27 October 2001

[Lowering Standards for Rich Kids]

should college freshmen be allowed to pass College Composition if they refuse to learn proper MLA style? for some reason, it doesn't matter how many handouts i provide or how many examples i do on the board, a majority of my students do not understand that all information pulled from outside sources needs to be cited - even paraphrased facts - not just direct quotes. i will threaten them with failure if they do not start paying attention - because that's 99 percent of it. if they don't cite properly, chances are they are not paying attention. right now, i have about 4 or 5 kids who are going to fail with F's. there are another 4 or so that will fail with a D (you need a C- to pass composition 111). there will be 3 or 4 A's. 5 B's. 5 C's. if it actually turns out that way, i'll be amazed. actually, i think more will end up failing than what i just predicted. these papers are horrible. if i had the willpower to replicate such hideous papers, i'd retype one and post it for fun.

26 October 2001

[Kyle Took a Bullet for Me]

i'm listening to tenacious d right now. funny stuff. makes me giddy. i guess i ought to do a plug for ted's pawn shop. i suppose that's it's apparent that i finally got my digital camera out.

26 October 2001

[Ought to be Studying?]

i'm really bad at keeping this journal. life has been such a whirlwind of events lately, on the personal and not-so-personal level. two weeks ago i had major money issues, which were escalated when the bank's courier didn't show up friday afternoon, resulting in my 700 dollar cash deposit not going through, making for a miserable weekend indeed. that was probably for the better consiering i'm broke right now with two rents to pay - my apartment and my storage fee. i get paid from miami on the 31st - which will cover my apartment rent. but i'll have to call the storage people and ask them to delay running my check card until the 5th - when my direct deposit from my other job goes through. looks like there will be no halloween fun for me this year - just like last year. i so wanted to get all dressed up and get wasted. but i have no money for a costume. i could just get dressed up. i stuff to wear and all. looking scary is good enough. but i so wanted to be a catholic school girl with Tom as my molester / priest. i have the plaid skirt and all but it's really small - almost too small to be tastefully slutty. need to find priest collar. C'est la vie; we'll just go as freaks. no biggie. i think we'll hit the warehouse. i want to get drunk. i've already asked for november 1st off. november will be my study month - taking one of my comprehensive finals! woo-hoo! nothing like having to write for 6 hours straight. i get so used to typing that using my hands to write with a pen is painstakingly laborious sometime. wish me luck!

20 October 2001

[In Other, More Exciting News]

i had a big-ass glass of beer with dinner last night.

18 October 2001

[I Love You, Pay Day]

counting down until friday - pay day. when one has a balance of negative eighty-two dollars in his or her checking account, the minutes until the paycheck is cashed and/or deposited seem to linger like molassas on a sunday afternoon.

11 October 2001

[Bored]

i can't believe it's been a month since the terrorist attacks. unfortunately, it's not over. because we're dealing with people who are insane for the most part, there's no telling what will happen next. i think the next strike will occur while we are acting paranoid about mysterious powders and anthrax contamination. while i understand that there is a need to freak out, i think that much of the hype is just going to make us more unprepared for the next lunatic who decides to die for god or the bastardized version of jihad we have experienced. of course, i'm sure there are people watching our backs somewhere. people with stone cold straight expressionless faces, ready to die, ready to pounce the opposition, ready to shoot down any plane at a seconds notice. we are so weak. as a country, america is a baby. while we are the most advanced technology-wise, we are so nieve. we are like icarus. we have our wings and want to fly. but we are far too cocky about our ascent. my boss' best friend's mother went to flight school with three of the terrorists. one of them was crazy. he was rude. he wanted to do things his way. he didn't want to learn about safety procedures. he acted like an complete ass. he was taken aside and told that if he didn't cool down, he'd be asked to leave the flight school. can you believe it? this haughty mother fucker was given a second chance. why? because we are too fucking politically correct. we have take it when foreigners acts like jerks, because that's just "them." but, if that were an american - black, white, yellow, green - he or she would have kicked out. i guarantee. we are far too kind to strangers. we dust off our welcome mats for everyone, and because of this we are violated. why can't we treat everyone the same? i don't mean to sound like a conservative jerk (because i'm not in the least). but we need to be considerate to everyone. if this includes stepping back from out political correctness and our welcoming attitude, then so be it. on an unrelated note, today was a pain in the ass at work. children are evil.

02 October 2001

[Teens: What Can You Expect From Them?]

my problem student e-mailed me to ask if i got his paper. supposedly he put it in my mailbox around five last evening. he's gonna *get it* tomorrow. he needed to be reemed weeks ago. a late paper only earns half the possible points. if you are not in class, the paper is considered late. my students know this. i put it in words; it is official. sucks to be him. he tried to tell me that his computer was messed up. i can't buy it, especially when there are numerous computer labs all over campus. in addition to his last ditch paper effort, this student failed to contact me prior to his last two absences (which have been during the last two class meetings. he will not be able to make up the quiz i gave. and i know he's going to whine about it. tough. he's walking on thin ice. he acts up in class. he yells out like an idiot and riles up the other boys who are borderline immature. but what can i do with a college student who says "i'm only a teenager; what do you expect?" he deserves to be treated like a child. Besides this, he's a lousy writer. he comes across like he's brilliant. He's a poor excuse for a politician. i am not a babysitter. however, he certainly needs one.