Hodge-podge post

I feel like I hit the ground running when school started in the middle of August, and this is the first time I've had the time and the space to catch up and breathe for a little while.

As far as school goes, I feel like I'm doing the best job I've ever been able to in terms of setting up assignments, getting students ready to write, and supporting them as they draft their papers. My three composition classes (one university level, two developmental) are all humming along nicely, and I feel like I got really great groups of students this year.  My lit class is also doing well.  I've got students who are actively engaged, and even those who struggle with the material are at least willing to try.  The thing that makes my lit class interesting is that I'm setting myself up to be able to teach it again with a lot less prep work next time, though this, of course, means that there's lot of prep work this time around that has to be done. 

In addition to school, we got our dog fixed on Monday. I've never actually been around a female dog after she got spayed, and so caring for Charlie was a bit nerve-wracking, especially since Rae, who is The One Who Knows About These Things, was really under the weather the whole day and day after I took Charlie to the clinic.  I didn't know if her extreme lethargy was normal or the result of the anesthetic, and for a while I was watching her like a hawk and freaking out every time she whimpered wondering if we were going to need to take her to the vet again. I'm happy to report that she is completely recovered now, much to the cats' chagrin, and is currently sprawled limply across my lap sleeping as I type despite the ridiculous heat. 

As if getting Charlie fixed on Monday wasn't enough, we had our house visited by a mortgage adjuster that morning because the owners are thinking about taking out a second mortgage.  This didn't end up being the big deal I thought it was going to, but it still involved a lot of cleaning, and most of all, a lot of anxiety I could have done without.

We were supposed to go to Pirate Faire and camp this year, but that didn't end up happening. Rae and I both got whatever bug was going around despite our best efforts, and we spent a lot of last weekend in bed.  I did make it to the faire for a little while with Rae and Neko, and we bought loose-leaf tea and pretty necklaces (one of which was an amazing foxhead pendant that I got for WoT-Mat related reasons...) and hung out with the rum party crew some.  It was a much calmer weekend than it was supposed to be, but my health kind of demanded it. 

Fandom-wise, I'm finding myself falling back in love with Stargate: Atlantis.  Rae and I have recently re-watched almost all of the first four seasons, and I remember everything I loved about this show.  (And why I was so furious when the canceled it.)  I've gone in search of fic, but my pairing preferences don't seem to line up with what was popular with the rest of the fandom.  (Just TRY finding any amount of good John/Teyla/Ronon in any combination.  And if you're feeling really lucky, go looking for decent Rodney/Jennifer fic.  I think I've read all of it that exists.)

I'm getting more and more excited about PotC 4 the more I hear. I've been clicking on spoilers and pictures of sets going up and filming going on to my heart's delight, and I haven't managed to spoil myself for anything I really care about yet... but I have seen some really neat looking pictures of ships and old building facades and actors in costume.  This... this might actually be good.  I don't just mean tolerable or watchable, either.

I'm racing the clock trying to get Wheel of Time reread completely before Towers of Midnight comes out in October.  Seeing as how I'm only about a hundred and fifty pages into Fires of Heaven, and that leaves me seven thick books to go after I finish the doorstop of a book I'm on right now, I don't think I'm going to make it.  I'm sure going to give it a try, though.

I've now seen the premiers of Supernatural, Bones, and Glee...  Glee is delightful as usual, Bones is frustrating as heck and the first episode seemed a little contrived (Sweets looks adorable with his new scruffiness and his hat, though...), and Supernatural continues to be one of my favorite shows on TV right now. Last night's episode was... more quiet and thoughtful than I was expecting it to be, but I can see them setting up Big Things, and I can't wait to see where they take it. 

And now, it's downstairs to the cooler part of the house to knock out a few student essay drafts while the house is empty and quiet, and maybe a few chapters of Fires of Heaven while I'm at it.