Had a great day at school yesterday. My classes went well, I actually got my students to communicate with me! I got their input for their next essay assignment. Actually, I was pretty sure I knew what I wanted the assignment to be, but I got to look all magnanimous by asking their opinion. Plus, I played Beastie Boys on the room's speaker system before class, to start class with a nice funky groove (Ill Communication is quite funkariffic).

Then I met with Professor V during his office hour. I talked to him about the presentation I'll be doing in his class next week, and about a possible topic for my research paper, as well as my thesis idea. He said he remembered my paper from my application as he was on the admissions committee last year. Squeeeeeeeeeee! We had a nice chat about intellectualism being out of favor in our culture, and how academia is the 'real world' to those of us who like that sort of thing. Quite enjoyable. Oh, and I asked him something that I was hoping would come up (no pun intended, as you'll soon see) in class. See, we're reading these captivity narratives from people who were kidnapped and enslaved by the Turks. And they keep talking about being beaten by their captors with a bull's pizzle! So I had to ask, what's up with that? He says, "Well, you know what a bull's pizzle is, right?" "Yes, that's why I'm blushing!" So he didn't know if it was meant as an extra insult, but he figures they have been considered excellent implements of beating. (Yeah, I'm pretty sure there's at least one dirty joke in there. I'm not going to make it, though, as Professor V is probably going to wind up being my thesis advisor.) He loaned me some books on new historicism, I won't have time to read them all right now, but at least I can add them to my Amazon Wish List.

They decided, after much hand-wringing, to cancel classes today because of the hurricane. I figured it was alarmist thinking, I mean the thing was at least 200 miles away. It aggravates me, because they keep cancelling classes on the days I get to be a student, and I'm new enough to enjoy going to class; it would be another thing altogether if they'd cancel when I have to teach, which is still fun, but, since it's my job, I'd rather have a break from it, not discussing literature. Anyway, I don't think my jubilant freshmen realize that they may very well decide to extend the semester by a week. It's been really hard to get them into the swing of a regular academic schedule, I mean, the semester is one month old, and two of those weeks have been shortened. It's been difficult for me, too, because as an adult I own more stuff than most of them, so I have to worry about it potentially being washed away when these storms threaten.

Speaking of adult concerns, my student loan finally came in, and I immediately paid the car/renter insurance premium for the next six months.