need a recharge

You might think I haven't posted in a week or so because school has started and I'm really busy. While both of those presuppositions are quite true, it's not like I haven't been fucking around on the internet more than I should. Much of the time when I am working I have a computer in front of me and I definitely check my three email accounts a little more than I should, to say nothing of myspace.

Anyway... suffice to say school is off to a pleasant start, both the classes I teach and the ones in which I'm a student.

Currently I am logged on to interpret because I need to get in the hours.

I also have an in-person interpreting gig tomorrow, which is always cool on several different levels.

In other good news:
Zeke appears to have a potential adopter and we are taking him to the shelter this Saturday for the person in charge to make sure he's adoptable, etc.

I am going to see a show on Monday at the 40 Watt: Shellac. Steve Albini represents so many things to me that are both extremely cool and genuinely admirable. I'm not a huge Shellac fan but I'd be a fool to pass up such a shit-hot show for only ten bucks. I saw them back in 2000 in Milwaukee and ended up leaving early but only because I was kind of going through a minor mental health crisis at the time and I weirded myself out somehow. Whatever. I'm looking forward to the show on Monday; it'll be the first time literally in MONTHS that I'll have gone out to see and hear live music in person.

P.S. Blogger spellcheck suggests "mishaps" for myspace.

What I learned listening to NPR this morning

More Americans are able to name the Three Stooges than are able to name our three branches of government.

What the fuck, NASA?

Thanks, as always, to AlterNet for linking this.

Again, you have to love the headline here, "One giant cock-up for mankind." As I've said before, leave it to the Brits.

From their article:

While the television broadcast seen by 600 million people in July 1969 is preserved for posterity, the original tapes from which the footage was taken have been mislaid in the vast archive of the United States space agency Nasa.

The footage could transform our view of the Moon landings, offering images far sharper than the blurred, grainy video shown around the world.

It could also lay to rest the conspiracy theory that the landings were faked on a Hollywood soundstage.

This makes me sad.

An interesting NPR piece with a more sympathetic tone is worth checking out too.

oops

Can't renew my driver's license today. The offices are only open Tuesday through Saturday.

by the way

My ankle is much better although not completely. It's not swollen anymore and the bruising has mostly disappeared. It's still achy and I still have to limp somewhat, but it's not going to interfere with all the walking I'm about to have to do on campus in any significant way.

too much, too fast

School starts too early. At least we UGA folks don't start til this wednesday. Most primary, middle and secondary schools started last week or the week before, and those that didn't, start today.

There's definitely a different vibe between starting the fall and starting the spring semester. For the spring semester everyone is already settled in to the routine and things are planned out slightly more in advance. Fall is a little more fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants.

I found out which class and sections I'm teaching. I've got two sections of Spanish 1110, late afternoon. This class meets four times a week, just like 1001 and 1002 which I taught last year. Basically it's a class for people who have had Spanish before but who don't place high on the required placement test. I assume that a fair number of my students are there by choice; in other words because they chose to sandbag a little on the placement test. Whatever; I don't mind. We'll see-- maybe I'm wrong.

I am determined to attend Todd and Lindsey's wedding in Hawaii, which is the first Tuesday in October. This means that I will have to be gone for at least two days that I am supposed to teach. Originally the plan was to be gone for a whole week, but that was hoping that I would be teaching a class that only met three times a week. I don't think I can do that for a class that meets four times a week. Even assuming that I only miss two days; I'm in for a fair bit of extra planning, and lots of legwork and potentially campaigning and begging, essentially, to find subs. It's hard just to find one person to sub for one class sometimes. Missing two days, I'll have to find four...

I've got to finish my coffee (the caffeine is kicking in nicely I must say), take a shower, brush my teeth, shave, get my hair cut, and try to renew my driver's license.

love good coffee

Big thanks to Hilda for bringing me back coffee from Costa Rica which I am enjoying this morning for the first time! It's pretty strong, which I like. It's ground up really fine, like for espresso. I suppose that means I don't need to use as much in my normal guy auto drip machine. Hmm...

Why me?

So I woke up this morning sometime between 3:00 and 4:00 a.m. Not a big deal-- this is normal for me. I get up. I pee. I go back to bed. I fall back to sleep.

Not this morning! Try as I might I never fell back to sleep. Every now and then I do suffer from some mild insomnia and I guess I was due. Oh well.

On the plus side, I got an early start on some writing for school, which was percolating in my never silent brain as I lay awake. Also, this will probably reset my circadian rhythm so that I'm used to getting up super early (6 a.m. at the latest) which I need to do when classes are in session. So it's all good, I guess.

to be fair

It's probably not procrocrastination at all, but due to the fact that new TAs haven't registered for classes yet. I checked the other languages in our department on the master class schedule and their lower level courses haven't been assigned yet either.

