Sandy's farewell/graduation/belated birthday party was this weekend, which went off with only a few hitches. A forecast of thundershowers meant we brought everyone back to our place - thank god a few people didn't end up coming! - and splitting people into two "shifts" (because she had 50 people on the guest list... if you've ever seen our place, you know it can't accommodate anywhere near that many people!)
Of course, not a drop of rain fell the whole time, let along thundershowers.
The shifts idea was a bit stressful because it meant it felt like two parties in a row. It also meant I did none of the huge pile of marking I had to do once it was all over, so I spent Sunday marking papers... and Monday actually... which put me in a right rotten mood when I walked into the final exam I gave yesterday.
Being bombarded by five students who all had different requests (and didn't come by my office but waited till I walked into the exam room) most of which were either a) minor, or b) left till much too late, didn't help the matter either.
Students take note: asking your teacher if you can convert the class to pass/fail moments before the final exam begins, is not under ANY circumstances cool.
Most of the marking was for that course I took over last week. I'd taught the same course last year, so I figured it wouldn't be hard, but I hadn't figured on the first instructor not only using strange assignments I'd never seen before, but also requiring that the students follow a draconian report style that requires them to force their material into a format that doesn't work well for every report. I learnt yesterday that my approach of 'do what works best for your project' was a shock (albeit a pleasant ones for those who discussed it with me) that they've had to adjust to. So despite my efforts to make the transition as seamless as possible, just my pedagogical style has meant the students have had to change course. I'm hoping based on the response from the few I've talked to that it will work out in the long run, but it's still been rough.
On top of all this, we want to get a family portait done (before my family disperses to all ends of the globe... well, okay, North America... for the summer) and we're moving, though we don't know where to yet.
All we know is that my handsome partner in crime will be getting a new job now that he's graduated, and we're gonna try to 'move on up' at the same time. All I know is that I need to leave this place by mid August. Thank goodness! It's been nice and all while we've been here, but it really is a cramped space and we're hoping to gain a bit more square footage wherever we go so that it doesn't feel like we're just moving the stuff around in an endless circle trying to make room for various activities.This whole year has been busy for us though. With two graduations in the house, the studying that goes into those, finishing my exams, trying to put together a prospectus and dissertation committee, preparing oldest daughter for transition to another country, teaching a lit course (fun! but LOTS of extra work), and everything else with everyone else, it's been a very full year.
When the kids were born, I thought the sleep deprivation was bad, but the exhaustion of keeping up with and track of teenagers rivals it... or maybe I'm just older... either way, it's been a ride this year!
We need to plan ourselves a vacation!
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