The Calculus of Spring

I used to cycle the central coast of California every year as a youth group leader. Climbing long, grueling hills, I learned not to focus on the top of the hill (which, on a curving road, was impossible to see for 90% of the climb anyway), but rather to choose some object 100 yards ahead, make that my goal, reach it, then choose another. You know: that "divide and conquer" thing that Alexander the Great was always on about. Focusing on the end crushes hope when you're miles away from your goal.

So I try very hard not to begin counting down days until the end of school right after Christmas Vacation, as some other teachers do: it just leads to frustration. Better, in my mind, to keep one's head down and only look forward enough to find the next holiday. After New Year's is February, with all those delightful federal holidays (thank-you, Misters Washington, Lincoln, and King). After that, the blessed Easter Vacation, a different calendar week each year, but very, very needed, and what I consider the North Star of school holidays: whether it arrives in March or April, it is the one most desperately needed. Well, at least for me. Easter Vacation makes it possible to slog on until Memorial Day, which is quite a stretch. After that, it's all downhill rushing through the first half of June.

Well, I'm in pretty good mental shape at the moment, so I'll dare to look down the road. Let's see:
Thirty-six school days left (my, that doesn't sound like a lot: I have novels to get through with my classes).
Fifty-three calendar days.

Oh, yeah, I'm feeling that.

Almost at the top: keep pedaling…

Now That's Strange

I haven 't been able to access my blog for a few days because hitting the "Log In" link started an endless loop on my screen of a half-completed log-in screen. As soon as my specific information began to load, the whole screen would begin to reload from scratch, and I'd never be able to enter my username and password. Over and over and over.

Messed with it today, and for some reason I was able to interrupt this Groundhog Day effect. I don't know how I did it, but I decided to quickly make a post while I can, so that if I get locked out again, at least you can read this last entry, and understand why my blog is tumbling through space, never to be accessed by it's originator again.

That's right: tumbling through space. I said it. And yes, it's corny. But I may never be able to read your snide comment, because I won't be able to log on. So don't waste your time.

Hmpff!

How Do They Do That?

All right, it's been two months since my televisor started giving me the silent treatment.

So what programming do I miss the most after two months?

Saturday morning cooking shows. Go figure.

I like sitting on the couch, sipping my coffee, and watching really talented cooks (of which I am not one) create really wonderful, or really simple, or clever, or whatever, meals. I admire them.

Then I look in my kitchen, as baffled as if it were Dr. Frankenstein's laboratory, shrug, take s sip, sit back, and watch the gal on TV broast a chicken.

The other TV I really haven't missed much at all.

The Best Laid Plans…

I took my students into the computer lab so that they could upload their book projects to the internet. But of course, there were "technical problems," which in this case means that the printer in the lab was down. Since they needed to print out a hard copy for me so that I can look them over and give grades.

Without the functioning printer, they had to save copies to disc, and now they'll have to figure out a time to get back into the lab, access the website, copy their text in, print the preview page (the thing I'm after), and bring it to me.

The end of the quarter is this Friday. Hopefully, the network printer will be on-line before then. In the meantime, I might have to just take their Word documents, which kind of defeats the whold purpose of the internet publication.

Frustrating.