Memories

So many hours I spent on my old black and white Mac Classic playing Tetris. Here’s a new spin on an old favorite.

Stuff

I just finished a draft of my application for promotion to full professor. This is miraculous given that it isn’t due until Monday, and I am the mistress of procrastination. I always feel kind of weird doing these things, especially trying to find the balance between justified self-promotion and arrogance. Everyone says I have nothing to worry about, and they are probably right, but worry I will. I mean, I know I have evidence of good teaching, leadership, and college service, and I know that most of my colleagues like and respect me, as do my Dean and Department Chair, but there is always that little bit of doubt: Could I have done one more thing? Will I be punished for being a loudmouth? Have students complained to other faculty about me? And on and on.

But in other news, we saw Atonement last night. Atonement is one of my favorite books of the last ten years. Ian McEwan’s language is magnificent, the story is heartbreaking, and the second half of the novel contains some of the most gutwrenching war writing I’ve ever experienced. When I first heard the film was going to be released, I swore I would not see it because it could not in any conceivable way measure up to the book. But then the reviews started coming, and I started to weaken until finally I had to see it. For the past few weeks I have begged the Significant Other to take me. “Revolting British class movie,” he said. But I won (well, I paid for it, so maybe I didn’t). And the film is very good. Wonderful performances, gorgeous photography, and surprisingly, close adherence to the text. For the first time in a long time, I cried in a movie theater (I won’t say why for those of you who don’t know the book/movie). But when we got in the car, the Significant Other let loose. How could I take him to that crap?! He’s never walked out of a film so angry!! This stupid bitch ruins these people’s lives and thinks writing a book atones for it?!

When I stopped laughing, I pointed out that only great art could elicit an emotional reaction that powerful. But he knows there are evil bitches in the world!! He doesn’t need to watch films about it!!

He was grumpy for the rest of the night.

Happy 2008

I don’t believe in New Year’s resolutions, largely because my inability to ever keep them leads to feelings of failure that I really don’t need. The chemicals in my brain adequately depress me, thank you very much. However, after last night, I am never drinking apricot brandy in large quantities again.

Merry Merry

Hope you all have had a wonderful Christmas, Hannukah, Festivus, or whatever you celebrate!

Mine has been pretty quiet. Last year, my family decided to stop giving presents and just get together for a meal. And the Significant Other is Jewish and his kids aren’t small anymore, so I’ve managed to avoid shopping entirely this year. Given that we will soon be paying two mortgages (yuk!), this is probably a good thing.

I hate to admit this, but I haven’t finished grading yet. For some reason, our registrar’s office decided to give us until after Christmas to get in grades. Don’t they know what a procrastinator I am? Don’t they know that I will take every last minute they give me?

The good news is that my students seem to have done very well. I’ll be giving too many B’s for the bureaucrats, I’m sure. But what the hell. Santa Pi is coming to town.
UPDATE: So I can’t figure out how to to sign my posts as Pi in this program. But I’m kinda digging funkyacademic

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