30 minutes

[rosaw]

So, on Friday I finished the 7th and final week of my first graduate student teaching experience. It was really challenging and invigorating and messy and filled with surprises. I am so very very glad that it's over. I went out last night and had two (two!) margaritas at my favorite margarita establishment. This place is in walking distance of my apartment and we walked there so that my SO could also drink. It was very relaxing, walking and chatting and then drinking. I love the way tequila makes my brain s-l-o-w d-o-w-n. The previous week, at Escapade, I had 2 long island ice-teas because the class had been really stressful. There were raised voices and hostile exchanges during the class discussion and while none of those voices or the hostility was directed at me, I felt pretty traumatized by it. Nothing numbs trauma like long island ice tea. Margaritas are more celebratory and fun rather than intentionally numbing, though, like I said, margs make for a much slower brain.

Ok, so back to why I didn't write. On Thursday I had to prep for my 300+ student class and get the lecture together for the Friday class. (I did write a letter of comment, or rather a comment of comment on destina's story At This Late Season which you should read (the story, not the comment), it's lovely and evocative in the way Brokeback Mountain is and you won't be sorry.) That is a sort of writing, though not what I had intended with this vow of daily writing practice. Then after all the laborious prep, to my annoyance, I also had to teach my 300+ student class. If only the prep were enough and some how the class taught itself. In many ways, teaching is teaching is teaching and one just does it. When one is me, one actually likes teaching. On the other hand, standing in front of 300 people requires an expenditure of energy that is expontentially greater than standing in front of 20 students or even sitting with 20 students. Plus, I can't make the 300+ students talk in the way I can with a smaller group. So, while I like teaching, I find the energy necessary for big classes is not always at my finger tips. (I did use the word exponentially in a sentence and that made me think of Rodney, which is really perverse, since Ronon is the pretty.)

So, excuses excuses but I did get up at 4am on Friday to finish my lecture prep and that's quite early, especially for someone who believes she's a night person. I didn't realize how much I wanted the Friday class to be over until this Friday when it actually was over. I was so excited that the 2 margs didn't really begin to express my celebratory joy. BSG, now that was a celebration! Wow! The ep this week was superlative. Last week's ep rocked, too and I am feeling the BSG love.



Ok, so that's the second 30 minutes in 3 days, which means I am two-thirds successful. Or something like that. I hope to have more interesting and fannish thoughts to write about. I'll just have to see what tomorrow holds.

Comments

yay you

[talking-sock.livejournal.com]

The drinks post trauma thing is becoming my favorite. I had bad work meetings, not directed at me, but still so stressful this week.

The BSG love, could it get any more intense? I mean, Starbuck and Sharon are just rocking my world. I adore them.

Re: yay you

[rosawestphalen.livejournal.com]

I know what you're saying about post-trauma drinks. They're the best part of being stressed out. :-)

I adore both Kara and Sharon. BSG is a great show for terrific, complicated, wonderfully human women. It makes me very happy.

[gattagrigia.livejournal.com]

Go, you! I've thought about doing something similar (forced writing), but the round-to-it still elludes me.

I started rereading Vidal's Julian - this is one of my most favorite novels and of course it makes me think of you your class of ill-mannered grad students, and the problems of teaching and times of great change (or actually, what looks like great change at the time but is just more of the same going round coming round).

[rosawestphalen.livejournal.com]

We'll see if I can maintain the discipline to actually do this everyday.

I just looked up Julian and that appears to be a book I need to read. As ever, I should just ask you what I should read, you always know the best books!

[gattagrigia.livejournal.com]

Oh, my, yes, you so do need to read this novel! It just gets better each time I read it. Beautiful writing to be savored, great commentary on the era and on timeless situations in re: the nature of power and religion. And it feels very much 'alive' as well. I think this is what pushed my interest in the 'triumph' of Christianity in the Roman world and spurred the collection of the few books I have about early christians.

I still haven't recovered from Escapade, there don't seem to be enough hours in the 'verse to make up for lost REM.