So, in theory, spending an entire day in my office with nothing to do but grade is a good idea. I knew I would have few distractions from students today, as it is the Tuesday of finals week and students are slowly trickling off campus as classes are wrapped up, final exams completed, and final projects turned in. Of course, what this means for professors is - GRADING. At least that is what it means for me.
Yesterday I had two finals, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. Happily, I am done grading everything but extra credit for those two classes. I have another online final this afternoon and one more online final tomorrow morning. And one last paper due tomorrow evening. My goal is to be all done grading by the end of the day Thursday so that I can go home and stop thinking about this semester. This is my plan. I feel like I'm on track so far, but who's to know how tomorrow and Thursday will go?
I spent this morning being fairly productive. I graded late papers, did some other miscellaneous paper work, and, in the spirit of saving, didn't even go get coffee. Then I had a student come in and then I went to lunch with David and Wes. For a wonder, the food in the cafeteria wasn't too bad today. They even had a very yummy chocolate chip and caramel dessert bar that I enjoyed quite a bit. During lunch, I conveniently forgot that I am attempting to eat less in a sitting because my abdomen is largely filled with baby right now. I have been plagued with heartburn for the past couple of days and I think it's because I'm still eating what used to be a normal portion size. Trust me, there is a point to this little side-trip down "I Overate Lane." The point is this: by the time I got back to my office I was full and SO SLEEPY.
Now, being sleepy after lunch is not a new sensation for me. Afternoons are not my best awake times when I'm NOT pregnant. However, today the sleepiness seemed to be of mammoth proportions. So, I decided to take a nap on the floor of my office. I unrolled the yoga mat that I keep in my office (the mat got quite a bit of actual yoga-use last fall when I was attending free yoga classes every Tuesday and Thursday - less use lately - until today that is). Then I spread my winter coat onto the mat and then I lay down using my purple fleece blanket as a pillow. I wasn't sure how comfortable I would be considering that I am starting to reach the point of awkwardness, but it wasn't too bad. I napped for a half an hour and awoke, while not refreshed, at least able to function again.
After I made sure I didn't have any weird lines across my face from sleeping on the blanket, I got up, collected my various paperwork, pulled on the coat I just napped on, and headed out into the snow to run my few errands. As unpleasant as -2 temp with a -10 windchill can feel, the cold did a nice job of waking me up the rest of the way. Also, I have to admit that campus looks really nice from the skyway that connects Oren to the library while it's snowing outside. OH! Also, the lovely Ali Rapp stopped by with a Xmas card and Ju Ju Fish for me while I was napping. Very nice of her. The sugar in the afternoon is highly appreciated.
After being such a busy and productive professor all day (yes, I do consider the nap productive) I am now contemplating what to do for my next trick (as my mom would say). I'm pretty sure I'm going to get a jump on those final papers. A few of my students (in particularly studious fashion) have turned in their drafts ahead of time. If I get the early ones done today, that means fewer papers for me to grade on Thursday (who said I wasn't any good at math?). I also suspect there may be a little time for playing Scrabble with Angela on Facebook. She should be done teaching in about 20 minutes. Ah, finals week...
JU JU FISH!
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