!!!!!!!

[kelly_chambliss]

Dear friends -- The following effusions will lack order, and they certainly will lack transitions between paragraphs. I have many things to exult over, and I offer you randomness (in the old sense of the word) and lack of organization as a metaphor for my current state: I'M FREE!

That's right -- I have read the last paper and the last exam. I have turned in all the grades. I have answered every school email outstanding. I have read the play that I have to critique at a workshop next week. I have either a) met with or b) scheduled year-end evaluation meetings with every member of my division. I have made all the doctors' appts. that I've been putting off. I have scheduled the car repairs and home repairs that I've been putting off until I had time. (I have time!!!!)

Yes, I still have the faculty evaluation letters to write and next week's graduation ceremony to get through. But the latter requires nothing of me except my presence in cap and gown, with a reasonably attentive expression on my face. I don't actually have to do anything; I don't even really have to listen. And the letters -- later. I'll do them later. They aren't due until June 1.

What am I going to do with my freedom? Read fanfic; I have a huge "to read" list pending. Write some fanfic. I am contemplating all sorts of fests. I've already signed up for femgenficathon and minerva-fest. And look at the following shiny fun things!!! (You should sign up, too.)

A new Snape community -- snape_ldws. It means, "Snape -- Last Drabble Writer Standing"; it's a drabble-challenge-contest comm. I know such a comm exists for Remus/Sirius, and I think Snape will be a blast. The first challenges are already up.

A new BDSM fest -- hp_ssc_fest. I'm telling you, the world needs loving, old-lady bdsm fic, and I am just the person to write some. So are you.

The second annual hp_femsmut prompt challenge for the International Day of Femslash. I have a soft spot for this fest because last year, I wrote a Minerva/Augusta story for it, called Brazen, that I ended up being quite fond of. It's the ultimate low-pressure fest. You can submit prompts even if you don't plan to write. (But you should plan to!)

And now, here are some gems from student exams and papers:

"Anthony Hecht's poem 'The Dover Bitch' makes a very profound point, and that point is that life, in general, is often overlooked."

"In 'The Wasteland,' T. S. Elliot [sic] says that April is a 'cruel month,' and this shows modernism in action."

"Perhaps the main reason that T. S. Eliot is considered a modernist poet is that he wrote during the modernist period, which started when writers and artists turned their backs on the Victorians in World War I."

And you'll be glad to hear that the unstoppable Auntie Muriel Weasley continues to get hot action at hp_beholder; she and the equally-insatiable Mr. Ollivander are featured in today's fest entry. (I haven't read it yet, but I'm looking forward to it.)

So, my friends, life is good! (Hope it's not too annoying of me to proclaim it. If it is [because really, other people's cheerfulness can be hard to take], rest assured that I'll be returning to my usual grumbly, whinge-y self soon enough. /g/)