A rare appearance in my office this term ... spending as little time on campus as possible, it turns out. Now in the final two weeks, where they do a project for their grade. The first 7 weeks, in workshop format (no assignments, no requirements, in class work), were successful, I think, and the quality of writing may be better, certainly no worse, than students in my past traditional classes. I did this selfishly, because I had limited time at home, but the intensity of the in class work seems to have paid off. Maybe I should have been doing this all along.
At any rate, only half of the students attended and they are doing very well. We'll see how the others, who chose to study my tutorial on their own, end up doing. I suspect not as well. Indeed, I am sure there are a few who have done nothing. I am grading "harder" than usual (as I warned them), so they may be in for a surprise.
The money for teaching this term is very helpful, and I have enjoyed myself, but teaching is more tiring than ever, even in workshop mode, and I am not going to do this again. It will take me a week or so to recover, then I have to reevaluate where we are with getting the house ready to sell.
Poor Harriet means well but when you can't remember things day to day, well, it makes it hard to make plans. I am doing more and more unilaterally, which I don't like doing, but if I don't, nothing gets done. Harriet has "chores" she has been going to do "tomorrow" for six months now!!!
My salvation has been cooking. Bread, of course, my mainstay and best item. Pasta, which I don't do as often as I might. I like making biscuits but eating that many is another thing. I am not fond of eating gnocchi, really, so I think I'll drop making them.
If we move into an apartment with a rec room, I will have a place to put baked goods! I definitelyt need more mouths than our two.
Nice to be in a quiet office, actually, though I miss D., the mainstay of this office who usually is here at this time. I hope she's ok ... older than I, I expect. A new secretary had to let me in, surprised I am in the emeriti office, not the adjunct office! They have treated me very nice here, always, for 20 years. No complains ... well, except no benefits ha ha. But I knew that going in.
Picked up two tickets for a campus concert Sunday, international music.
Watched the first season of the HBO series 24 ... about as intensely suspenseful as storytelling can be but too many explosions and chases for my tastes, and not always plausible. But it kept up the tension, that's for sure. Might go on to season two. Free, with Amazon Prime. Wouldn't pay to watch it ha ha.
Behind on my main things, music and reading especially. Can catch up after my grades are in.
That's about it this morning.
