“Neglects…I’ve had a few…”

(Wait. Is that how the song goes?) I’ve neglected this blog, the antho (off and on), writing, and other things for the past couple of weeks. Work. Busy. Timing. That stuff. Not as many students this term thanks to a schedule that mainly consists of 12 week classes and two of them in the afternoon … Continue reading →

Yes, I Should Be Writing More

I’m working on too many projects at once right now that I’ve neglected the blog for a bit. My fast-track classes have finally started, and well, it’s all so very distracting. Got an overview of my teaching “expertise” to write about this weekend (for an award I probably won’t get because the competition is stiff … Continue reading →

2016 Resolution: Don’t Be a Dick.

Okay, I think I’ve finally made a decision. My 2016 resolution, such as it is, is not to be a dick. Well, I will do my best at any rate. I will attempt to be “dickish” only  in my thoughts and not aloud… unless certain troubles start, troubles caused by genuine dicks,  the ones like… The … Continue reading →

(I didn’t know!)

A list of excuses over the past few weeks. I’ve unfortunately had to suffer through all of them because What Else Is New…? I was out of town over Thanksgiving, so I didn’t know! I didn’t have email where I was, so I didn’t know! We have WHAT due on Wednesday?? I didn’t know! You mean we … Continue reading →

Notes From the Past: Cubicle Woes

I was going through some of my old writing…from a couple of years ago anyway…and I realized I’d had some pretty valid concerns during my first year having been hired on a regular full-time contract. I’d been adjuncting as a full-time temporary instructor for my school for nine, dedicated, solid (well, relatively speaking) years before I … Continue reading →

The Hell of Timed Essays

Note: I wrote this some time ago and had posted it elsewhere, but I will soon be in the midst of scoring practiced, timed essays in preparation for the one that counts for a hefty grade at the end of the term.  I found this more than a bit appropriate… Dear Anti-Writer Who Created The … Continue reading →

Grading Blues

While I’ve some lovely plans over the weekend, someway, somehow, I have to cram a shit-ton of essay grading into the mix, and as I tell my students quite often (whenever one brings up how much he/she hates writing essays), I hate grading with a burning, seething passion.  I hate it with every fiber of … Continue reading →

That Ever-Elusive A

An acquaintance of mine — a sharp, sweet, conscientious lady — recently posted her dismay at the grade she’d received in one of her college classes. An 89.45, to be precise. It’s understandable. It’s a tease of a percentile, ridiculously close to THAT possibility, the very possibility of the much-coveted A. While this was going … Continue reading →

Little Wonder Writers Booze It and/or Lose It

It’s been a weekend of intense contemplation/introspection (and halfarsed grading, so not in the mood for it). I’m on my 20th rejection for my novel (18 for the query and sample chapters alone, two for the novel itself), my 4th for the science fiction story I’ve been marketing. The editors involved with the antho. I’d really been aiming … Continue reading →

Dear Angry Peoples,

Dear Snowflake Who’s Been Angry with a Professor in Another Department, I realize you’re busy right now. You’re in the midst of a legal brouhaha against the school, trying to get a humanities professor fired, claiming that he asked you to speak against your religious beliefs, which, according to the evidence presented, isn’t accurate at all. He asked you … Continue reading →