Alright, It's jason. the owner of this blog. i understand if you do not recognize my voice. it has been a while since I've posted. but, i am still here. school officially started about 2 1/2 weeks ago for everybody else. for me, it started almost 5 weeks ago. 2 weeks before the official semester started, i had class for about 7 hours a day to prepare me to begin teaching.so, now i am teaching.
The class I am teaching is not exactly like this (me teaching emily how to hit my drums), but there are certainly some similarities--short attention spans, lack of discussion, and lots of energy. However, I am really enjoying it. They are a good group of students, and I think that a handful of them are very talented writers. It has been a lot of fun and challenging trying to figure out how to present lesson plans in a way that is interesting and that actually teach something that will stick with the students. They have their first essay due in about a week, so I am eager to see where everybody is at. I have definitely grown sympathy for a lot of my own professors in the process. The amount of time it takes to prepare for one 1-hour class is way more than the time you actually spend in class. I spend a lot of time in my office researching different plans, reading essays, and planning discussions--and more than a little time bull-shitting with kevin and jef. My office area is great. The full-timers call it "TA row," cause it is where all the TA's are located. It is very helpful, though, because we often congregate and share some of the things that have been working/not working for us. As well as schedule our evening rendezvous, band practices, and weekend golf-outings. Plus, the entire department is right there and it is very helpful to be able to speak to one of your professors about an issue you are having in the class you are teaching. A lot of the full-time faculty are very willing to help a desperate TA.
So, in addition to teaching, I have actually gone fishing for the first time this summer. I can't believe it has taken me so long to get out there, but now that I got the taste for it, I may have trouble stopping. Over Labor Day weekend, Stacey and I spent some time in Hessel (other side of U.P.) with her parents. They had a boat so we scooted around lake Huron and we caught a good deal of perch. It was a perfect week. After leaving Hessel, stacey and i, wanting to waste a little time, found a driving range and hit a bunch of balls, stopped in sault sainte marie and played black jack for a while, then used our winnings to buy lunch at a little dive bar by lake superior, right next to the soo locks. Eventually we made it home (only to find that i had missed band practice). but, since then, we have made plans to go to a friend's property this saturday and to spend the entire day on the lake blue gill and perch fishing and sitting in the sun, and (maybe) drinking beer, and possibly camping. we are really looking forward to it. the whole plan sounds great.
In other news, stacey and i woke this morning to find water dripping from our dining room light fixture and onto our table. apparently a pipe had busted above our kitchen and pooled up in our ceiling until it found the hole by the light fixture to drip from. So, we have several holes in our ceiling that will not be fixed for a couple weeks, and tomorrow we have a plumber coming over to work on it. It sounds like they will be replacing the entire pipe. Since I am at work now, and get out at 8am (same time the plumber is arriving), i am considering bringing a sleeping bag over to my office to catch a few z's. we will see. well, the water issue is well photo-documented here if you are interested.
If you are looking for something to read, check out:
Lee Siegel's "Love, and Other Games of Chance"
Z.Z. Packer's "Drinking Coffee Elsewhere"
Tobias Wolff's "The Night in Question"
And if you are looking for some new tunes, maybe try...
Mono Men "Monomen LP"
The National "The Boxer"
Decemberists "Crane Wife"
The Shins "Wincing the Night Away"
M. Ward "Post-War"
Alright, so, sorry about the hiatus. no promises that it wont happen again. please direct all questions and concerns to the comment box...jason
