A Much Better Day is Always Just Around the Corner
So Wednesday, the day after Tuesday's blissful reign of irritation was over. A brand new day. Car in shop, all is according to plan. S!, the $643.29 was not, I regret to inform you, what I got for the jam. I got thrilled thank you's for the jam, which was enough for me. No, this was the cost of retrieving my car from that shop. Apparently my little brake squeal was symptomatic of a much larger problem that had been growing for a while now. That is, if I can take a mechanic's word for it. Regardless, the jam is still lovely, and my wallet is a bit lighter.
Thursday was actually quite nice. My students (a different class of them from the Tuesday fiasco) were nicely behaved and spent the class time working together on arguments. I got to chat with a few of them, and generally take the day off as far as lectures were concerned. It was nice. I held office hours, but no one showed up, and the only irritation I suffered was the presence of "that boy" (previously termed "racist boy") at my computer job. He popped in while I was up to my elbows in computer guts, wire, and screwdrivers; he tried to introduce himself (like I wouldn't remember a kid who stared at my breasts while telling me that racial diversity was a bad thing); he seemed upset when I told him I was busy at my second job so go away.
Yikes, you may be thinking. What gives with the 'tude?
Well, here's what gives. This kid comes to find me (he must have asked folks for directions, since I'm not easily located in the computer room) not "a little late" for office hours, but over three (3) hours late for them. He wants to tell me that he forgot to put something in his paper, what should he do? I told him his paper was already late enough to cry over, and that by deleting it and resubmitting it, he was making it later. Go away.
I'd have had some mercy in other circumstances. If he had, say, emailed me right after submitting the draft to say this. If he had, maybe, realized he'd left out the part that keeps him from plagiarism (namely, a works cited page) BEFORE he got a grade from an instructor who TOLD him he was missing it. I mean, let's think about this timeline, folks.
-Kid submits paper 1 of 5.
-DI tells him "talk to Ms. Mira, you got issues."
-Kid does not submit paper 2 of 5, or talk to me. Or email me. Or catch me after class. Etc.
-Paper 3 of 5 looms in the near future, and kid comes to ask about paper 1 of 5. Not during office hours. Is obnoxious during the talk.
-Kid turns in paper 2 of 5, extremely late.
-DI tells him "you got no citations = big deal, kid; talk to Ms. Mira." [Being the Ms. Mira in question, I could cry]
-Kid asks around and finds me working my second job. Tells me he forgot to add something to the incredibly late paper 2. Can he delete it (along with grade, though that's glossed over) and try again?
-Ms. Mira: hell no, kid; you bug me; leave.
To be fair, I later sent him an email explaining why it was inappropriate to seek me out outside of office hours, along with a brief apology for my "brusqueness" and an outline of appropriate times/places/methods for contacting me. I haven't heard back.
But that's a big digression. The main point here is that things get better, and are better now. I got another message from the wizard complaining about my grading, even after I sent him an explanation of my good intentions and he agreed with me. So I went on a grading rampage. I have now finished my entire semester's quota of reviews and critiques, and have only a few second reads left. Ah yes, this next week, I will be finishing up my second reads and grading my first reads up to about April. We'll see if the wizard gets *my* message. It begins with F and is accompanied by slightly spiteful laughter. I also, with their permission, logged on as some other folks who needed help catching up, and graded a week's worth of stuff for them. Kindness cancels spite, I figure, and I ended the day on a neutral note.
Yesterday I made chicken and stuffing for dinner, with some garlic bread on the side. It's quite good, though I had to write some notes for next time. The recipe doesn't mention flattening out the chicken breasts, but you really should. And the cook time is much longer than what they recommend, unless their pink is different from my pink. Also, I bet some Italian seasoning in the sauce would tie the chicken together with the bread a bit more, and still taste good.
And tomorrow morning, I am making Pizza Apple Pie, family favorite as far as I'm concerned, and a treat about which most people are shamefully ignorant. I mean really, folks. Apples and cheese were made for each other. I'm planning on cutting it into squares instead of wedges, and taking it up to school on Monday for the boss and folks. They didn't believe me that I made a better dessert pizza than Mr. Gatti's. I'll show them [gleefully rubs hands together].
For your reading entertainment, I am now going to present some of the better paper topics I've come across today, before signing off.
