graduation was an excellent end to the year once again. since the ceremony is held at the cintas center, practically in my backyard, i walked again. and was a sweaty mess by the time i got there. at least this time i brought a towel with me to help with the cool down process. next year i'll have to bring a change of shirts. stupid overactive cooling system.
nearly six hundred graduates this year. i am always amazed at how many of the students i had little to no interaction with. so different from my student teaching experience where every senior was in one of my classes. i wish sometimes i could be a part of a smaller community where we got to know every student. but the number i did know was significant enough to make it a meaningful celebration. so great to see students taking that final step toward...(i almost said adulthood but anymore it's just the next stage of an extended adolescence. now is not the time to talk about that). and so great to see the joy on their faces as they walked out of the ceremony and saw the teachers lining the hallways, high-fives and handshakes and hugs punctuating congratulations and expressions of relief from both students and teachers. it was not the time to wonder what lie ahead, but the time to celebrate what they had accomplished. the future will wait one more day.
i did have one complaint: it seems to me if you spend three to five years of your life getting your masters degree, you should be allowed to wear your hood. if you can't wear it at graduation, when else are you going to get to wear it? i'm just sayin'.
stayed late after school to get as much grading as i could done before the final batch of exams. all the journals and late work are tallied up now. while first and second bell take theirs, i'll be grading the essay portion of fourth and fifth bell. then hopefully during third bell exam (my plan) i'll be able to get through a significant portion of first and second bell's exams. that will leave only their final reading reflection and any late work turned in tomorrow. the goal is to be completely done with grading by the time i step out the door in the afternoon so wednesday i just have to pack up my stuff and get the heck out of the dodge. here's hoping for a smooth transition to summer life.
for any of my faithful readers in the cincy area, i will be teaching this coming sunday morning in our weekly celebration at st. e's. 10:00AM. the question? what is God calling you away from. at least that's where i think God is leading. we'll see.
brian called today and told me he's bought his plane tickets for the tom waits show at the end of june. i need to figure out where we're going to stay - he flies into columbus on friday night and leaves sunday afternoon, so no use driving all the way back to cincy. i'll check with some of the friends we have up there - surely someone will put two wayfaring souls up for a couple of nights. i hope. looking forward to seeing brian again, especially since it will include seeing tom waits, too. we're trying to organize some kind of social gathering before the show. guess i should look into that as well. at least there's time for that.
last night i put together an over the rhine compilation for my friend kurt's wife. i probably should have been grading, but this was much more fun. i took two song from each of their major releases and one live track from besides. i left off the christmas songs. was tough whittling it down. here's the list, organized chronologically by cd (in case someone wants to compare it to what they'd put on such a cd).
If I'm Drowning
Paul And Virginia
Circle Of Quiet
Rhapsodie
Sleep Baby Jane
Bothered
My Love Is A Fever (Live)
Latter Days
The World Can Wait
Moth
B.P.D.
Nobody Number One
Drunkard's Prayer
Who Will Guard The Door
Trouble
Don't Wait For Tom
not a bad retrospective, if i do say so myself. and i do.
ok, time for bed. here's hoping i get everything done. come glorious end, so i might begin again.Æ
----------------
Now playing: Johnny Cash & Nick Cave - Cindy (With Nick Cave)
via FoxyTunes
