Today marks the 105th anniversary of the day James Joyce first "stepped out" with his wife-to-be, Nora Barnacle, the day he later turned into the longest day in the history of literature. My all-time favorite novel Ulysses takes place on June 16, a day that is now known as "Bloomsday" after its famous protagonist Leopold Bloom.
I was planning on doing a series of blogs today recounting my thoughts and experiences as they transpired, but as I write this in the dwindling minutes before my grad class on geometry begins I realize that it wouldn't have been all that varied or interesting. I have been grading papers for what feels like the last five years. Practice state tests, unit tests, final exams--you name it, I've graded it. Today was the big state test on geometry. I spent the morning hyping my students up and then administering the test, and the last 4 hours of my life were spent grading all the tests. The good news is that the results have been encouraging so far. The bad news is that I still need to finish grading tonight and tomorrow morning. Then I might finally be done.
Ulysses is a story about everyday mundanities, but there wasn't much of an arc to my day. At least not yet. The night is still young. So many more papers left to grade....
Actually a lot has been going on, and I have a lot to say. I just can't seem to find the time. I'll try to write more--maybe tonight. Hopefully I'll have a pint of Guinness in my belly as I drink to Stephen Daedalus and Leo Bloom and the magic of the ordinary.
