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Saturday, January 13, 2018 My Couch I planned for today’s trip by checking the weather forecast carefully throughout Friday evening and then not setting my alarm for Saturday morning. Just no. Awakening at a positively adolescent 7am, I loaded my gear onto the coffee table and began the day’s mission. Stoke levels were high, since the weather was warm and dry; really perfect essay-grading conditions. I chose my 13-inch MacBook Air, which I think was the right tool for the conditions. Definitely the right length, though I could have gone with a 15” for more visibility. There were no crowds at the couch save for an old, snoring tabby. I estimated being able to get in about 7-10 essays per hour and I wasn’t wrong. Low stoke level. In a total gaper move, I checked PASR before getting started. A real distraction. I think I need some lessons on how to stay focused. I don’t want anyone lower than a level III instructor, though. I have unique focus issues. Once I got down to business, the day turned out to be more challenging than I’d hoped. I expected strong, clear, and thorough thesis statements, and instead found myself slogging through piles of hyper-generalized bullshit about “people” doing things “back in the day.” I had to deploy a lot of warnings about using the first-person voice and ended up taking more breaks than I’d planned because it was just rough-going at times. Disappointing conditions here. I’ll probably keep at it until the evening, but I’m definitely going to hit the kitchen for a couple of beers later. A good day overall. Better than unemployment anyway.