Transition Begins

I have finished teaching in my tutorials for the year! Last week I gave my students a practice essay to work on, talked about symbolism in a film called Jindabyne, and then set them free to study for the exams. Some students left me with very polite and sincere thanks which was nice.

The family I often babysit for recently moved to Sydney, Australia. After church on Sunday I went over to play with the kids and say goodbye. They were both a little sick, but we still managed to jump on the trampoline, hide under laundry baskets, ride bikes, and throw balls around. Since I am planning to visit them when I go to Sydney at the end of November, it was really more of a 'see you later' than a 'goodbye'.

Did I mention that I'm going to Sydney? I will be meeting up with my friend Steve Yao (Hey Brother!) I am looking forward to seeing the city, surfing and catching up with friends.

But before I can even think about enjoying any of that I have to finish my thesis! Back to work...

Tired...

Taking a break from editing my thesis... At this point in my revisions I am looking at about 31,000 words completed out of a minimum of 36,000. It blows my mind to think about it, so I'm not going to for the rest of the night. I also have to prepare for my tutorials tomorrow but I think that might fall slightly to the wayside for now. Last week was great fun as I got to teach on Singin' in the Rain--best job ever!

I am following the baseball playoffs as best I can and I am nervously excited to see if the White Sox can pull a win out of this series against the Rays. Even if we don't we have still managed to do better than the Cubs, and that is what matters. Go WHITE SOX!

So a few weeks ago I played at a coffee shop event we had at church. I was originally told that I would be doing two songs. A few weeks later, on the day of the event I was told that I would be playing four to six songs. I ended up playing seven! Luckily I had been practicing hard all week. Here's the set list for those who are interested:
---Strength to Try
---Favorite Place
---Hope
(break)
---When You're Gone (aka Dysfunctional Love Song)
---Noah and the Banyan Tree (Ben Bishop cover)
---Smaller Than I Was (new version)
---Farther Along (traditional hymn)
When it was all over I jumped off an amp doing the windmill and scissors kick and then set my guitar on fire. Just kidding.

Exciting news: I received my absentee ballot in the mail! I showed it off to my German friends who would gladly fill it in and vote for Barack Obama if I let them. I was just disappointed there were no Communists on the ballot this year...

Random Rules:
Tombstone Blues --- Bob Dylan
Amy in the White Coat --- Bright Eyes
Thou Shalt Always Kill --- Dan Le Sac vs. Scroobius Pip
Farewell to Ernest --- Jyotrinda Moitra and Ustad Ali Akbar Khan
Second Chance --- Liam Finn
Daughters Will Tune You --- Danielson

Good night!