It's all about meme.

Hi again--another lame excuse for posting, perhaps, but it's all I can muster these days. Thanks again indirectly to seabird78, and as before, I will not tag; please steal the guidelines and do 'em yourself if you're interested.

* Each blogger starts with ten random facts/habits about him/herself.
* Bloggers whom are tagged need to write on their own blog about their ten things and post these rules.
* At the end of your blog, you need to choose ten people to get tagged and list their names.

1. I made straight A's in math until my high school freshman year, when algebra came into the picture. Then, it was mostly B's and the occasional A. (Though I took biz calc in college and made an A.)

2. Yard work is not my forte, yet I find peace and relaxation in mowing the lawn and pulling weeds.

3. I haven't written a new poem or revised an old one in nearly a year.

4. I bite my fingernails, but only when they get long.

5. Once in a while (say, once every six months), I wish I were more of a typical male: beer-pounding, curse-word-spewing, dart-throwing, something. I resist my feminization even as I'm glad for it.

6. I miss my friends in western Kentucky, those who are still there and those who have moved on.

7. I'm getting married in May (provided we have a venue!).

8. I'm a closet fan of Game Show Network and know more about The Hollywood Squares than is healthy.

9. The last book that stirred me was Concerning the Book That is the Body of the Beloved, poems by Gregory Orr.

10. I'm way too hard on myself and at times don't know what to do about it.

What are we reading?

For me, it's currently Rick Bragg's All Over but the Shoutin', which I'm dashing through in time to do an oral report on for my memoir class. And in a word, the book's frustrating. I wait for it to settle down, but apparently it won't. Actually, now that he's into his dashing-around job-changing years at various newspapers, I'm just sorta rolling with it. I guess it's a memoir, but it sure is loose--not with the facts (I presume), but with the development.

I looked up Bragg on the lazy man's dream, Wikipedia, and found links to other places which limned his resignation from the New York Times a few years ago, because he'd taken credit for, or written himself, a story based on a stringer's notes and observations without giving credit to the stringer. Doesn't sound very sporting, and Bragg was apparently nonchalant and upfront about it, claiming to have done nothing that other writers haven't gotten away with. So since learning this, my estimation of him has gone down slightly.

The book is just ah-ight. The man had an amazingly hardscrabble childhood, and his mother sounds like a saint. I could read a whole book about her. Dare I say the book is more telling than showing? I extremely liked the chapter about when he went to the Baptist church; it's one of a few times where the writing is stopping to take a breath.

I don't really know how to focus this oral report I'm to do, yet, but I imagine I'll figure it out. I have two degrees in English, after all.

A new leaf, turned over.

Yes, I appear to have returned, but who knows, I may burrow deep again soon.

I proposed to the lovely lady on 8/28 and got a yes, so that's been the biggest deal of my life, so far. It was done just right, if I do say so myself. We went to one of our favorite local restaurants, I got down on one knee, and I was nervous. And dinner was just lovely, and the couple at the next table bought us each a glass of wine! I thought we were in a Frank Capra movie.

So plans proceed apace. We're this close (already) to nailing down the venue and the band, and the photographer may not be far behind. The date isn't until May next year, but why wait, especially when you're hyper-motivated?

I'm just trying not to think about the money...

On another note, and to reference the title, I've made a vow to spend less time grading essays this fall. I *must*, to stay sane. I have more students this fall than ever before. So far, so good: I churned through 18 short essays (1.5-2 pages each) in 2 hours this afternoon, roughly 9 per hour or 6-7 min. per essay. I'm forcing myself to write less or not at all on the essays themselves and just on my rubric sheet. Because you know, how many students really read what I write or care to delve into why they received the number they did? The ones who care are the (few) ones who sought me out in previous semesters and will do so again.

Everyone in this course has to revise two essays and re-submit them. Maybe, just maybe, my new method will force them to really re-read what they turned in.

In any case, it's a survival technique. And I finally don't feel guilty about it, after 10-plus years of full-time teaching. Wow. Maybe tomorrow I'll go bungee jumping.

He lives! (Actually, a cheat.)

Meme again stolen from seabird78--here we go. Like seabird78, I will not tag:

A) People who are tagged must answer on their blogs and replace any horrid question with questions of their own design.

B) Tag 8 people to do this quiz. These people must state who they were tagged by & cannot tag the person whom they were tagged by. Continue this game by sending it to other people.

1. How many songs are on your iPod?
I still don't own one. But on/in my iTunes player on this here computer, I dunno--150, perhaps.

2. Last book I really enjoyed?
American Band. About a marching band, and not Grand Funk.

3. Are you going to any concerts soon?
Probably Nanci Griffith, Variety Playhouse, early Oct.

4. What is your favorite scent?
Spearmint. Also honeysuckle.

5. If you had a million dollars that you could only spend on yourself, what would you do with it?
Pay off credit card, buy a new house, go wild on iTunes. The rest--yes--I'd probably save. And I'd teach part-time only.

6. What is your theme song?
Nearsighted, by Rupert Holmes.

7. Do you trust easily?
Yes.

8. Do you generally think before you act, or act before you think?
The former, big-time.

9. What are you most looking forward to right now?
In 2 hours, a lovely dinner and wine and talk with my fiance and two good friends.

10. Do you have a good body image?
Mostly, yes.

11. What's one thing you love to do that you really suck at?
Wow. I don't know. I tend not to pursue things I suck at. For a while last winter, yoga.

12. What websites do you visit daily?
Gmail, NYT, AJC, YouTube.

13. What have you been seriously addicted to lately?
String cheese.

14. What kind of person do you think the person who tagged you is?
Well, indirectly tagged by seabird, I'd say introspective, slow to judge, anxious about writing--just like me!

15. What's the last song that got stuck in your head?
More Today than Yesterday, by Spiral Starecase (yes, that's how they spelled it).

16. What's your favorite pair of pants?
They're light-chocolate brown with pinstripes.

17. Do you think Rice Crispies are yummy?
Neutral.

18. What would you do if you saw $100 lying on the ground?
Take it and run.

19. What [item] could you not go without during the day?
My wallet.

20. What should you be doing right now?
Making a list of potential wedding invitees.