and beautiful and capable, and it seems like all of the cousins who are my age (there are several) are getting married and buying homes. One even has a daughter. These changes happen gradually around me, but always seem to catch up with me all at once. I wonder if it's any worse for me than it is for most people since graduate school is so insulating--sometimes I get so caught up in reading and writing and grading that I forget to look up and take in the world around me. December is a good time to try to catch up with that world.

Speaking of reading, I find that it is really unappealing to me right now. I used to love reading for hours and hours over vacation, but the idea of books -- even books I think I really want to read -- makes me feel exhausted. I hope this won't last very long; there are only so many blogs to read and DVD's to watch instead. And there's really nothing that compares to getting lost in a really good book.

This week should be exciting; I get to start planning a new quarter with new challenges (reading for exams!) and a new course to teach. I'll keep you updated as the drama unfolds (pun totally intended).

Oh, and this is a little belated, but I thought it was entertaining. Make sure you check out the bonus scenes!

catching up on sleep

Unless you have really terrific vision, you'll need to click on this to enlarge it (via phdcomics.com):

It's a small (academic) world after all.

One of my students' papers that I recently read quoted the work of a professor whose ex-wife (who is also a professor) I saw at the movie theater tonight.

I know the academic world is small, but it still weirds me out sometimes.

I'm done for the quarter!

There's nothing left to do but enjoy the cuteness.

I want greed, and I want it now.

In the last couple of days, I have graded 22 final exams and 16 final papers. Now I have only 6 to go--a good thing, since grades are due tomorrow! My students' final work has generally been very good, although there have been a few of those inevitable papers that are obviously thrown together at the last minute during exam week. (These also tend to be turned in by the students who didn't manage to get me a draft on time, so they aren't really a surprise.)

This particular batch of papers had an unusual number of inappropriate word uses, many of which made me laugh aloud. One writer used "rumor" as a verb (as in, "to rumor someone"), while another discussed a character who desperately wanted to attain more greed. You've got to admit it's amusing to picture someone (a diabolical villain?, a six-year-old?, Christopher Walken?, Dubya?) shaking a fist and shouting, "MORE greed! I want MORE!"

a lovely weekend

The days have been warm and the skies have been crisp and beautiful. Here is the view this evening from my balcony:
















It was a weekend to celebrate birthdays and the (soon-to-be) end of the quarter. There's nothing I like better than hanging out with all of the wonderful people I got to see and forgetting about work and stress for a while. I'm really looking forward to the holidays and to spending more time very soon with the people I love.

Updates

New, Non-Explodin' Hairdryer:
Yesterday, I bought a new hairdryer. It seems lighter and faster than my older dryer which, as I mentioned in a previous post, exploded last week. Well, it didn't exactly explode, but the on/off switch stuck, then the switch broke, and then smoke started pouring out of the bottom part of the dryer. I unplugged it and threw it away, and now I have a new one. (I've got to get better at telling that story. I will work at embellishments.)

Ants:
I haven't seen any more clusters of ants, but there are definitely still ant scouts in my apartment, looking for a good time. I kill all of the ones I see, and have put Windex on places where I suspect they might be getting in (i.e., the windowsill), but the ones I find continue to confuse me. Today I found one on a wall above the bathroom sink, one crawling around on the box of my new blowdryer, and one walking down the sleeve of a shirt hanging in my closet. What are they up to? (Answer: no good.)

Clarissa:
429 pages to go. I was supposed to be done two weeks ago. I'll keep you updated!

my apartment complex's wild kingdom, part II

After returning from the library today, I thought it would be nice to make a cup of miso soup. I went to boil water in my electric kettle in my bedroom, only to notice that there were about three ants on the surface of it. I opened it up and--

promptly dropped it, yelping. There were several ants inside of it, mostly "swimming" in the water I had negligently left in it the night before. In the mentally-deficient haze that the ant panic induced, I ran with it to the bathroom sink and started pouring water and soap all over the kettle; ants, after all, hate soap, yes? As I turned it over, I noticed/remembered the label on the bottom of the kettle - the one that said "please don't immerse in water." Which is, of course, what I was doing. The water had, by that point, crept up around the wire and, no doubt, into the electrical thingies that make the bottom of the kettle heat up. After the Incident of the Smokin' Blowdryer last week, I decided it was probably a better idea to get rid of my beloved, $10 kettle than to risk another exploding appliance. Clearly, another trip to Target is necessary.

Anyway, I couldn't find any other ants in my room, which is strange -- I'm not really sure where they came from. I did, however, see an ant carrying another ant ON THE CEILING. Is that even physically possible? What kind of bizarre super ant was this? What the heck is in our water?

In other news, I am currently at a tea shop "writing my paper." Ten pages down, ten to go! I just need to channel the strength of an ant who has the strength of TWO ants. ;)

the life of a grad student

The nice woman at the interlibrary loan desk just looked at the pile of 11 books I was checking out and said, "I guess you'll be spending your break reading! Such is the life of a grad student, though."

I smiled and nodded, too embarrassed to mention that those books were for the paper that is due tomorrow.

my apartment complex's wild kingdom

After coming back from the movies last night, Justin and I saw what we have since determined was probably a great-horned owl perched on a lamppost by my apartment. It was huge! To me it just looked like a big greyish lump; I could barely make out a rotating head after staring at it for a minute, holding my thumb up to block the light. Justin thought he got a good look at its facial coloration though, and that, combined with stats on owls in the county (I heart the Internet) and the fact that it definitely was a large owl, led us to the conclusion that it was most likely a great-horned. It was probably there to eat some of the rabbits, although apparently they will eat almost anything, including armadillos and baby alligators.

In other news, I am writing a final exam for the first time tonight. It's harder than I expected, but it's coming together now. The real test (no pun intended, oops) will be seeing a) if it seems to fill up 2 hours well and b) what kind of answers I get for the questions I ask. I just might have to be a more lenient grader this time, depending on how things go.

Tomorrow will be a marathon writing day, I'm afraid. But the end of the quarter is in sight!