Well, gee. I took a colleague's advice today and did an in-class activity based on a reading he recommended . . . and as a result, I sufficiently scared some people about their upcoming papers to the point that three of them made appointments to come see me tomorrow. Sheesh. I'd had a 2 and a half hour time block between meetings, and I was planning to go swimming at the MSU outdoor pool during that time. Not any more . . . *sigh*

But actually, I'm pleased. I managed to head off about a half-dozen train-wrecks-in-waiting during my classes today - and maybe even a few I don't know about, too. And as my colleague points out, this'll make the grading easier when the papers roll in . . . nothing so stultifying as bad, boring papers . . . I'm still not terribly optimistic (because I hate being let down), but at least things look good from this vantage point!

And I don't really need to swim tomorrow, anyhow: I've managed, again, to ride my bike from my colleague's house. So I'll have had two days with 10-mile rides this week. So satisfying, both intellectually (as in, counting up the miles and ticking off the "must exercise" box on the to-do list) and from the pure pleasure of riding . . .

(Besides. I still have time to swim indoors here tomorrow.)

Well, time to hit the tarmac . . .