Because I should be grading right now...

... I'm going to write this post. Obviously. (warning: it's full of exclamation marks. At least it's not caps like Dooce ;)

In any case, I've been busy and I haven't blogged because blogging is in my list of "forbidden" procrastination tactics and I try not to "go there" although I do all the other things I shouldn't do. Including those that I legitimately need to do around the house, but which I shouldn't because there's so much grading to be done.

before I go back to talking of work, what are -- you might be asking -- these things that need to get done around the house?
Well, well, well, this weekend we are going to have guests from Brazil (my former music history teacher, her husband and her mom -- their son is studying in the boarding academy in our town) and... if that weren't enough, I'm also hosting a small wedding shower for two of our friends who are getting married in a month.

so... I need to clean, clean, clean, do laundry (accumulated in the last 2-3 weeks to2 months, if you count table-cloths, which reminds me that I was going to buy this beautiful tablecloth yesterday and I forgot! But it was 20 bucks... but it matches the decor... whatever), try to clean the fridge. Plan the menu, shop for food, etc. etc.

And I also WISH we could paint the hall bathroom before Friday. I should go do that right now. I think it's a great and legitimate procrastination tactic, unlike blogging.


But this is not the worst, the worst happened last week. After I taught my last day of classes, I knew I should get right into grading, but a friend (from grad school, no less!) posted a link to PBS's Masterpiece to facebook, saying that she just couldn't help it when it came to Downton Abbey. I commented back, saying that after a marathon watching season one back in February, I hadn't had time to see Season 2 yet. I knew it wasn't available for watching in the pbs website anymore, but I went there anyway.

Guess what? I ended up watching all of Great Expectations, whose episode 1 expires today and 2 on the 8th. This is one of the two books by Dickens that I actually read (the other is David Copperfield -- I wish I could follow in my friend Jamie's footsteps and read all of Dickens, sigh...) and I thought it was a really interesting and pretty disturbing work. I wish I could re-read it because it's obviously much superior to the adaptation... but, of course I don't have time.

Then, instead of working all weekend long -- and it was a long weekend because our sons didn't have school on Friday (the school is using up its unused snow-days) -- we went to the Brazilian consulate in Washington D.C. to get our passports (only not for Kelvin) -- D.C.'s Brazilian consulate is infinitely better than New York City's!!! And then... we went to Pennsylvania to visit our friends, stopping for one delightful hour at Longwood Gardens (where I forgot my camera in the CAR!!!).

The weekend was lovely, but we were talking to our friends until 3 am on Friday and then again until 1 am -- almost falling asleep over freshly made sushi -- I was SO excited I got to teach them how to make sushi!!! And then on Sunday we had an almost 4h mad-dash from PA to VA to get 1/2 hour late to soccer...

So, yeah, I guess I'm all caught up with my three blog readers now, right?

Well, except for all the cooking I did two weeks ago (some last week) and all the craziness trying to buy pillows for the living room, but these will be later posts!! (and I haven't forgotten about my bathroom's before and after).

Now... back to grading! I'm sure I'll be way more productive now that I've finally relented and blogged!