Tuesday, November 5, 2013
Nov. 5th, 2013 02:18 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
bearshortyIt's Election Day and Papa will pick me up from work so we could go vote. Then I'm going to stay at my parents' house for the night, before heading to work tomorrow. I'm not very excited for the election because I'm not a huge De Blasio fan, especially having spent the summer working for his Democratic opposition. But at the same time, I'm not going to vote for Lhota and other Republicans. Well, my Dad is going to vote Republican so we are going to cancel each other's votes, so that makes me feel a little better. I will, of course, still go vote because I never take that privilege for granted.
My semester has been busy, mostly with grading so I have not been updating my journal. I do read my reading list often but I should try to keep up with my own journal. So I thought that if I focus on specific topics it might help me update at least a few days a week.
I want to especially talk about books that I've read, so I will do an update on that Friday, once I'm done with grading my writing classes.
Here are some general updates:
Two of my friends had babies. My friend Janna had a daughter Josephine (Jo for short) on October 3rd and my friend Tjamke had a son Jasper on September 30th. I went to visit Janna and Jo a few times (including after a really nice dinner with the girls on Saturday).
On the other side of the spectrum, the father of one of my best friends (Yeva) is dying from liver cancer at 60. He has from a few weeks to a few months. We've been trying to be there for Yeva as much as we can but it all feels pretty useless. So just throwing a lot of positive thoughts their way.
In more pleasant events, one of my friends, a coworker with whom I commuted last year, wrote a play called "Side Street" and got it produced last month. I went to see it with very little expectations. It was staged in this small room, with about 22 people in the audience, with four actors. And it was amazing. I had a really great time. The play is about a mother/daughter relationship. The actors were brilliant and I loved being so close that I could see their every emotion. I'm so glad I went.
And Bear and I just booked a trip to Dominican Republic for December, right after my semester ends. I am so looking forward to just lying on a beach for a whole week. I'm already tired from the semester and all the grading and there are still six weeks to go.
And finally, RS Games 2013 are just nearing their conclusion (Go Team Post-Hogwarts), and people can still vote on the stories. I did like the way mine turned out and I'm continually amazed by the talent of all the writers there.
My semester has been busy, mostly with grading so I have not been updating my journal. I do read my reading list often but I should try to keep up with my own journal. So I thought that if I focus on specific topics it might help me update at least a few days a week.
I want to especially talk about books that I've read, so I will do an update on that Friday, once I'm done with grading my writing classes.
Here are some general updates:
Two of my friends had babies. My friend Janna had a daughter Josephine (Jo for short) on October 3rd and my friend Tjamke had a son Jasper on September 30th. I went to visit Janna and Jo a few times (including after a really nice dinner with the girls on Saturday).
On the other side of the spectrum, the father of one of my best friends (Yeva) is dying from liver cancer at 60. He has from a few weeks to a few months. We've been trying to be there for Yeva as much as we can but it all feels pretty useless. So just throwing a lot of positive thoughts their way.
In more pleasant events, one of my friends, a coworker with whom I commuted last year, wrote a play called "Side Street" and got it produced last month. I went to see it with very little expectations. It was staged in this small room, with about 22 people in the audience, with four actors. And it was amazing. I had a really great time. The play is about a mother/daughter relationship. The actors were brilliant and I loved being so close that I could see their every emotion. I'm so glad I went.
And Bear and I just booked a trip to Dominican Republic for December, right after my semester ends. I am so looking forward to just lying on a beach for a whole week. I'm already tired from the semester and all the grading and there are still six weeks to go.
And finally, RS Games 2013 are just nearing their conclusion (Go Team Post-Hogwarts), and people can still vote on the stories. I did like the way mine turned out and I'm continually amazed by the talent of all the writers there.
(no subject)
Date: 2013-11-07 04:24 pm (UTC)I love hearing about books, so bring it on! :D How’s the grading going? What did you teach this semester?
It’s great to have something exceed expectations. I sometimes go somewhere just thinking it will be miserable and love when it turns out to be the complete opposite. I’m glad the play was wonderful and you had a great time!
Dominican Republic sounds so good right now lol Just as the weather is starting to turn nippy (: Students always think the semester is hard on them (like me LOL), but seeing it from your perspective, I can see how it would be painful for the professor too! LOL
(no subject)
Date: 2013-11-07 05:13 pm (UTC)I'm teaching two sections of Basic Composition, History of England and Global History to 1600. The History of England Class covers 1066 to 1688 and I'm having a blast, since it is my specialty. And we are reading fun looks like a biography of Nell Gwyn, the mistress to Charles II. The Global class is writing on Caesar and Columbus this semester and there are less jocks, so it is going more smoothly this semester. (The jocks did leave surprisingly good evaluations from last semester - and that semester felt like I had to drag them to care).
By the end of the semester, even now, I'm just exhausted. We don't really have weekends as such, because we have to grade so much and prep for class. So vacation just sounds so nice!
I was glad to read that you are enjoying your history class. I remember you had a tough time deciding to go back to school. Your books sound very fun. I also always loved learning about wars from social perspective. I had to TA second half of Development of Europe once, and the professor was so great at presenting the social consequences of WWI - it remains one of my favorite lectures.