Almost there

It was kind of fun to fill in the dates in my gradebook today. Highlighting out the Thanksgiving and Christmas breaks. Even though there are technically six weeks to the break, I will be out most of next week, this week is already over, so just a week prior to Thanksgiving. Then two and a fraction after that before Christmas. It will FLY by. yeah, right.

The election results ramped the kids up, and brought an interesting racial revelation to light. Almost all my students think because I am white I naturally had to have voted for McCain. I don't discuss politics or religion, so they have no reason to think one way or another. But I find the more unsavory, unimaginitive kids to be the ones to use "McCain" as a curse to me, or to sing-song "McCain lost." It is humorous on the surface, but the underlying message is pretty disturbing.

Little nice things - A book I have been awaiting (Anathem by Neal Stephenson) is in at the library, just in time to take it for a 7-day loaner to Colorado. Probably stop by there coming home tomorrow. I have most of my planning done for next week, just have to run off a bunch of copies and such. There have been a number of kids transferred off the team or just moved to other schools, which has lessened the burden somewhat. Still too many broken ones.

Fall is certainly here. Some trees have leaves directly below, no windblown patches or anything. As if they got Agent Orange'd and *flump* all the leaves just fell off in an instant. Going to make riding somewhat problematical. I can manage small sticks, nuts of varying states of consumption, but wet leaves, not so much. And now, as I am typing (instead of during the day when I could do something about it) I remember that the front break on the bike is not totally secure, which means it won't work. Good thing I never use it.