School's Out for Win-ter!

Last Day of Class
Originally uploaded by erasmus.

Almost anyway. Today was the last day of the semester for my English 109 class--American Literature and American Culture.

Here's our class photo, or one of them. It features about 75% of the students, a lower turnout than I would like. Thanks to Doug, for graciously volunteering to shoot this picture. He's the absent presence whose gaze is behind the lens.

Once again, I only display my full smile in the blurry shots, but I can't complain. This time of year, its not unusual for everyone on campus, students and faculty alike, to look a bit peaked. It's a busy, stressful time.

At UIC, the last week of classes is the week after the Thanksgiving holiday, which has always struck me as being piss-poor planning, particularly since we don't have a fall break and, up until Thanksgiving, have been going more or less full throttle since the third week of August (sorry but one day off for Labor Day doesn't count). Then it's two days off for Thanksgiving and back to school for the last week and finals. It can be brutal.

But it almost over. I've already started reading a few of the final papers and so far so good.

By the way, didja catch (Michael) Stipe on (Tavis) Smiley tonight? Or Lyle Lovett on Letterman?