2005-12-19 - 1:12 p.m.

..weekend reflections..

EXAM REPORT: another 40 exams down.

CAT REPORT: Mizzy is curled up on my lap.

FOOD REPORT: yummy breakfast / lunch of stir-fried tofu and veggies in a chili-garlic sauce (self-made).

HEALTH REPORT: sniffles and a sore throat, slight headache, but otherwise on top of things.

RADIO REPORT: a particularly boring Leonard Lopate show, soon to be replaced by Jacques Loussier's interpretations of music by Eric Satie.

****

Yesterday I intended to dedicate the day to grading and cleaning, but instead spent the majority of the day fielding telephone calls and email chats and deliveries. Between 11am and 5pm I had less than fifteen minutes to myself. Amazing. I liked all of the people with whom I spoke. It was simply odd that they all chose the same day to call or chat. J and I had planned to go see "King Kong." But by 5pm both of us were feeling weird. I had a pounding headache that verged on nausea. We talked on the phone for a little while, and then I drank some water and went to bed.

This morning, in spite of repeated calls from K (he's a great human snooze alarm, and much better looking than an alarm clock), I wasn't able to drag myself out of bed until about 10am. I will not get sick. I will not get sick. I will not get sick. There. That should do it.

Saturday night was my colleague's annual Christmas party, featuring dinner, drinks, a Christmas choral concert, and deserts. The party involves several colleagues from the college, which means that it is combined "work and play" party, and I leave with mixed feelings. I always have the sense that I did not properly absorb etiquette as a child. I try to be considerate, but I often wonder if I spent the evening putting my foot in mouth, or forgetting to do something that is "expected" of a considerate guest. It's a good time but with a sinking feeling...Oops, should I have said that? Should I have done that? Sometime I wonder if my feelings of awkwardness result from being surrounded by so many other academics. This group in general tends to be a bit awkward at social gatherings. Does their awkwardness rub off on me, leaving me with this uneasiness? In any case, it's not quite the same as spending the evening with people with whom you feel completely at ease, although again, I still had fun.

My newest colleague and her husband were there - and they made me feel perfectly at ease. Following the concert (Bernstein's Chicester Psalms) we were commenting on the phrase "boy soprano" - a phrase where word placement makes all the difference. "Boy soprano" evokes a translation from a European language..or in modern times, the idea of the "boy wonder," who should perhaps be matched with a superhero in a cave with bats and a cool car.

The phrase "Soprano Boy" just doesn't cut it. "Yoo hoo! Soprano Boy!!"

These are the kinds of ridiculous and silly conversations that make me feel at ease.

Okay, time to return to grading.