-Anabolic steroids are good for you
-Welfare recipients are cheating the government out of millions and millions of dollars that can better be spent on the US military
-Fast food restaurants are solely responsible for America’s waistline
-Is man dog’s best friend: cruelty to animals
-Punish the loonies: the invalidity of the “insanity” plea
-Everyone who applies for a job should get that job, regardless of lack of experience
And that's about it.
Love and Peace
Thursday was actually quite nice. My students (a different class of them from the Tuesday fiasco) were nicely behaved and spent the class time working together on arguments. I got to chat with a few of them, and generally take the day off as far as lectures were concerned. It was nice. I held office hours, but no one showed up, and the only irritation I suffered was the presence of "that boy" (previously termed "racist boy") at my computer job. He popped in while I was up to my elbows in computer guts, wire, and screwdrivers; he tried to introduce himself (like I wouldn't remember a kid who stared at my breasts while telling me that racial diversity was a bad thing); he seemed upset when I told him I was busy at my second job so go away.
Yikes, you may be thinking. What gives with the 'tude?
Well, here's what gives. This kid comes to find me (he must have asked folks for directions, since I'm not easily located in the computer room) not "a little late" for office hours, but over three (3) hours late for them. He wants to tell me that he forgot to put something in his paper, what should he do? I told him his paper was already late enough to cry over, and that by deleting it and resubmitting it, he was making it later. Go away.
I'd have had some mercy in other circumstances. If he had, say, emailed me right after submitting the draft to say this. If he had, maybe, realized he'd left out the part that keeps him from plagiarism (namely, a works cited page) BEFORE he got a grade from an instructor who TOLD him he was missing it. I mean, let's think about this timeline, folks.
-Kid submits paper 1 of 5.
-DI tells him "talk to Ms. Mira, you got issues."
-Kid does not submit paper 2 of 5, or talk to me. Or email me. Or catch me after class. Etc.
-Paper 3 of 5 looms in the near future, and kid comes to ask about paper 1 of 5. Not during office hours. Is obnoxious during the talk.
-Kid turns in paper 2 of 5, extremely late.
-DI tells him "you got no citations = big deal, kid; talk to Ms. Mira." [Being the Ms. Mira in question, I could cry]
-Kid asks around and finds me working my second job. Tells me he forgot to add something to the incredibly late paper 2. Can he delete it (along with grade, though that's glossed over) and try again?
-Ms. Mira: hell no, kid; you bug me; leave.
To be fair, I later sent him an email explaining why it was inappropriate to seek me out outside of office hours, along with a brief apology for my "brusqueness" and an outline of appropriate times/places/methods for contacting me. I haven't heard back.
But that's a big digression. The main point here is that things get better, and are better now. I got another message from the wizard complaining about my grading, even after I sent him an explanation of my good intentions and he agreed with me. So I went on a grading rampage. I have now finished my entire semester's quota of reviews and critiques, and have only a few second reads left. Ah yes, this next week, I will be finishing up my second reads and grading my first reads up to about April. We'll see if the wizard gets *my* message. It begins with F and is accompanied by slightly spiteful laughter. I also, with their permission, logged on as some other folks who needed help catching up, and graded a week's worth of stuff for them. Kindness cancels spite, I figure, and I ended the day on a neutral note.
Yesterday I made chicken and stuffing for dinner, with some garlic bread on the side. It's quite good, though I had to write some notes for next time. The recipe doesn't mention flattening out the chicken breasts, but you really should. And the cook time is much longer than what they recommend, unless their pink is different from my pink. Also, I bet some Italian seasoning in the sauce would tie the chicken together with the bread a bit more, and still taste good.
And tomorrow morning, I am making Pizza Apple Pie, family favorite as far as I'm concerned, and a treat about which most people are shamefully ignorant. I mean really, folks. Apples and cheese were made for each other. I'm planning on cutting it into squares instead of wedges, and taking it up to school on Monday for the boss and folks. They didn't believe me that I made a better dessert pizza than Mr. Gatti's. I'll show them [gleefully rubs hands together].
For your reading entertainment, I am now going to present some of the better paper topics I've come across today, before signing off.
-Anabolic steroids are good for you
-Welfare recipients are cheating the government out of millions and millions of dollars that can better be spent on the US military
-Fast food restaurants are solely responsible for America’s waistline
-Is man dog’s best friend: cruelty to animals
-Punish the loonies: the invalidity of the “insanity” plea
-Everyone who applies for a job should get that job, regardless of lack of experience
And that's about it.
Love and Peace
posted by Rehkmira @ 21:06
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