My life is a joke

For my second summer graduate course, I'm taking an online class about technology in the classroom.  Assignment one?  Create a blog!

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA this is why my life is a joke.

I am being forced to keep a blog -- although it seems like we are only required to blog twice, which seems a little odd -- and I find that f*cking hilarious.  I suppose if I was graded on this blog, I'd actually update more than once every 4 months.  Or I'd fail.  That's always an option (regardless of what I'm forced to tell students).  Perhaps, though, I will update that blog more often than just the 2 required posts, but probably not.  Is it strange that my only problem with the blog assignment is that I have to use WordPress (which is fine, but I prefer blogger) AND that I have to title it SLM508LAB?  Honestly, I hate the blog only because of the name.  It's the course tag and my initials, just in case you were dying to know.  How boring and awful is that name?  I am just so vain.  (I probably think this blog is about me)

All that aside, as much as I complain about grad school, I finally feel like something will be worthwhile.  Looking at the syllabus is terrifying because I feel like she's trying to squeeze in every type of technology possible into an 8 week class, but as I skimmed it, I saw things that should be interesting.  I finally activated my Google Reader account, and I can't wait to see the Digital Storytelling resources, but some of it bugs me.  I have to use Twitter, for instance, and I gave up on twitter because it pissed me off too much.  I also hate that I have to make multiple accounts for essentially the same things I already use for this class.  I need a new Flickr account, a new GoodReads account, and probably others, but I'm too lazy to go through everything just to complain.

Basically, my life is insane until I leave for Italy.  REMINDER: Tell you professor you are going to Italy and need to finish assignments a few days early!

In other news, I am teaching as a fake long-term-sub at my old high school for a woman out on bedrest through the end of the year.  The good news is she may take maternity leave at the beginning of the next school year, so if all the thousands of jobs for English teachers fall through (sarcasm at its finest) that might be something I at least get an interview for.  I also spent 4 days reading as a sub for the librarian at a high school and as an English teacher who was just proctoring exams (so sad).  I tore through 4 books in 4 days, and it feels really great to cross a few more books off the list.

This is me in Chicago, excited about books.  Also, it totally says "Cock Dancing" behind me.

I picked up 8 books at a used book sale a few weeks back.  One of the local public libraries was selling books for a dollar, and as a sucker for cheap literature, I made a U-Turn and went in.  Okay, if you want to get literal, it was a horribly executed K-turn, but still.  The physical turning around did happen.  I bought 5 books from my list, and 3 others that will eventually go on a shelf in the hypothetical future classroom.  I can honestly say that I loved the 4 I read, and The Reader is rumored to be excellent, as well.

I don't know or remember who recommended these books for my list, but THANK YOU.

• The Alchemist (this is already on my mom's summer list, mostly because I told her she had no choice)
• The Hours
• Wide Sargasso Sea (Don't lie to me and say you recommended it; I just thought about it, and realized it was one of the originals because of my love for Jane Eyre)
• Bastard out of Carolina

I'll do some individual comments on these later, since this post is already MUCH longer than I normally make you suffer through, but they were each magnificent, and if you read them, we can chat about them :)