So I guess I take back any negative comments I made in the previous post.

Get on it!

I'm trying to prepare my schedule for classes, since they start in exactly one week; but it's difficult to do since it would seem that the professor in charge of assigning which TAs teach what hasn't done that for most of us as of yet (at least not in a computerized or official way)!

Thus I am greeted with this:

According to the Course Offering system data available,
you are not listed as instructor for any courses this term.

when I try to log on to see which course and sections I am teaching.

I wonder how long we'll have to wait.

The higher up you are on the academic totem pole I guess the more you are allowed to procrastinate.

what a relief

I finished the translation I was working on.

Classes begin in a week though! I will indeed be working between now and then to try to do some of the writing I promised my major professor. This is work that I'm very enthusiastic about, not that I wasn't so much with the translation, but this is stuff that is leading up to, and will be reused in part in my thesis. So it's something that is purely mine. Anyway... we'll see what the next few days bring. I'd like to get into the habit of posting more frequently (not because anyone gives a shit; I realize that probably about only five or so people actually read this; but because it's good for me in so many ways...) but for now have bigger fish to fry.

I meant to say but forgot

... that having a fucked up right ankle really makes me appreciate my health, more specifically being able to walk without a limp, which is something I can't do right now. Despite my tendency towards these sort of accidents (weak ankles, taking "bad steps"), I think this is the worst I've ever hurt my ankle. I've had broken bones before but they've been in my arms or hands. This really sucks. I can't wait to not have to limp or wear this air cast, and I'm really glad that it's not worse than what it is. I shouldn't have to wait long. The swelling is slowly going down. Probably after a week or so I should be close to normal, at the very least.

in other news

I guess classes start in about two weeks. I don't mind that at all but I don't feel mentally prepared.

It would be nice if we could take a vacation before classes but that ain't gonna happen. We are going to Hawaii in October though for Todd and Linsdsey's wedding which should be awesome.

Our phone is disconnected, temporarily. I don't mind not having a land line except that I need it for my part time job of interpreting Spanish over the phone. If it weren't for that I would be lobbying to just get rid of the land line. There's no other reason for us to have it. Anyway... hopefully later today or tomorrow we'll restore our phone service.

I haven't made much progress at all on my translation. I swear I will though. I want to be done with it by next week.

gimpy

On Monday morning I injured my right ankle.

We keep our largest dog, Zeke, in the back yard as much as possible, which is always, except at night, and during the midday when it's hottest outside. We do this because he and Baxter fight, and he could kill Baxter.

Zeke was a stray puppy I found in the street and which we decided to keep. We didn't know he was a pit bull (or a pit mix) at the time, and we didn't know he and Baxter wouldn't get along once he grew up either, or else we might have taken him to the pound right away. If you know anyone who wants a dog and doesn't have any other dogs, or cats, and would be a responsible dog owner who doesn't want to fight dogs, Zeke is up for adoption.

anyway, Monday morning I went into the back yard to make sure one of his chew bones had not been completely consumed yet. I've been making sure he has something to chew on out there so he doesn't chew on our air conditioning units' wires like he apparently did earlier this year. I saw one of his bones and was going to get it to play with him for a minute. I didn't watch where I was stepping and my right ankle (my ankles are and always have been week and prone to this type of accident) kind of bent in, causing a painful ankle twist and me to fall to the ground.

It was a pretty bad ankle twist. I hollered and cried and whined "I don't want to go to the hospital!" (Because I really don't, partly because I used to work there, and prefer to be anonymous when going to the Emergency Room, regardless of the other circumstances.) I was able to get up and walk on it, using my arms to help me by leaning on stuff, and basically limping. I put together an ice pack with a big zip lock bag and laid down on the long couch for a while.

I ditched the ice and went back to work here in the office and just put up with it. I could move it and walk on it (limping) so I figured I didn't break it. The next day the swelling didn't go down at all so Holly was very concerned. I have to admit I was too.

I called my Dr. and talked to a nurse and she made me an appointment. He said it was probably just a sprain but ordered an X ray just in case. This would mean that I would have to go to the hospital anyway, but just for the X ray. I got an "air cast" too which is basically a couple pockets of air supported by plastic and kept in place with velcro straps on either side of my ankle and lower calf.

It turns out there was no fracture, thank god. The air cast thing does help a lot but it's impossible for it to completely stay in place unless you don't walk on it at all, which kind of defeats the purpose.