I have a pretty good handle on the two classes that I’m teaching this semester. One class might be a little overly packed and the other might be a little light, but these things pan out over the course of the semester and as I tend to adjust things as I learn a bit about the students. We have a goofy calendar this year—I start on Wednesday, September 2nd and then there’s no class the following Monday due to Labor Day, so we don’t have class again until Wednesday, September 9th. That actually creates a crunch because we have less time for early-semester shenanigans, but so be it.

I’m also taking two classes (my last two classes) this fall, both in the professional writing track. One is an independent study geared towards document/information design and the other is an online course dealing with writing and technology. Looking forward to both quite a bit and I’ll post specifics (for those of you dying to know) once I have them.

I’m into the last third of Autumn of the Patriarch by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, which I would describe as an impressive feat of writing (and of translation!) and interesting in a certain sense, but certainly not an easy read, nor one I would recommend to, well, just about anyone. I seem to read quite a few interesting-books-that-I-can’t-say-I-enjoyed-but-were-worth-reading-but-not-worth-recommending in school. So it goes.

Is Ars*nal the @#%$@% luckiest team when it comes to Champions League draw? Last year they got a cakewalk to the semis, and this year their group stage is an absolute joke: AZ Alkmar, Olympiakos, and Standard Liege. So, two teams from second-tier leagues and one from the third-tier. Oh, and how many of them were in the Champions League last year? That would be none. Every other group has at least two teams from the top leagues, being England, Italy, Spain, and Germany; even any of the French teams (Bordeaux, Lyon, and Marseilles) would be stiffer competition than any of these.

If this was a knock-out competition it would be more interesting, and Alkmar and Olympiakos won’t be push overs at home, but over two legs? C’mon. Group A has Bayern, Juventus, and Bordeaux and Group C has Real Madrid, AC Milan, and Marseilles; even Chelski, Atletico Madrid, and Porto and the group with Liverpool, Lyon, and Fiorentina look a lot trickier than what Ars*nal had served up on a platter. Makes me sick.

Current Mood: Very, Very Tired |