Finis! (And other weekend rambling)

The mongo paper that ate Cleveland (apologies to those of you in Cleveland, but, well, it was hungry) is finished and turned in. Yay! I actually even feel pretty good about it, which is unusual for things that end up going down to the wire. But I still had time to run it past my former magazine EIC sister who always provides good feedback and helpful suggestions.

The only other assignment is a portfolio/journal type thing for my other class. It's written. I need to review it and make sure it's ok, then I plan to turn it in, even though it's not due for another week. I just want to be DONE.

I'm hopeful that I might get a grade back on the other big paper that was due on Thursday soonish, though this particular instructor is not, shall we say, on top of things when it comes to grades. Realistically, I'll be lucky to get an individual grade for that assignment and not just a final grade at the end of the day. But we'll see. At this point, I'm really just glad to be basically finished with homework for the semester.

Now I can get to work on my idea paper. (Though honestly, I plan to avoid as much weekend homework as possible. What I can get done on weekdays will be fine. Or so I tell myself.) I have six weeks before my next (and final!) semester of coursework begins and I intend to spend at least a little of it tiptoeing through some tulips.

Except that I kinda agreed to teach a class online and it starts soon. Did I mention that? Sometimes I wonder about myself. Except that I'm really looking forward to teaching again. And I'll probably love it right up to the point where I get my reviews and realize that, oh yeah, students inevitably hate me. (It has to do with my unrealistic expectations that they'll take responsibility for their education and, you know, turn things in.) And yet despite all that, I find myself drawn back to teaching like a moth to a flame. Seriously. It's this incredible lure. I sit and pine over wanting to teach when I'm not teaching. And when I am teaching I'm just simply depressed because I would really like to be one of those teachers that students look back at fondly. And not fondly in the "Gosh I'm glad I never have to see her again in my whole life" sense. But in the "Sure, she was a hard-nose but I learned a ton" sense. (I have no delusions that it'll be in the "Gosh, she changed my life and made me a better person" sense - reference feelings on personal responsibility. That just doesn't seem to fly today.) Anyway, I'm marginally optimistic that this time it'll be different.

Other than finishing the papers, I also managed to read the first trillogy for the blog tour coming up in August. Though I suppose I should clarify that it's not stopping at a trillogy - it looks like it's going to be one of those series that goes on inevitably until people stop purchasing the books (and then, realistically, it'll go on for a few more books thereafter while they try to salvage the series.) My initial response, I'll be honest, was "Well, that was Christian Fiction." It's not bad per se, it's just....trite? Sanctimonious? Unrealistic? I don't know. Part of it could be that it's very definitely YA and it's been a long, long time since I've read YA. What's the audience for YA really? Anyone know? Cause the heroine is 17, but I can't imagine any 17 year old reading this and enjoying it...I'd peg the upper limit of actually enjoying these books at 13. And that's a stretch. Maybe it'd be good for the 8-12 age range, except that the topics discussed are a little mature for the lower ends of the scale (Internet predators, suicide, and drug abuse with a running theme of sexual purity.) Not that kids in the 8-10 age range shouldn't know probably the basics of such themes, but the depth of the coverage is, I feel, too much. It's more appropriate for the 12 - 15 year olds. And I see a 12 to 15 year old reading the first chapter (maybe) before rolling their eyes in disgust and setting it down. Regardless, I'm trying to come up with a positive spin to put during the blog tour and the best I'm coming up with is "The Dead Zone meets a Christian Sweet Valley High." So...you might see the dilemma.

--Slight Spoiler Warning --
Finally and seriously, you must go vote for the Next Food Network Star. I haven't watched last night's episode yet but I did peek at the website and it's down to the two that I loved and the one I absolutely did not like is gone. Hooray! So, honestly, either one of these two could win and I'd watch what they have, but my preference is for Amy.