Thanksgiving Unbreak Two

     It's time for another Thanksgiving unbreak. Which means that the semester is almost over with. And that's good news. It also means that the semester is almost over with....so things are extra-busy with the final projects before finals. That's the other side of the coin.

     I spent all morning at my laptop furiously typing away on the keyboard; where I realized something: It IS possible to write two essays in less than five hours. Not recommended, but it is possible. And so then I rush off to the campus library to print them off before today's Shakespeare class....and there's a note on the door saying "Shakespeare is canceled today."
     ....Seriously?
     So I trooped back to my apartment and played Need For Speed for a while before getting started on some more homework and watching back-to-back episodes of Studio C. (Useful thing about having cable...it's also useful for Wednesday night hockey. And Thunder games.)

     I've had a bunch of SWAT quotes running through my head the last couple days, which has been kind of nice. And also a little sad, now that we've split up all stretched out across the state. I really miss the BCM at NSU. The Parks-like office hierarchy and antics, Bob and Deb's leadership, SWAT practices in the basement or worship practices upstairs before Impact meetings, the anything-can-happen vibe during the Velocity bible studies on Thursday nights, Thunder watch parties in the living room where we all suffocate pillows, the softest couches on campus, Friday Lunch Bunch meetings....it feels like a lot longer than three semesters ago that I left Tahlequah. Or maybe they've just been really long semesters. Anyway, Elizabeth and I got to chatting on Twitter tonight about the disastrous Sallisaw road trip, which happened two years ago on Saturday. I'm still a little mad about that, honestly. (Though it does make a wonderful story. Probably because it was such a complete failure.) 

     The first "Thanksgiving Unbreak" post was written two years ago, but I liked the title and thought I'd reuse it. I have to read John Steinbeck, of all people, over the break for American Lit. (I loath John Steinbeck slightly less than my hatred for Charles Dickens.) Maybe Of Mice and Men will be tolerable, though? I can hope....

     Done a lot of reading not-for-school this week, which is the best kind. Wilson Rawls's classic Where the Red Fern Grows was devoured on Sunday night, it was a good chance to study great writing. And besides, it was a pretty crappy day and I needed to cry. And it's a lock that oceans of tears will fall all through, especially the last thirty pages. Anyway, there was also a quite disappointing history of Sesame Street, which spent fully half the book detailing the preproduction arguments between government officials and education professors. And it gave way too much attention to the earliest examples of children's television programming. But when it actually focused on making the show, it was a good book. It's just that took about fifty pages out of about 350 total. Also read a history of America told through major foods that have been important through the years, Amy Poehler's well-written and very strange memoir, and an introductory textbook about the business of voice acting.
     Hoping to get some not-for-school fiction in soon, because while The Tempest is interesting(and I think played a big part in influencing The Little Mermaid, of all things), Eugene O'Neill and Tennessee Williams are incredibly depressing. especially back-to-back. And that's not even counting the bizarre Alice in Wonderland-like novel written by some Japanese guy or some extremely frightening short stories set in a dystopia where megacorporations of GMO manufacturing rule everything. (I hate dystopian stories maybe more than Dickens. Also, I realized yesterday morning that I'm VERY JUDGMENTAL when it comes to literature. This is probably good for life, but not so great for classes.)

     Where was I? Complaining about how tired I am, maybe? But that's what happens when you must pull at least one all-nighter a week in order to keep up with coursework for several months in a row. Heard from Ashland the other day; encouraging each other through this last couple weeks of school. That was good.

     I caught one of those 24-hour viruses on Friday night, so that pretty much wrecked most of the weekend in terms of productivity, which led to the frantic cram session this morning. But I'm feeling better now. Went Christmas shopping yesterday morning, then watched Jeff Gordon's final race, where Kyle Busch won his first title. I've never been much of a Gordon fan, but it'll be even weirder watching a race without him racing than it is to see a football game without Brett Favre....but Bill Elliott's son Chase is the guy replacing him, so I'll have a new driver to root for next season.

     Now to finish the last peer critiques of the semester for tomorrow's Poetry Writing, email them to myself for printing in the morning, and I think I can get some sleep.