"Wish I Were the Moon," Neko Case

Somehow that little counter/bar thingy over yonder hasn't budged. Hm. Perhaps because I have yet to put pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard) in pursuit of the Major Plays chapter. I know I'm a slow started, but this is a little silly.

I did, however, finally talk to Cheerleader Advisor last night, and she was just as gung-ho on my project as ever. She also gave me some good strategies for my meeting with Persnickety Advisor, where I hope to convince him once and for all about the feasibility and importance of the topic. It's just so frustrating to be two years into the writing portion and I still have to convince him anew with every meeting. The current attempt to fix this involves outlining an introduction that covers all the critical background I'm not directly addressing in order to free up space in the chapters for what I do care about. Persnickety is an excellent editor and thinker (which is why he's on my committee), but I'm just so tired of defending my work every single time I meet with him.

I was also able to let Cheerleader know how this decision on their part affects my personal life, reminding her that I'm part of a two-career partnership. She suggested I set a writing schedule that (best-case scenario) makes me hire-able come spring if things go well with C.'s search. Which, again, was my original schedule, so I'm even more committed to sticking to it now.

So that's that. In teaching, I'm in the middle of what should be an awesome week: we're doing two of my favorite texts (forgive the 133t-speak, but I can't figure out how to make Google ignore me), The W@ste L@nd and The W1nter's T@le. And I feel like today's classes were good--the first-years really got the fun and utility of close-reading, and the Shx class liked the play more than I had expected after the pain and suffering last week's Tr0ilus and Cress1d@ caused. But I'm so, so worn out and unmotivated. It's an effort to turn it on at the beginning of class, and I'm more wiped-out than usual afterward. I'm entirely ready for the Quarter of Crap to be over and done with.

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"Four Leaf Clover," Old 97's

Accomplished:

• One job letter
• Two paragraphs of a teaching philosophy (including a clever metaphor)
• Appointment with Fancy Scholar in my sub-field, who is visiting Chaos this month
• A reminder that Terrifying Chapter (which is next on the draft docket) will be awesome when I finally write it.

[Seriously, reading over my proposal chapter summary for that one, I was like, "Damn, I want to read that chapter!"]

Still to be done:

• Reading student discussion responses for tomorrow's class
• Reading essay for same class
• Prepping same class
• Prepping other class
• Answering e-mail from Third Reader, who wants to make an appointment to talk about my drafts at exactly the times I can't possibly meet
• Finishing Nightmare Chapter

What I want to do:

• Watch baseball
• Watch Heroes
• Eat dinner
• Read about Britney's baby drama on the internets

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"Eye of Fatima (Pt. 1)," Camper Van Beethoven

I've maintained for years that this is one of the best songs ever written, but today I discovered I'd been hearing one line wrong since forever. It's "No one ever conquered Wyoming, from the left or from the right." Which makes more sense than what I'd been hearing all this time ("called from Wyoming"), if only incrementally.

Today was a meeting at Chaos about Ambitious Intro Class that starts in two weeks. Somehow, hearing that everyone else is feeling anxious and confused about it made me feel less anxious and confused. I still need to look over some articles to fill out the syllabus, but I feel ok about getting to that next week.

Big Willie is continuing to make me scattered and time-management-impaired. I really need to scale back the information I'm throwing at them, but it already seems that every other sentence out of my mouth is "But we'll get to that next [class/week/text/etc.]." Tomorrow's their first quiz, next week the first writing assignment, so I'll start to see what they're taking in and what I need to focus on.

In dissertation news, I seem to be reading myself into paralysis again. Which means I need to get back to writing. I have Friday blocked out to just sit and produce words, after which I can go out and drink with a friend from out of town.

And just to round out this portmanteau post, today I enjoyed two delightful consumer goods: First, a fantastic clippy pressboard binder thing I liberated from the supply closet at Chaos. Second, these

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"Guided by Wire," Neko Case

Why I Am Annoying (#614 in a series):

Every time I eat plums, I have to recite "This Is Just to Say" to Mr. Eph.

The solution? Pluots.

So, class happened. It was a hot day, with eight thousand percent humidity, and while waiting for the train I had sweat actually dripping down my face. I took to blotting my décolletage like a hot-flashing grandma. So, so pretty, I was.

The classroom was also too hot, which made me extra-manic, what with the pacing and the gesticulating (my gesticulations bring all the boys to the yard, damn right, they're better than yours). While the location of the classroom is fantastic (right across the hall from the adjuncts' office), it doesn't have a podium, and the desk is actually lower than the student desk/chair combos. There is, however, a comfy upholstered desk chair, all the better for lounging in during the cabaret performances that I'll be assigning, because there's also a piano.

Not the best opening day, overall. I screwed up my dates, meandered a bit, overshot the time and didn't get through my first exercise. Eh, whatever. Next time we dive in to Favorite Play and things will go more smoothly, I'm sure. If only because the weather's finally turned and I just got an awesome dress I eBayed for half its retail. Go, me.

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"Save a Little Room for Me," John Wesley Harding

Do I win the seat-of-my-pants award for procrastinated preparation? I've just finished revising my Big Willie syllabus; the course meets for the first time tomorrow afternoon. Nah, not that bad, then. I've changed the instructions for the final paper and swapped the scheduled positions of the Popular Fairy Comedy and the Popular Cross-Dressing Comedy, but otherwise I'm doing pretty much what I did the last couple times I've been through this syllabus. I was thinking (after my useful meeting with Cool Prof in my field at St. Happy) about adding a performance aspect, but I'm still not entirely sold on it. More thinking is clearly in order.

I also had a meeting today about my minor service position at UChaos, which has been so beautifully set up by the career-office person that all I really have to do is send e-mail and show up for events. Excellent.

And, um. Then I did some shopping on the way home. Just school supplies. And a lip gloss. And a tote bag.

Now on to the last, most important part of my class prep: What will I wear for the first day? The temperatures are still working against me, and I have ridiculous blisters that are limiting my cute-shoe options (is it sad that the student evaluations that most amuse me mention my cute shoes?). I'm thinking a full-skirted black & white dress, light cardigan, and my bad-ass kitten heels with the buckle on the pointy toe.

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In which I make the leap

Let it be known, I still hate Blogger. But I've made the switch over to their new template, losing my carefully (though amateurishly) crafted scheme, but gaining the ability to add things to my sidebar without journeyman-level html-wrangling.

But what I wanted to post is a delightful conversation I had with a student this week. He comes up to me after class and says, "One of my other professors, my marketing professor, was talking about Romeo and Juliet in his class."

"Oh, really?" I say.

"Yeah, but--and I may not remember the play right--he said that they were kept apart by their parents. And that's not right, is it?"

"Nope. As we discussed, their parents don't know about the marriage at all until the end."

"So why would he say that?"

"Well, because there are cultural assumptions about the play--like it's a sublime love story, it's about parental disapproval--that have very little to do with the play itself. But now you know what's really going on, because you actually read it."

"Huh."

"But I wouldn't correct your marketing professor. Just know you're right."

"Yeah, at least not until after the midterm."