Wednesday, October 24, 2007

Coming up for air...

....(*gasp!*)......(*splash, splish, splash*).....(*cough, cough....gag...*).....

Medieval Woman slowly struggles to the surface of the dark, oily water called: GRADING!

These exams are chained to my feet like cement blocks - I can't shake them, I don't even seem to make a dent in them! And I'm teaching Julian of Norwich tomorrow which continues to be a struggle for me - the students just *hate* her brand of mysticism and I can't help feeling like it's because I'm not teaching it well enough. Has anyone else had this experience with Julian?

On top of everything else, I'm totally exhausted - I can't seem to get enough sleep! So much crap to do and the lovely momentum I'd built up on my article has now petered out because I have to teach and grade (whine, whine...).

Cat Update:

Furball #2 is fine, though her pride is a tad bruised. She got 2 teeth removed and her kidney function is perfect, thank the gods. However, she got so worked up that she gave herself a stress-induced bout of cystitus (spelling?) which basically read as a bad UTI and now seems to have cleared up after another trip to the vet today. I'll keep her on antibiotics for another week and by then she'll really try to kill me in my sleep...at the moment, her furry, beknighted, slightly rotund form is draped sullenly on the fainting couch.

6 comments:

New Kid on the Hallway said...

So glad that Furball #2 is doing well!

And my students don't usually like Julian either (except for the occasional oddball). But then, I don't really quite know what to do with Julian. We occasionally read the bleeding Christ on the cross bit, and students get freaked out by the blood dripping like water from the eaves. Though I actually love that bit, because it's such a beautifully mundane metaphor (simile?). Um, yes, I am rambling now...

Tiruncula said...

Poor stressed kitty! I'm glad her kidneys are ok.

Belle said...

Actually, her current position on the fainting couch sounds like an adequate response to the grading mess.

Hilaire said...

Yes, I'm so glad Furball #2 is okay.

And now I totally want to read Julian of Norwich!

squadratomagico said...

Poor furball #2! Hope you're giving her some treats between faints!

Aiglet said...

For what it's worth, *I* hated Julian when I read her as an undergrad and still don't much care for her.

I think the best approach might be to take an anthropological view of it -- "yes, I know this is weird and kind of kinky, but what kind of worldview does it take to see this as *normal*?"

Good luck!