Last Day of Class

Tomorrow is my last day of classes for the fall semester. Next week is finals, which is really freaking me out. Today was my last day of American Literature and British Literature. I've taken both parts of each now, which means I'm probably not going to have Professor Mayhan anymore (he teachers a Victorian poetry class...but ugh...poetry). He's about the only teacher I've had out here that was worth a damn. The man is a giant (intellectually I mean...he's actually sort of short in stature), in total command of his subject (British Literature) and his classroom. His lectures were insightful, thought provoking, and most importantly--about more than just literature. Mayhan found a way to make our assigned readings mean more than just pretty words on a page. He injects life into dead men's words. I've never had a class that left me pondering the "big" questions of life as frequently as his did. I liked how he always found a way to play opera (his other great love) for us. I will miss his way to relate everything to gay sex. Everyone else in the English department is such a stiff, so boring. My American literature teacher nearly puts me to sleep. All we ever did was just go over the readings. No in-depth discussions, no real life applications. She never tries to make anything more than just English. So, though I'm happy the semester is nearly over (so I can be done with Traditional Grammar once and for all) I will miss Mayhan.

I know I said I was going to read Stephen King's CELL this week, but I lied and found my copy of SLAUGHTERHOUSE-FIVE by Kurt Vonnegut. I'm nearly half-way through it and it's great. I can't wait to finish it. But...thanks to finals that may be awhile from now. We'll see. We read this really great/weird short story in American Lit last week called "Entropy" by Thomas Pynchon...it was a total and complete mind fuck. There is no other way to describe it. I've read it twice now, and I can barely tell what it's about. What's amazing about this story though, is that when Pynchon wrote it he WAS 21 years old!!! This story is being read by college students and is included in an anthology that includes Twain, Crane, Hawthorne, Hemmingway...all the greats. Amazing. Some people operate at a level that is beyond normal people, clearly this guy Pynchon is way the hell above you and me. I really want to read one of his novels, I hear they're uber hard (and long 1000+ pages). I really want to go and pick up one of his books (I guess he just put out a new one like last week?? That's what my teacher said).

Lastly, I have to tip my hat to my friend Jaimie who has been tutoring me so I can (hopefully) test into Contemporary Math (yeah I know...fuck you I'm bad at math). He's the best Math teacher I've ever had. He has the patiences of a saint. I wish I had money or something so I could pay him when I get a 16 on the test (which I'm taking next Monday afternoon). It really sucks I have to take this test now...as if I didn't have enough to do with finals! Anyway, thanks Jimu! (and thanks for the gas...and the "stolen" Nosh lunch the other day...).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pynchon