Vacation Vacuousness

...is unfortunately over.
Did I meet my list of goals as outlined in the previous post?

1. Metaphors in Journalism Paper - I'm in denial about writing this. Did all the necessary research, but still don't have a clear picture in my head of where I'm going with all the relevant points: sports/war metaphors, the newspaper as an authentic teaching resource, culture and thought, media manipulation of popular opinion, politics framed as war. How am I gonna cram all that, in a cohesive manner anyway, into one 10-page paper?

2. Curriculum Project - Did my part. Met with group. We're on track. Will be glad to finish up with our presentation next week.

3. Submit Article for Publication - Overcame my niggling lack of self-confidence and followed Nike's advice: Just do it. Received a confirmation from the CATESOL Journal that they received my submission and will be going through preliminary rounds of review.

4. Write Christmas Cards - Halfway finished. Still have all the cards for my 日本人お友達 to address. Haven't written a lot of 漢字　for a while, so I know this task will take some time. No hurry. After that it's the dreaded 年賀状 lurking around the corner to design, address and send off. Actually, I don't dread this, it's a fun way to reconnect with my friends across the Pacific. Many say that it's めんどくさい, but I am one of those crazy people who do enjoy the process.

5. Gain Weight Through Excessive Turkey Consumption - Since I don't have a scale at my house, I'm not sure if this was accomplished. I probably tacked on more calories through eating all the yummy homemade desserts that I encountered in the last week.

All I want for Xmas is...
a quiet getaway to Catalina with Mark. Must make reservations soon.