There was no balls-kicking in or after my observation this morning. I nailed it, and felt really good about the class, my students, and myself. Yay, me!

Now back to the inhuman stack of grading I need to get through for tomorrow.

Vive le cap francais!

A quick shout out to Annie, who is in Paris and Berlin (Not at the same time, though. That would be physically impossible.). I'm excited for her trip, and I hope to hear all about her fantastic travels in her iniminiminimible style. I told her to be wary of stinky French men, and to devour as many sexy German men with chiseled jaws who ski and drink good beer as possible, on my behalf.

Home Stretch

The sun is shining, and I am up to my armpits in grading today. What a lovely way to spend the last day of Thanksgiving vacation (truly! I'm not being sarcastic). I can't complain; I've taken more than my fair share of R&R these last few days, so now it's time to hit the bricks for the last 3 weeks of skool.

Tomorrow my teaching is being observed at the community college. As you know (if you read this here blog), I don't have the best of luck with observations. Although all my observations at the Other School on the Hill have been just fine, I've had rough reports from idiot supervisors at other institutions, and I loathe the idea of being raked over someone's coals of perversity. I think some supers think the whole point of the observation is to find things not to critique with helpful feedback, but to grind their ten pages of notes about how I pair students up into a paste along with my blood and sweat and than hand it back to me and tell me it's good for me. In those instances, observations generally feel like this:


Kung Fu Men Have Tough Balls - The most amazing bloopers are here

If I had them, my balls would not be tough like that.

Now that Thanksgiving is over, it's time for me to hit the grading that has patiently waited for me on my desk for the last few days.

I am delighted to have found Tiki Bar TV, and will probably spend time watching past episodes instead of grading.

I have made a breakthrough on one of my scripts, and on my TV pilot. Ooooo I'm psyched.

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Stick a needle in me!

Went to my first of 6 acupuncture treatments today and got my batch of Chinese herbs. It really was a relief, to know what's going on and why and to know that something is being done.

I have to say that post-flu, I've been feeling much more centered, emotionally and mentally. It's like being down for that week and a half pushed the re-set button. I also think a lot of the introspection and EFT I did while I was down had an effect. My head feels lighter and clearer, and I don't feel quite the same heaviness that I was dragging around with me for months.

I am optimistic that the holiday season won't be as bad as I'd once feared. Tonight I had to go to the mall for an errand, and I was pleasantly surprised that the Christmas Consumer decorations and muzak didn't bother me. I've struggled with Christmas every year since my dad died in 1979, and walking through a store at the holidays quite often would leave me in tears. This time, though, something was different. I kept hearing in my head "You deserve to enjoy Christmas. We're happy, and you should be too." That thought kept running over and over, and at one point (in Yankee Candle) when my favorite of all Christmas songs came on - Home for the Holidays by Perry Como - I was singing along and smiling. There was no dark sadness or feelings of despair. I felt like at last, Mom and Dad are together and the holidays are again a time for joy, new traditions, and happy memories to be shared and made.

Didn't that just sound like a Hallmark card? But it's all true.

Progress is being made, and I have another piece of good news to share: I have 2 weeks of writing retreat in January 2010 at the same place I've gone to over the last 2-3 years. Wow, what an incredible gift! My recent meeting with a new manager has inspired me with notes and possibilities and I am soooo ready to write, revise, and create.

I'm off to drink my nasty-tasting Chinese herbs now.

So I'm back in action, but still not completely healthy. I know there's a massive problem with my sinuses - I don't think that infection ever really went away. The fact that I can still hear my blood coursing through my left ear is a sign that not all is well. So is the fact that my head hurts like a wrecking ball is having a field day in there, and nothing seems to do any good.

I have an appointment with my acupuncturist on Friday and an appointment with my traditional give 'em antibiotics doctor in a couple weeks. I am going to start taking names if someone doesn't do something about my completely trashed immune system and morally bankrupt sinuses.

In other news... um... no not so much. More whining, which no one needs to hear.

I suppose I should give the update. I have swine flu. I am well aware of the irony of this fact. All those posts about the Four Pork Products of the Apocalypse. Well, I guess that was really SMJ's thang, not mine. I have been put in my place, it would seem.



Courtesy of Synthstuff.com

If the shoe fits, burn it

Still sickly and not at all happy about it. What is going on with me that I have been so sick lately? I can't believe it's just a coincidence. Something has slammed my immune system. Grief? Sorrow? Stress?

Some good news in the midst of that, though, is a 2-hour telephone meeting I had with a manager today to develop a couple scripts. Even though I sounded like a frog, the meeting went extremely well. She liked the sci fi I'd written and gave me some really great notes going into the next draft. She's also interested in my other ideas, so when I've got those drafts ready I'll send them along, too. I like their approach to forming relationships and cultivating partnerships with their writers and filmmakers. This is very heartening. I'm making things happen, at long last.

Now if I can just reattach my immune system I'll be all set.

Home Sick

Slight fever and raw throat. Watching A Haunting and UFO Hunters all day, and trolling hte internets.


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I know you

Where have the days gone? Busy busy makin' wax over here.

This past weekend went to Astronomicon 11 Sci Fi Convention in Rochacha, where I hobnobbed with awesome writers and intelligent, sensitive human beings (at least, I think they were human). Some names of note: Daniel A. Rabuzzi, Robert J. Sawyer (of FlashForward fame), David DeGraff, and Nancy Kress. Bizarro also made some good connections. We were both incredibly pleased with ourselves, the panels, and the weekend in general. It was up in the 60s (because you know how important it is to me not to freeze my knees), and we enjoyed staying with friends Tim & Leigh, going to eat at Arigato Japanese Steakhouse, subs at DiBella's for lunch today, and of course, Abbot's Frozen Custard.

Damn good thing I went back to my work-out regime last week. I'll need to keep on that after the custard. Bizarro has joined my Yoga class on Monday nights, which is great because we can mutually bolster our drive to get to class even on a night of inclement weather or just plain laziness. Water aerobics was delightful last week, too. Man I could feel it in my hips, though. We did "water ballet," as in, barre work in the water, not THIS:



I'm feeling great about the week to come. Really motivated after this con (and after the Serling Conference, which is still providing me with a boatload of inspiration). I have a phone meeting with a manager on Wednesday, so I'm going to spend some time getting ready for that over the next couple days. This means putting off grading until later in the week. They'll just have to wait.

Oh - and to close out the story of the Plagiarizing Student, he just trailed off somewhere and never came back to confront me, other than a one-(grammatically incorrect) sentence email. I am enjoying the remaining 14 students I have in that class, after the attrition of 5 non-hackers. Now that the tension has been broken with Mr. Plagiarism Is My Middle Name, my students and I can focus. Still, I am really looking forward to my new position as Adjunct Writing Tutor come January.

I am also very pleased to report that I've made it a point to cultivate other friendships here in the City on the Edge of Forever. I was feeling a bit bereft of nearby friendly faces there for awhile, but I am always on the mend. I miss PMP like crazy, but I know that when I'm out in Boston, we'll be able to catch up and do our usual things. The other two folks who pretty much disappeared off the face of the earth are doing other things, and I wish them both well, but I'm done feeling bad for anything.

Rock on with my highly caffeinated self! I suppose I need to wind down for the evening, watch MadMen's season finale, and go to sleep.

P.S. This week's Vladurday wasn't very funny, so I'm skipping it in favor of other amusements.