materials and methods

In an effort to unsettle any future students who may stumble across this blog, this post from Concurring Opinions to the method I use when grading. The comments to it are highly indicative of what spending too much time with whining undergraduates will do to your perspective on life.

Fortunately a good long drive is good for perspective. Solitary time in the limbo that is travelling back from Saturday night insanity in a distant town is a major ingredient for sanity. I like road trips, even short ones. There is something soothing about the rural Texas country side flying by on a Sunday afternoon and sometimes all I really need is to get out of Austin for 24 hours.

I'm trying to spend my two day week getting things together to head home. I have big plans to get a start on my thesis. Next semester is beginning to bear down on me and this is one way to minimize the trouble to be found in having more things to do than I have energy to devote to them. Else, I may find myself using the above method for grading papers.