Professor J's Place

Ten days or so ago, I went to my regular weight watcher's meeting and found that, once again, I did not lose any weight. Yes. I was watching my weight stabilize. SO, I went to our local gym and signed up. Not only did I sign up, I paid for several sessions with a personal trainer. This is Adrian, my torturer personal trainer. I have worked with him three times, and boy am I sore! I am hoping that this new emphasis on physical activity will do the trick. I brought Morgan along with me a few times, and she is having fun with the water exercise classes. They've been great with her, so I am a big fan of Gold's gym.

http://www.utsa.edu/today/2008/05/gardner.cfm

My dear friend and my boss, Judith Gardner, died this Thursday afternoon. Judy was a great woman. She was smart--one of the few remaining writing program directors with "only" a Master's degree. I know that the university had to ignore its own policies to retain Judy, but it is to their great credit that they did. She was the most committed worker I knew. She worked up until two weeks before her death. Through surgeries, chemotherapy, radiation, and all of the assorted madness, Judy was there. Heck, I call in for a bad headache! But she didn't judge me or others for being weaker than she. Judy was kind and loving and committed to her friends, her coworkers, and all of our students. Every single teacher in the writing department (I think there are 63 of us) considers Judy a mentor and a friend. How did she manage that? And Judy's last words to me, though neither of us knew they'd be her last, were, "I love you, kiddo." I love you, too, Judy. And I...

Last night Susan and I went to a local bar to see these guys . Their average age is 14, I think, but they're a talented bunch of kids. Besides, it was fun to get out of the house--just the two of us!

Mrs. T. at Chuchería tagged me for this meme, and it seems as good a way as any to take a break between grading essays. Here are the rules: 1. The rules of the game get posted at the beginning. 2. Each player answers the questions about her or himself. 3. At the end of the post, tag 5-6 people and posts their names, then go to their blogs and leave them a comment, letting them know they've been tagged and asking them to read your blog. 4. Let the person who tagged you know when you've posted your answer. What was I doing ten years ago? I was a senior in college (a returning student). I was having a great deal of fun feeling incredibly smart and talented. I believe I was taking Women's Writing, The Twentieth Century Novel (that wasn't the course name, but it was the course function), Rhetoric (a grad class for undergrad credit), and Research Methods (a political science course). Those were heady times. What are five things on my "to do" list today? 1. Grade pa...