"...the General so likes your music that he desires you, for love's sake, to make no more noise with it."

All of a sudden it's a week into May, and I've got a shitload to do. I knew things were coming up soon, but being sick this week has pressed the "fastplay" button. Right now it's x2. Next week it'll be x4. And the week after will be x8. I just found out today that finals for the seniors are a week earlier than I thought. That means I have to finish Othello by the end of next week so that they have time to write a paper about it. They haven't written an essay for a while, and I feel like they need a culminating project for this. I'm thinking something revolving around characters and quotes. Dang, and they need a quiz too, so they have something for this quarter.

It also means that my other class with seniors in it must finish Night by the middle of next week so that they can watch the end of the Holocaust video I've been showing them and so that they too can write an essay about it all. And they'll have a quiz??? Too many things too soon. This end of the year has just swept up too soon. I swear they're having the kids finish a few days early for some reason this year. And everything has taken longer than it was supposed to. Damnit. I'm just too damn thorough. When I teach a book, they f-ing know the book.

I guess I'll have to plan better for next year. It WAS my first time teaching both of the texts. And we WILL finish it on time...it's just the project that's getting a last minute deal. Which means a lot of grading too... The other classes are just fine--they just finished reading a drama, which we've done all sorts of fun stuff with. And then they too will write an essay. Dang it. I didn't mean to leave all the essays for last, but seriously, they haven't written one for months, and they are in dire need of a refresher course in that before they head off for the summer. We've done fun little group and individual activities and presentations and things. But I want them to be able to show they can write a decent essay after all is said and done.

I know, I know, the traditionally taught teacher rears her head. If I had fit in the essays earlier, I would have ended with my interesting projects, like I did with the 9th grade. They wrote plenty of essays (since they were a grammar and writing class). And now they're able to sit back after the MCA and get into literature and more interesting writing assignments.

The books and essays were supposed to be staggered a bit more, giving me more time to get the different essays for different classes graded. That's my own dang fault for not sticking to my calendar.

Okay, enough school venting.

In other news? I...

*registered for my summer and fall courses for grad school: Native American Literature and Literary Criticism. I can do that.
*rode my bike...once.
*haven't been going to the gym enough.
*have been doing an okay job of staying on track with my physical therapy knee exercises.
*was sick Sunday-Wednesday so I took 1.5 days off, and am still sick now, and probably still will be tomorrow.
*haven't cooked anything interesting for two weeks.
*saw Wolverine and was not impressed. I wanted to see Gambit! Not some dude who sort of acted like Gambit with no charisma, accent, or character.
*am going to see Star Trek tomorrow, and I'm going to like it. Yes, I will.
*saw Flight of the Conchords perform with Eugene Mirman opening with his comedy act. It was sweet. Even with the fire alarm going off for the first 20 minutes. boowoooop! boowoooop! boowoooop!