Dropping the Curtains Once Again

‘Tis the time when folks start crunching numbers and wrapping up for the semester.  For me, research has been going well and I will be sacrificing mice later today.  Many of my friends have left Madison to go home for the holidays, and the campus is becoming emptier and emptier.  What surprised me yesterday morning was that there was snow everywhere!  I love the feeling of having light and fluffy snow on the ground when I walked around town yesterday, but unfortunately all the snow melted by late afternoon.

Another surprise I had was from M.  I sent him a text message on Wednesday morning thanking him for hanging out with me, and he texted me back saying that he had an enjoyable evening with a smiley face.  He even told me that I am “very friendly and caring,” and he hoped that I would be able to have a good Christmas with company other than being alone with mice the whole time.  That did make me smile on Wednesday…and surprisingly on Thursday, he sent me a text message indicating that he is on his way home.  I was happy to hear from him since I did not expect that message, and I just hope that I would be able to see him in person again in the near future…

Yesterday was the day for my co-teaching assistants and me to proctor the final exam as well.  I finally had OPERATION FINISH GRADING EVERYTHING done before proctoring at 2:25PM and submitted all of the final grades before heading to bed last night.  ‘Twas great to see many of my students (Alex, Alex, Alex, Dylan, Kelsey, Stephen, Steve, Liz, Stephan, and more) again, and many shook my hands and chatted with me as they were submitting their scantron sheets.  I also saw the guy who almost gave me his phone number two exams ago!  Haha ’twas an interesting story when he came to me and asked me a question…and I thought I heard something weird so I asked in front of my peers “Eh?  You want me give me your phone number?”  The guy chuckled, and then I learned from him that he was asking about where to put the form number on the scantron…The guy recognized me and laughed as I told the story to Jacob, who was proctoring with me and Ang, and ’twas a great proctoring session.  Mike, a student of mine who retook the course the second time since ’tis not easy to survive in a nine-hundred person lecture course in a large research university as an undergrad, called my attention when he saw him, and there he was with his Danish looks (blond hair, pointy nose) and a great smile.  We chatted for a bit, and he seems happier and more confident in himself compared to last semester.  I am glad to see changes he made in life, and I pray that he and others will be able to move forward in life peacefully by working SMART as well.

After proctoring, some of the TAs and I decided to go out for a bit, so we went to a local establishment for some food and drinks.  The Long Island Iced Tea were nice and cheap, and we had many wonderful conversations and laughter.  Although the evening was long until 2AM for me and I was enjoying the moment with my peers, I was a bit sad as well as a new semester will be beginning, and that there will be changes.  People do come and go in life.  Some of the folks would get a different job, go to different places, graduate, and change routes.  I’m always glad for people to make more progress in life, but I would miss them too.  Although there might be fewer TAs next semester, ’tis funny to see so many people leaving the team.  Josh, Emily, Jacob, and I would be the experienced TAs, and I heard that there would even be TAs from the Humanities to teach the course!  I was surprised by that since I wonder whether the course material would be tough for a person with a humanities background, and it could be awkward for students if I as a bioscience guy teach modern English literature!  Even if I can learn about the course material within a semester, I would not be as great as a graduate student or professor in the field of literature!

‘Tis true that I would be sentimental like this when the official end occurs.  I’ve gained different relationships and interactions with so many folks, and soon I will not see them weekly in a class or work setting.  As the curtains drop, the curtains would rise again for the next act or performance.  Next semester will be quite different, but ’tis a new beginning too.  There will be challenges to overcome, new people to meet, and no course work (FINALLY!!!) for me.  I do see myself going to the gym more often, and I will also do my best to catch up with friends and folks a lot better.  I just have to tell myself that life goes on, and I should not just mourn about the present but bring more joys to folks–old and new–around me in the future.