Man, I've Been Away Too Long...

I have a feeling (and you'll probably all agree with me, even if you don't vocalize it) that this week was a bit of a vacation for 391. As in... well, I know that besides some reading for my research paper (well, more than a little) I've accomplished very little actual work. It's bad practice to admit that on an open forum, I know, but as long as it's all done by the due date, right?

No one? Huh.

Anyway, I've no idea what this blog post is REALLY about, but it's Thursday and the little syllabus box on the right demands it. A few ideas came to mind, though:

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1) I could talk about some of the consultations I've had this week. I mean, why not? I had a few good ones this week: a semi-regular ESL student who's surprising me with the fixes he makes (articles and prepositions) on different papers between visits; a sweet IAH paper comparing/contrasting modern-day use of Prozac and Soma in Huxley's Brave New World; and yet another advertising assignment. I thought we were done with these?

2) I could talk about some of my research for the paper. It's all about organizing what tropes (and what types of tropes) I might want to use, and whether or not I'm including those simple one-word techniques or larger concepts that may or may not be more useful in Writing Center terms. Seems like what I want to do is getting farther and farther away from what I had in mind... I need to get a better handle on this, ha ha.

...Oh, don't look so cocky. How're yours coming?

3) I could rebuke David's rather terse confrontation (unmerited it as it is) of our presentation last week. After all, I believe (scratch that; I know) some concerns with Murray are more valid than others. Having the intense encounter with A Writer Teaches Writing as I did these past few weeks gave me a better idea of how Murray was a guru in his time, but the mere fact that this book was aimed at Freshman Comp teachers and TA's rightly concerned me. Aren't we tired of having Murray and his cohorts tell us what to do? Well, maybe not, as not all of us have read as much Murray, and most of you are probably sick of hearing about my own sickness with the man. If that's the case, skip this part. Go on.

But the man is snarky. What he does with processes and methods of outlining and organization he does well, but much of the meta-writing stuff like good writing habits (the cornerstone of being a successful writer is everyday practice) can't be taught in a single fifty-minute space. It simply can't be, especially when we don't have a twice-a-week comp class to back up and check those habits. Is this book meant for us in the consulting process? Anybody can open that book and find the pompous authority hidden in a fog of "Ofcoursethisisonlyonewayofdoingthings-youdon'tneedtolistentome". I simply don't agree, and would like to show that perhaps such methods may not work for us. Allow me to have my foibles; attack me not for holding them.

But seeing how David seems to feed on the rage/pointless anecdotes/unorthodox sport preferences of others, I see little need to add any more to that red-headed blaze. Anything further might risk an ad hominem in-class tirade that I have neither the time nor the energy (nor the steady knees and biting rhetoric; I'm fragile) to properly repel. At least he keeps his blogs nice and short.

I have no such virtue. All Blessings on the Return Key! May Heaven Bless and Keep You!

4) Or I could pull together some old posts or rewrite one of the reading responses OH GOD IT SOUNDS BORING THE MOMENT I TYPE IT ARRRGGGGGGHHHHHHH.
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Or I could surprise you! It was the list! That was the twist! The list twist was the body of the blog post all along! He was dead the whole time. I am truly this century's M. Night Shama... Schmala.... Symantec.... Sha-nanana.... Huh. Krish, I need some help.

/endcasualracism

*Phew*. Anyway, that's it. Take two of these and call a REAL doctor in the morning.

(Now imagine what this would look like if it was a 12-point font!)