- I am incredibly sad that tomorrow is my last class with the Little Darlings and that instead of doing something "fun," they're taking a final. I feel like I'm just getting to know them as people and not students, and wish that I could have them all in my class next year.
- I am infinitely happy that, after this weekend, I can enjoy one blissful month of not grading a single paper, quiz, or homework assignment. Seriously, you can't see me, but I'm doing my happy dance at the mere thought of a glorious grading-free month right now. Seriously.
- I am anxious about finding a job after next semester, when I have officially received my MFA degree. Technically, that isn't a feeling associated with this semester, but, since I have started looking for an adjunct instructor position this semester, it has caused me some stress.
- In part, this stress is because I've solidified all these amazing friendships this semester, and I don't want to move away from these people. Not only are they my friends, but their my writing peers. And I'm terrible at goodbyes and keeping in touch, so I spend a lot of time worrying that I'll never see or hear from these people again.
- BUT, I'm excited at the prospect of moving some place new like Savannah, GA or New Orleans, LA or maybe even Austin, TX. Or, if I dare to hope, maybe some place foreign like Italy.
- I am elated by the current state of my thesis. Going into this semester, I had maybe 20 pages completed (my thesis is a travel narrative, a series of interconnected essays about the time I spent in India) and now, thanks to my memoir class and the encouragement of my friends, I've got about 70-80 pages written.
- Of course, this elation couples nicely with bouts of anxiety ridden sleepless nights when I start to think about the amount that still needs to be written, and then revised.
- I am incredibly perplex about the state of my relationship with the boy I'm crushing on. Of late, he's been very attentive, holding doors, waiting for me after class, emailing, and we've engaged in this weird borrowing money from each other game (he fronts me money for a ticket to a concert, I lend him money to cover an after-class meal) and our hanging out has increased ten fold (whatever the hell that means). Are we friends? Are we mutual crushes? Am I just a silly bobble headed girl? He's going to be gone until end of January, so anything that I imagine (and I'm sure I'm imagining) going on or potentially happening between us is put on hold.
- I am incredibly eager to teach my WP121 class, Virtual Realities, Virtual Bodies: Technology and Identity, next semester. I did a lot of research for this class, and picked out a book that I'm very excited for them to read, William Gibson's Neuromancer just because I'm certain a lot of them haven't, or don't, read science fiction let alone cyberpunk. And the Little Darlings will be reading lots of gender studies texts as well. And, being a feminist at heart, I love gender studies texts!
- The semester's (almost) over! Woot! Woot! This is my last semester (for awhile at least) in which I have to take classes.
- Which means, God help me, that I can actually watch some of my favorite T.V. shows. For two years I haven't been able to watch Lost... and I love that show. And lets not even talk about these new shows, Heroes for example, that I have to shove my fingers in my ears and go "lalala" whenever people bring them up. I'm such a T.V. whore.
- A little discouraged that I wasn't able to keep my 2006 New Year's Resolutions. I acknowledge that this doesn't really have anything to do with the semester ending, but still. HOWEVER, I've already started thinking about Goals for 2007. I've convinced myself that if I set (realistic) goals rather than resolutions, I'm more likely to want to accomplish said goals then struggle to stick to a set of unrealistic resolutions. For example, instead of making the very common resolution of "lose weight/get in shape," I've decided to set the goal of running 5 miles a week and toning my arms and stomach. I believe this is more realistic because, as I've said before, I play Sunday Sports (that's a lot of running) and I'll have more free time to hit the gym and lift light weights. Or, another one: finish writing my thesis by early March, so that all I have to do is revise, revise, revise. I'm already 70-80ish out of 120 pages there, so it's not impossible. So see, goals. And I'm optimistic I can reach them!
- #10 also means that it's almost time to go home for the holidays! I love this time of year--not for the presents, I'm not big on presents--because I spend 10 glorious days at home sleeping late (if 10 a.m. can be counted as late) going ice skating with my cousins, eating real food (I can dial but I can't cook very well, it requires more of an attention span than I currently possess), watching all the cheesy Christmas movies that I love (The Grinch, Rudolph, Frosty, Christmas Story, It's a Wonderful Life, White Christmas), copious game nights in which I kick my future brother-in-law's hiney in Monopoly, Mexican Train Dominoes, Rummy, and Poker, time to catch up on "fun" reading (currently, I have a stack of 6 books ranging from sci-fi/fantasy to travel narratives that I want to read) and so many other glorious activities!
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