20160302.0613

I feel as if I have been struck in the face--a feeling with which I am familiar, having been struck in the face many times both intentionally and inadvertently. (Years of martial arts, as well as years of being a nerd in a place and time that allowed for bullying...) If I was smacked, it was just outside and below my left eye; there is a feeling of swelling and lingering soreness there, and I think some kind of bruise or something is forming. (The lighting in the bathroom at Sherwood Cottage--and there is only the one; it is a cottage--is not always the best to use to investigate such things, and I hesitate to wake the Mrs. to have her take a look at it.) The only problem is that I do not remember being struck; if I did, I would know what is going on, and I could take appropriate measures. (I have been hit in the face many times, recall; I have some useful ideas about how to respond to the event in both the short and longer terms.) But I do not, so I cannot; treatment is of sharply limited efficacy when the cause of symptoms is unknown.

Despite the feeling, however, work continues. I will be back in the classroom for all four of my classes today; three will continue to discuss concerns supporting the infographic I wrote of yesterday and managed to compile. (The result is here.) I also compiled my report of student surveys (here), which I will be using in some ways to adjust my classroom practices a bit more. One class will be turning in a paper, which means I will have four classes' materials to assess--but I have only myself to blame for the pile-up. I have had three of the stacks of grading to do since last Friday, and I have not seen to them. I supposed I shall need to attend to that particular task--and, given the relative brevity of the assignments facing me, as well as the fact that one class is quite small and another has a low assignment submission rate, I know the grading will go reasonably quickly. The task still reads to me as perhaps the least pleasant I face in my line of work. I still do it, however, if perhaps differently than others, as I note elsewhere. (That I have been busy with writing in other places should be obvious.)

Other matters also command my attention, as they always do. I shall see to them in some way or another; I have no other real choice, especially if I want to continue to at least try to provide a good and useful model of behavior to Ms. 8--who remains happy and energetic, learning more words daily and growing ever more emphatically herself; she has always had a decided personality, and it is becoming more pronounced by the day if not by the waking hour. It seems a good personality, though (for the most part; we all have less pleasant parts of our personae), and I am glad to see it emerge in abundance; it will serve her well in years to come, so long as she has decent models of conduct to follow.