Yikes! I'm trying to get my course calendars arranged this week . . . actually, today. The kids and I are going to Youngstown tomorrow for a few days, to hang out with my father-in-law (we haven't been there all summer!), so I'm feeling like I have today and Friday to get ready for teaching.

And I'm feeling overwhelmed! There are standard department syllabi, so you would think that it would be fairly easy to slot everything in to the calendar . . . but such does not seem to be the case. One thing that's driving me nuts is that I'm teaching a M,W section and a Tu,Th section of the same class. It's impossible to synch the classes together, since this is the semester when we have Labor Day (a Monday holiday) at the beginning and Thanksgiving (a Thursday holiday) at the end. I'm ending up wanting to cancel the class right before Thanksgiving, but I'm sure they don't allow that . . .

And my other prep (business writing) is for classes that meet either [a] on Tuesday, from 8:10-11:00, or Monday and Wednesday. That's not so bad; Thanksgiving doesn't interfere, and Labor Day will be easier to work around (I think). But I just looked closely at that course schedule, and I see that there is a FINAL. A final!! I haven't seen it, and of course I won't be able to get to it; since this is the last week of vacation, the lead instructors are all somewhere else . . . as I will be next year, when I'm not panicking . . .

There are some coordinating events that have to happen at the end of the semester, too: In both classes, there are portfolios, which have to be ready at a particular time.

In short, I don't see how I can devise reasonable calendars. I don't have enough information.

This is particularly driving me crazy because I have to teach the business writing course online next (winter) semester - which will necessitate preparing a LOT of material, which I had hoped to do much of before classes start. It looks like there will be very little recourse except to work like a maniac over Christmas break and resign myself to playing catch-up all spring semester . . . YUCK!

I'm getting that familiar sickening, closed-in, can't-breathe feeling that I haven't had in four years . . .

Of course, I'm also getting a pleasant feeling watching my life be charted out between now and mid-December. There's something hopeful about preparing a syllabus, when all is said and done . . .