Was in chilly Ottawa for the last few days. We got -20 with wind chill where my hat was sort of flying off my head. Though somehow (because packing error) I showed up with not one but two umbrellas which was a source of perplexity to security in one of the buildings I was working in.
Marking essays and preparing for the onslaught of accommodated exams starting tomorrow. I am blessed with excellent staff in the Student Accessibility Centre ( our mandate is to coordinate academic accommodations for students with documented disabilities).
My friends think it's funny that I should be throwing salt on the roof of the (single storey) house to try to get the ice packs to slip off. The snow rake has already seen more use this month than most winters. We had a neighbour years ago in Montreal who would take his snowblower onto his low pitched roof, dangling the electrical cable behind him.
Went to a nursing home Christmas party last night. Ran from 7-8. Many of the residents were being taken back to their rooms part way through. My 90 year old father stuck it out to the end.
A friend at the YMCA this morning asked a man from India how he was coping with the current weather. He gave him a look and said, "It is nothing - I spent three years in England".
We went to see the Tallis Scholars at the North York performing arts centre on Sunday, braving a TTC transit chaos that prompted our friend to give up on ever getting there. English music with a Marian theme, mostly Renaissance but also a fine performance of Britten’s Hymn to the Virgin. Good stuff in a great (and sadly underused) concert hall.
Working on lesson plans for next term. I am off after this Friday and not back until January 5. I hit the ground running that day with class at 0830. This term's take home exams are due on the 20th so I will be marking on my first few days of vacation.
Working on lesson plans for next term. I am off after this Friday and not back until January 5. I hit the ground running that day with class at 0830. This term's take home exams are due on the 20th so I will be marking on my first few days of vacation.
That’s similar to me, I had a pile of assignments arrive in my in box this morning and I have already started marking them as we break up on Friday. I also come back on the 5th; I don’t envy you the 8.30 class (as I teach in a distance learning university my few online classes are often delivered in the evening for 2 hours so are exhausting in a different way).
Have a good break from teaching.
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Have a good break from teaching.