Coffee Flavored Kisses

Okay, so I am planning things for fall semester.  I am thinking of what to take to my office.  Obviously, the brand new spiffy purple three-hole punch is going, but I also think I shall take my old small four cup coffee pot. I just need to figure out where to keep it! I don’t have too much space.

However, I am trying to keep some of the clutter out of my office by asking to hybridize my classes. What does hybridize mean? Well, my classes meet in person,  but if I hybridize them, I will be using the online program to supplement my class.  I like this though because I could put up grammar exercises and send students there, I could have them turn in their papers electronically and save some trees (English papers are paper wasters!), I could enforce cut off deadlines, and I could have them peer-edit online–outside of class. That’s just writing classes. In lit class, I could give their quizzes online, have them create web projects rather than in-class projects (it is a compressed video class). In philosophy, I could have them take quizzes as well. There are plenty of uses for this.

I have to start writing up syllabi for fall, and if I can use the technology, I can do more stuff, and that’s always good.

My house is quiet; this is rare. MIke’s asleep; the sister beast is asleep, and all the usual machines are quiet. It’s rather nice.

I have just treadmilled 1.6 miles and burned 400 calories.  If I can keep that up, I will be happy.

I need to start planning for next semester.  I’m on track for all my classes to make–four of six have already done so.  I also counted my student numbers, and at least count, I have 85 students.  It’s a month until the big registration day, I forsee 100 students for me easily.  This means I shall be busy.

I need to make Comp I work better with only 2 class meetings a day.  This means I must plan better, and be more organized. Perhaps if I think of this class as breaking into 3 25 minute “sessions,” I will be better able to plan class.

I also have my Philosophy class–it has 20 people in it, and it is my second largest class.  Who would have ever thought I would be good at teaching Philosophy? okay, maybe not goot, but popular at it?

Planning and researching face me, so I guess I better get on it.

This past semester burned me out, and I imagine the upcoming fall one will do the same, especially since I tend to over commit myself.  I need to find ways to de-stress and to stay organized.

One thing I must do is find time to exercise.  I love my treadmill, but finding the 30 minutes to 45 minutes a day at home to treadmill during the semester is problematic.  Perhaps, I should take my Ipod to work, and make myself walk the building for 15 minutes.

I should also write more, especially here.  Since I joined Facebook and Twitter, I have many outlets, but both Facebook and Twitter have work and student readers, I lose some of my privacy.  Here, I can vent more privately.  Certainly, even a line a day would be stress relief.

I also need to work on diet.  All of us in the house need to eat better.  If I spend one day of my weekend cooking for the week, perhaps I can carve a bit more “me” time.

I also think I want to find time to meditate–surely clearing the mind for a few moments a day would help.

As I keep thinking of things, I will also go face the day, and do some cleaning.

I am indeed still alive; however, llife got in the way of blogging–well life and facebook.

Life has been busy. I have learned I need to readjust my approach to classes for the four-day class-week in the regular semester.  I learned that I can teach writing over Compressed Video in the summer even if I hate it.  I have learned that I need exercise.

More later because life is calling.