I just finished my last class of the semester. I feel tremendous relief; I'm almost ready to party! Not quite, though; I still have 85 papers to grade. Nearly a dozen students failed (through excessive absences) or withdrew during the course of the semester; over half of those during this past week.

On top of that, I'm kind of between books right now, so there's really nothing to distract me during my paper-grading. ("Kind of" because there are always unfinished books on my shelf, with bookmarks sticking out like hands, waving, "Come read me!")

Last night my friend and former martial arts instructor, Rory Singer, won his first nationally televised fight on Spike TV, knocking out his opponent at the beginning of the second round with a kick to the head. He won $5000 and advanced to the next round in the Ultimate Fighter reality show.

Congrats, Rory!