30.5.05

And we're off ---

I was going to blog about Friday being the last day of the school term, but it seemed anticlimactic by the time the day rolled around. The kids had won their trophies, the school had earned its half-days off, and even the weather wasn't so icky anymore. We'd all survived, intact.

Over the weekend, I savoured the freedom of it all. It was the first weekend in slightly over a month that I didn't have to spend grading assignments, or didn't have to be anywhere, anytime, really, except wherever I decided to take myself. Okay, I had to see the mater off at the airport on Saturday morning, but even the fact that she's taking a four-week (!!) vacation in one of my favourite parts of the world while I'll spend the same four weeks plugging away at other work in school didn't put a dent in my easy mood.

Yeah, contrary to conventional wisdom that teachers get massive vacation time, the truth is that I will be spending a lot of time in school during these mid-year holidays. I was back there today, bright and early at 9:15 am. I could bring some of this work home to do, but home is where the bed and the TV and the DVDs and the internet are, and we all know how conducive they can be when real work needs to get done.

No, I've got my to-do list, and my vacation work ethic (which is considerably more resilient than its term-time counterpart), and four weeks to get my shit together. Today started off well, with me devouring Nigel Warburton's Philosophy: The Basics in less than five hours. I don't necessarily remember the finer details of everything I read, but the gist was all I needed. Tomorrow, we'll tackle epistemology. Wish me luck.

9 Comments:

At 5/31/2005 11:25 pm , Anonymous Anonymous said...

What the hell is epistemology?!

Anyway, I give you props for actually being able to sit down for 5 hours reading a book on philosophy. I have the attention span of a ball bearing -- hell, I can't even sit through a proper 2hour movie on DVD, much less 5 hours on a book. My lack of discpline is why I can barely ever finish thick books -- I never really finished any of my literature readings in JC.

Hope your students aren't anything like me at all.

 
At 5/31/2005 11:29 pm , Anonymous Anonymous said...

Oh, and premiere of Joss Whedon's Serenity is on September 30, in US of course. Hopefully the movie will find its way to our shores.

 
At 6/01/2005 11:27 am , Blogger Tym said...

TaLieSin --- Nigel Warburton's with the Open University. He's put out a number of readable books on philosophy. Thanks for your suggestion --- will get to it after I cover the basic stuff.

Mr Moron --- Epistemology is the study of how knowledge is constructed, i.e. how we know what we know, what is the basis of knowledge, that sorta thing. Mindblowing stuff --- also mind-killing, depending on the book.

Btw, I didn't do 5 hours of reading in one sitting. I'm a good reader, but not that good. That first book was just about 150 pages; the epistemology one's demanding almost 400 pages out of me. It's much more slow-going...

Serenity! Yes!!!

 
At 6/01/2005 11:46 am , Blogger ichoisarius said...

hey, good news! I'm getting a phoner with Anthony Heald today because he's hosting some new Discovery show called True Horror (vampires, ghouls, zombies... yeah. Again). Any burning questions you've always wanted to ask Giles?

 
At 6/01/2005 9:19 pm , Blogger Tym said...

OMG you are so lucky!!

I'm not really a swooning fangirl, but how about:
1) When is he releasing his own album already?? We want to hear more of that sexy voice!
2) (Assuming the interview is BtVS-oriented) How do you think the show changed and developed over its 7-year run, from an insider's point-of-view?
3) ...

On second thought, I have no real burning questions, only pure adulation. Please tell him what a fine, fine actor he is (not just on BtVS) and that we his adoring fans obviously look forward to whatever he's up to next. Woot!

 
At 6/01/2005 11:51 pm , Blogger Terz said...

Uh, dude and dudette, is it Anthony Head (as in Anthony Stewart Head - Giles) or Anthony Heald (vice-principal on Boston Public)?

Don't waste a good swoon.

 
At 6/02/2005 12:00 am , Blogger Tym said...

This is ichiosarius, so I'm pretty sure it's Tony Head :)

 
At 6/02/2005 12:17 am , Blogger ichoisarius said...

It's Head. =) I stand corrected.

 
At 6/02/2005 10:22 am , Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hahaha...!

He *was* good, though.

 

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