(Private)
There is not a fiercer hell than the failure in a great object. Keats from Preface to Endymion
I wonder, in brief moments of hubris, if any of my students regard my classes in this manner? As for myself, this damnable paper becomes more and more consternating the longer I work on it. It's so close to completion and yet that summit is still so far away. Like the climbers of Everest, I feel trapped at the final camp, unable to ascend due to climate conditions and my own limitations. It is not the research that is lacking. Indeed, perhaps I have too much information - if such a thing can ever be possible when it comes to historical writing. The summation of my material is also in decent shape. But the evaluation and some of the secondary points of my thesis are not stated as well as I would like. And the conclusion (oh how I hate these things) is in shambles. Time is fast progressing. There is much to do and I do not how I will manage it all.
On a somewhat brighter note, the situation on the homefront has vastly improved over the previous cold war state. Pitiful that I had to be the paranoid U.S. and Shanks the beleagered and confused Soviet states. I wonder, what does that make Mihawk? Not China, certainly. Maybe a Western European communist party trapped in an emergent socialist democracy. Or...some sort of reverse Cuba. Regardless, I think we're beyond detente, Star Wars, and all of that and perhaps nearing Gorbachev and Berlin. And in order to make sure that relations remain normalized, I need to do several things. Including going to that most dreaded of places...Disneyland.
Wretched den of historical inaccuracy, I curse thee! Ahem, but they have some of Shanks' beloved (and hopelessly tacky) Dickens' Christmas Village pieces, including his long-sought Westminster Abbey. Thusly, in order to ensure peace in our time, I shall have to find the time to brave the consumer-packed halls of the mouse house and purchase yet another item to shrink my closet space. Ah well, he'll love it and that's all that really matters. I still have no thoughts on what else to get. I am curious as to why he stopped leaving hints all over the place, but perhaps this merely illustrates my continuing ignorance recently when it comes to Shanks' moods and thoughts. But I am determined to start exerting more than just a modicum of effort when it comes to our relationship. Once this damnable paper is completed, I will definitely have to figure out a way to raise certain topics with him.
Perhaps worst of all, I face two sections of Western Civilization finals tomorrow and far too many tests to grade. If only it were not necessary to give them an essay. Multiple choice would make my life so much easier, but rote knowledge of dates and places does not indicate understanding of the underlying concepts and decisions and forces that drive history. This weekend is not going to be a pleasant one.
I wonder, in brief moments of hubris, if any of my students regard my classes in this manner? As for myself, this damnable paper becomes more and more consternating the longer I work on it. It's so close to completion and yet that summit is still so far away. Like the climbers of Everest, I feel trapped at the final camp, unable to ascend due to climate conditions and my own limitations. It is not the research that is lacking. Indeed, perhaps I have too much information - if such a thing can ever be possible when it comes to historical writing. The summation of my material is also in decent shape. But the evaluation and some of the secondary points of my thesis are not stated as well as I would like. And the conclusion (oh how I hate these things) is in shambles. Time is fast progressing. There is much to do and I do not how I will manage it all.
On a somewhat brighter note, the situation on the homefront has vastly improved over the previous cold war state. Pitiful that I had to be the paranoid U.S. and Shanks the beleagered and confused Soviet states. I wonder, what does that make Mihawk? Not China, certainly. Maybe a Western European communist party trapped in an emergent socialist democracy. Or...some sort of reverse Cuba. Regardless, I think we're beyond detente, Star Wars, and all of that and perhaps nearing Gorbachev and Berlin. And in order to make sure that relations remain normalized, I need to do several things. Including going to that most dreaded of places...Disneyland.
Wretched den of historical inaccuracy, I curse thee! Ahem, but they have some of Shanks' beloved (and hopelessly tacky) Dickens' Christmas Village pieces, including his long-sought Westminster Abbey. Thusly, in order to ensure peace in our time, I shall have to find the time to brave the consumer-packed halls of the mouse house and purchase yet another item to shrink my closet space. Ah well, he'll love it and that's all that really matters. I still have no thoughts on what else to get. I am curious as to why he stopped leaving hints all over the place, but perhaps this merely illustrates my continuing ignorance recently when it comes to Shanks' moods and thoughts. But I am determined to start exerting more than just a modicum of effort when it comes to our relationship. Once this damnable paper is completed, I will definitely have to figure out a way to raise certain topics with him.
Perhaps worst of all, I face two sections of Western Civilization finals tomorrow and far too many tests to grade. If only it were not necessary to give them an essay. Multiple choice would make my life so much easier, but rote knowledge of dates and places does not indicate understanding of the underlying concepts and decisions and forces that drive history. This weekend is not going to be a pleasant one.