Spring 2025 Grading: DONE!

1 May 2025: Just hit "submit" on my last set of grades of the semester. These English 204 exams were kind of fun, especially when the students let themselves respond to prompts as genuine people. Talk about what surprised you, what you liked, which texts stuck with you. That stuff is so great. 

Anyway, here's to another semester in the books (almost) and to (we pray) a relaxing and restorative summer.

But first, some chair dancing, to this 80s classic that popped up on Pandora: Madonna's "Who's That Girl?"

Midterm Grades: DONE!

2 March 2025: Just hit "submit" on the last set of midterm grades for this semester. Not a big lift this time, at least for this particular week; three classes' worth of papers came in earlier, so there were just one set of exams to grade and, as always, some calculating work. But a win is a win so, as always, we chair-dance, this time to "Chains of Love," by Erasure.* 

*starting to make sure that include the song title in posts as URLs have gotten broken or changed over the years. 

Fall 2024 Grading: DONE!

12 December 2024: Just hit "submit" on the final set of grades, always a good feeling, but it's even more special when I think about how it started (COVID), what came in the middle (the election, a student's death), and the aftermath of all of that. 

Unfortunately, there's still non-grade-related stuff I need to get done in the next couple of weeks. And the new semester starts pretty soon. So there's that.

But for now? Chair-dancing, of course!  

  

First Round of Revisions? DONE!

31 August 2024: Just emailed the first requested set of revisions and edits to my editor--two weeks early. In fact, still a month before the manuscript itself was originally due. I didn't have to spend a few hours today knocking them out (and yes--that's really all that it took!) and my tired-ass COVID brain wasn't loving the work, but it felt good (except physically--ha!) to just power through. 

I keep telling myself that grading this semester is going to be intense, so I need to push stuff through as soon as I can.

Anyway, chair dancing time, but not too intense because...COVID? Sure! This classic ditty just came on the 80s (???) station on Pandora, so it works. 

"Cool It Now"

29 May 2024: I think the Waiting for Impact (with its Michael Bivins content) is to blame for this song being in my head for the past week. I am not complaining: it's such a sweet little bop, with an adorable video that I was happy to revisit. 

Spring 2024 Grading: DONE!

25 April 2024: Just clicked "submit" on the practicum students' final grades, so that's that for Spring 2024 grading. A strange and hard semester, but as always, the students--even when some of them were driving me crazy--were the best part. 

Trying to get Pandora to play some chair-dancing music, but it is resisting. [Decided to sort of live-blog this for some random reason?] So far, it's offered "Right Here Waiting" and "Take My Breath Away," neither of which is the vibe! "Manic Monday" got us a bit closer. "Hold Me Now"--while a great song--seems like a step backward. Now it's playing "All Through the Night," which I adore, but still isn't right. 

Okay: we'll take this last offering--from one of my all-time favorite movies. I can picture every frame in my mind. Mellow, but good enough...

Midterm grades: DONE!

24 February 2024: Well, no chair-dancing today as I hit submit on my last set of midterm grades. I am in a classroom on campus for this conference and the vibes ain't right for dancing. But I did just hit that button. Chair-dancing in my head! 

Fall 2023 Grading: DONE!

8 December 2023: Just hit "submit" on the last set of grades. Cue some holiday chair-dancing!

Strangest chair dance...

2 May 2023: Cannot believe I burst into a chair dance while working on a budget narrative and finally got some totals to add up. What is my life? Not a fan of this, but a win is a win, I guess.

I've been a big old Broadway kick these past few days, so here's the track that I busted that nerdy move to...risque for budget narratives. 

Spring 2023 Grading: DONE!

28 April 2023: Just clicked "submit" on the practicum final grades, so that's that! The satisfaction here is a bit muted by all the other dumb stuff I have to get done (not related to teaching, of course). 

But still, for now, the briefest of pauses for some chair-dancing, this time to a gem from my college years...

Midterm grades: DONE!

25 February 2023: Weird day here. Jo also seems to be a bit sick (and has worms--for which the vet can't see her until late March), so I am worried about her. But! I just clicked "submit" on my last midterm grades and "weird day/anxiety about the kitten" be damned. We need a bit of chair-dancing, even if just for a moment.

Fall 2022 Grading: DONE!

9 December 2022: Just hit "submit" on my last set of final grades for the semester. And what a semester it has been. Started off so strangely, with COVID keeping me away from campus. Ended with losing Wes. But from start to finish, the undimmable bright lights were my students--like they are every semester. 

Despite taking the afternoon off with Amy (lunch, a movie [She Said--very good!], and some Christmas shopping), I am still not quite in the spirit. Missing my boy. But doing my best.

And now for some mellow chair-dancing to this gem that just came up on Pandora...

53,465

23 October 2022: Two years and one day before the manuscript is due, I am at 53,465 words (so clearly over 1/3 through), having just finished the entry on Kate Chopin. This was another tough one to wrestle with, but I suspect that had as much to do with 1000 other things to do. But it's done. And now we do some chair-dancing, to this track that came on as I updated my back-up files. (And then hit "repeat" more than once.)

Fall 2022 Midterm Grades: DONE!

9 October 2022: Just hit "submit" on the last set of midterm grades. It's been a strange semester so far, perhaps the lingering effects of starting it off by missing the first week. Lots of stress and endless huge to-do lists, too. But the teaching part? It still rocks.

Chair-dancing time...

Spring 2022 Grading: DONE!

29 April 2022: Hit "submit" on my last set of grades a little while ago. What a long, quick, tough,  discouraging, affirming, stressful, joyful, sad, tough, strange, and beautiful semester it's been. Gonna take a couple of minutes for some chair-dancing before heading out for my walk. (A bit later today since I was late getting to campus; had to go to Ranson to get Dunkin Donuts for my seminar class.)

Spring 2022 Midterm Grades: DONE!

27 February 2022: Always feels good to hit "submit" on that final set (admittedly much easier when you only have two classes). Cheated a bit this time, and switched to Pandora hoping for an appropriate chair-dancing sob to be playing as I hit that button. It worked...

Fall 2021 Grading--DONE!

 10 December 2021: Just finished up. Still some little things to do, but officially, that's a wrap on my Fall 2021 teaching. Commence chair-dancing, hopefully followed by an early showing of West Side Story.

Midterm grading: DONE!

10 October 2021: Just hit submit on the last set of grades. Long day so far, with a lot more to get done, but getting these done feels very good. I am almost certain this has come up as a chair-dancing song before, but this was literally playing on Pandora when I entered the last number and is still playing now as I type this. It always makes me happy, so we'll use it again.

Submitted!

12 July 2021: Sent the complete book proposal off today. Nineteen days early, but who's counting? 

Commence chair dancing! This came on Pandora a bit ago and seemed perfect, if a bit ironic. Academia sure ain't 9-5, which is both good and bad.

Summer 2021 Grading: DONE!

Second post of the day, but I just hit "submit" on my final summer grades. Feels good, though a bit muted since the class was small, we never met in person, and I'm swimming in so much other work. Still, a bit of chair dancing is called for...