Ten Things Tuesday – Student Papers

1. If my students in a comp class at the community college  were given revisions criteria, feedback, and 3 weeks to fix their papers, and they don’t? I get upset. Irritated, perhaps even all the way up to ripshit (a term I just learned last week, btw).
2. If a student doesn’t hand in drafts – [...]

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L’Shana Tovah!

Tonight – after sundown – is the first day in the Jewish New Year – Happy 5770!
What we try to do each year in these Days of AWE is to use the spirit of the holiday – renwal, growth and personal evolution -  to inspire our thinking.  Between now and next Sunday night (Yom Kippur), [...]

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Whirlwind

I’m a little dizzy.
In my current state as an instructor of writing, I am earning EVERY penny of the paltry pittance they pay me. Yeah, I do enjoy what I am doing, so it’s just as well I am clearly not doing this for the money, eh?
I’ve been using Blackboard, the online classroom extension that [...]

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Dating for 17 years

Seventeen years ago, Bob and I went out for Chinese food, came back to my parents’ house, watched the closing ceremonies of the summer olympics, and made out on the couch.
That was it. We were together.
It’s been a helluva ride.
In our time together, not necessarily in order or comprehensive, we got married in front of [...]

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Brief and lovely family reunion

After a long drive from Ottawa yesterday, we’re home.  Seeing the kids was incredible and I’m happy to report that despite the constantly psychotic sunny/rainy/windy/cloudy weather extravaganza they are also experiencing 9 hours away, they have been having a great summer. And, they’ve grown in the three weeks it had been since they’d stood next [...]

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Talking with my father

Yesterday, I phoned my mum and dad and my dad answered and immediately asked me if I wanted to speak with my mother.
Over the years, he has consistently done this, and frankly, it has always pissed me off. What, you can’t speak with me? Have something better to do?
In retaliation to this and other dismissive [...]

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Ten Things Tuesday: life with dogs

This post is a reprint from the early days of my blog, just after now 2 1/2 year-old Sephira came into our lives. With the filter of the almost pathos I have been writing through, I’ve been locked in the sad and melancholy.   I’d like to remember this, the joy of my dogs, our [...]

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Ten Things Tuesday: Updates

1. It’s will be two weeks this Thursday since my dog Shem had his little operation and things, good to say, are fine.  We won’t see evidence of any drastic reduction of hormones until my other dog Wenchface goes into her next heat, but the territorial marking and other such overtly male dog stuff should [...]

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Civility-Testing System

This is a test of the civility-testing system.
My inlaws arrive today in the late afternoon, in what has become – as they winter in Florida – a biannual visit.
Coincidentally, my blog posts ranting about them happen about as often and while I could have waited until their car was pulling OUT of my driveway to [...]

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Wii Bowling and life lessons

I love my Wii.
Didn’t think I would, because come on, a video game?  Button mashing?
Then I began bowling with my family and initially, I did very well.  Swearing was vastly reduced and I grew complacent.  Smug set in and I regularly bowled in the 190 to 220 range. I was happy with that.
Then the axis [...]

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