Things that make grading better...

1) Buffy Season 3 DVDs. Normally, I can't even have the TV on while grading. Buffy and Angel are just about the only exceptions. (Actually musicals work, too.) I sit at the dining room table with the episodes playing in the living room, occasionally looking up or stopping. In a way, because I know them so well, Buffy episodes are the video equivalent of "study music" for me. Note: this only works for ENGL 204 papers and--I hope--final exams. Sure, I get sucked in every once in a while, but so far, rediscovering this awesome season (it's been awhile!) has been terrific.

2) The Very Best of Nat King Cole playing on my ipod. Perfect for grading seminar papers or capstone projects. I was inspired to put this album into rotation after hearing this piece on NPR. A brief quotation from it:
"Nat King Cole's voice was liquid, soothing. His pitch was impeccable. And there's a word you hear a lot when people talk about Nat King Cole: relaxed.

'When you start listening to him, one of the most important things is he keeps you relaxed,' says Cole's younger brother, Freddie Cole.

'The amazing thing about Nat's voice is that it has this kind of incandescent quality to it,' music historian Will Friedwald says. 'It's like some kind of magic spell is being cast.'"

Absolutely. So yeah, this might make me seem like a 70 year old man or something, but it works for me.
3) This album. Yeah, I know I am late getting on board with these guys and the very fact that I think they are pretty cool means that they are already uncool for most actual cool people, but it's the best I can do. What can I say? The songs just make me happy...and the ones that don't are great songs to grade to. Bonuses: the album puts me in the summer spirit and I've woken up every morning this week to Track #1. Not bad at all.

4) One of these, vanilla-flavored, please. Surprisingly delicious and easily accessible in small-town Shepherdstown. This one can backfire, though. Yesterday I had a stomach ache all day. Not fun. That happens a lot with me and coffee.
5) An everything bagel and a soda at Panera. I've got to drive to Ranson or Hagerstown for this, but there is (for me) no better place to get grading done. Comfy seats and tables, a (relatively) quiet atmosphere, and breakfast for less than $3.00? Awesome. I turn on my ipod and can work for an hour and a half straight. (I feel weird staying any longer than that!)

6) Short blogging breaks. Like this one. And since I said "short," I better get back to work!