YAY!

Officially, as of 12:25 today, August 11th, I am officially finished with my teaching duties for the summer. Whew.

My terror student came in today to pick up his grade and asked in a meek voice (his whole attitude towards me changed after the meeting with the course instructor), "So I am going to get credit for the course?" Fortunately (for him and me, I suppose), he passed with a solid D. In some majors, that counts as passing.

So, now I have a whole ten days stretching out ahead of me like welcoming arms. I have exciting things to look forward to.

1) Going home this weekend and going to my 5 year high school reunion. Although this seems a bit cheesy (do we really want to see each other after only five years?), there are some people I am looking forward to seeing.

2) Eating at home. Being a poor graduate student means that I look forward to things such as not having to stock my own fridge, even if it's only for a week.

3) Seeing college roommates. Next weekend, I'm headed to the beach (another plus!) to see my dear three college roommates, Vickie, Heather, and Carolyn. I haven't seen Heather since graduation day and have only seen the other two a few times. I really hope this is a weekend full of relaxation, laughter, and connection.

4) Working on my thesis. Okay, I'm actually not looking forward to this at all, but if I put it on the list of things I should be doing in the next week or so, then maybe it will come true. We Perceivers (Myers Briggs lingo) are always hoping that somehow the act of making a list will miraculously turn us into organized, productive people, regardless of whether we actually do anything with the list or remember we have it.

5) Going on roller coasters. I am hoping to convince some people to go to an amusement park (if you're interested, let me know!) to scream my heart out and stand in way too long lines, eat crappy park food, and enjoy every second of it.

For now, I am about to leave my office, ready to turn in my final grades and be free of all the hassles of the past six weeks. I know they'll be some gems to recover from this mess eventually, but for now, I am just happy to be in the clear. Maybe I'll even go to the pool today and soak in some sunshine.