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This week is hard for no particular reason, even though I know rationally that it's something of a cakewalk. I think it's just switching gears back again that's the problem. I'll get there, though.

Met a new student yesterday; the class won't be what he thought he was getting into, and we discussed that. He thought we'd work on his papers for other classes, which we don't do there. I think we're going to be doing something of a grammar/structural overview, as he needs rules and admits he never learned them. I need to pick a core text, have some readings for him to cover, and get some assignments in mind. I've got time to ponder it, though. What I don't have time to ponder is class on Thursday, in which I have a 30-minute lesson to teach on using the library for research, with practice and small groups of some sort or other built in.

Had my writing center hour yesterday with no one there--there are appointments being made, but there's more time spent being available than being useful at this point in the semester. It let me finish my readings for class, though, so I can't complain overmuch.

Aside from the class I teach and my writing center stuff, I've only got one class on Tuesday and Thursday, and it's not bad. It looks like those days I'll be in the library or the south quad area the whole time -- I've had worse arrangements. On Wednesday I'm up at Bellflower (NE end of campus) and then at the library, which is a decent walk but nothing horrendous -- 10-15 minutes at worst.

Today I may drop off my computer at the computer service center. It's telling me the battery needs to be serviced, and it is running really hot. I can't afford a new battery right now (at least for a couple of weeks), so lets hope there's something they can do with it (or that it'll hold out for a couple more weeks until I can replace it).

Things to be pleased with

I think this is a new weekly feature of mine. I need to remind myself that I do things which are good and worthy of note, and not just concentrate on being behind on my reading or whatever -- there's enough of that without dwelling on it and stressing more. So, here's today's list:

1) I flossed my teeth. I know, it's not much, but I'm sporadic with this at the best of times. I'm going to go see a dentist again in a few weeks, though, and I want my gums in good shape for that. I hate the flossing refrain you hear. If I keep it up for a couple of weeks, I'll have a new healthy habit forming and it won't feel wierd and my new dentist won't bitch at me. Win!

2) I have not been late for anything yet this semester. I know, it's early days yet, but I was late nearly all the time last semester. Granted, I had a 9 AM class and I don't now, but there was a lot that went into it last year. Punctuality is never one of my strong suits; to not have that biting me in the ass thus far is a huge plus for me.

3) I have already seen like 4 movies this year! The Black Swan in theaters, and then 101 Dalmatians, 12 Angry Men, and 12 Monkeys. This next weekend I'll likely see an oscar buzz movie too (probably The Fighter) and who knows about the week to come! Good stuff.

4) Gym again on Friday. I can't really fit it in before then (at least in part because I'm lazy), but Friday we go back, whether or not my gym partner (aka Matt) is up to going. He tweaked his back this past weekend, so I'm not sure where he'll be with that. I don't want him to reinjure himself. I'm so annoyed with my current body, though, that skipping doesn't bear consideration.

That's a pretty good list to start with. Now, off to school!

Dresden Files, Session #8

Picking back up at the end of the goat-demon battle, the characters found themselves with Zeke glowing as he laid hands on Mary, puddles of rapidly evaporating ectoplasm, and some minor wounds and issues that were speedily resolved. Danny took off after a phone call (her player couldn't be there) and the rest of the group tried to figure out what was next.

Oscar and Zeke decided that Mary needed to be somewhere safe where she could be questioned. Oscar loaded Mary into his car and made some calls, because He Knows A Guy, you see. Zeke finishes healing, feels like he finally got something right (He Wanted To Save Her, you know), and has a chat with Sauriel, in which it is revealed -- or perhaps hinted at -- that Lucas wants a new body not only because of the potential of the new form, but because there may be something wrong with his old one. It's true, one can effectively live forever if one is the host of the Fallen (less so if one is the host of an actual Angel), but it takes a bit of work if there's something wrong -- if one were, say, dying of something or other -- and the body can't be restored to what it might have been before the condition took place. If someone has cancer, for example, or AIDS, it doesn't stop the pain or all the symptomology; the Fallen can simply ignore it. It does, however, keep the problem from getting worse. That doesn't mean the Fallen is necessarily happy to have landed in a less than perfect vessel, though, or that he/she is bound to stay there.

All this being supposition, of course.

Dylan whips out his book and starts trying a divination to determine where Lucas is; what he gets is that he's not here, but he was, and now he's not again, though ostensibly he didn't actually go anywhere. He gets a Superb, so it's explained like this: Normally wizards can open gates through the Nevernever. You open the gate, you walk for a bit, you open another gate, and you come out. This was like that, but with no effective transit through -- almost a teleportation gate. Dylan decides that it might be worth trying to look for traces in the NeverNever to see if that can help them find him. Uno and Zeke offer to go along -- Adia wants to, but Josh points out that he can't go there. There's a brief bit of wondering what effect that would have, since she's his anchor. In the end, Dylan says no and Adia agrees, and she stays behind. Oh, and Dylan also gets that the pattern he's been following for the frequency of events looks ready to crest sometime in the next 72 hours, as a side note.

While they're discussing what they know of the Fallen and the Denarians, Adia mentions that maybe one of them should pick up the coin if it becomes necessary, to protect other people. It would only be for a short while, and then it could be safely disposed of. She and Oscar get into it, him forbidding her to even touch it and letting her know he'd be willing to kill anyone who tried to take that up. Things were tense, but Dylan intervened and it calmed down, with Adia being clear she didn't mean to try unless it came down to protecting an innocent, and Oscar being convinced to chill out. Seems safe to say there may be some mistrust there, you know?

So everyone piles into the car, and Oscar stops to let the guys and Adia out. They proceed to open a gate where they know one opened before -- and somehow Dylan makes the gate through/around Adia, which is both kinda cool and really awkward. They all go through and Adia's left behind, waiting for their return.

In the meantime, Oscar takes Mary to Father Reynolds, the priest at the campus church (it's a Jesuit school, after all). Father Reynolds provides a place for her to be for a while, and Oscar asks her some questions. Being set afire after calling for help seems to have weakened Mary's loyalty somewhat. Turns out that Lucas has been sort of seducing the whole group (though not personally) into losing more and more of their boundaries as regarding sex and magic, sort of grooming them. She gives up what information she has about the composition of the group and what the internal dynamics are, and she gives Oscar permission to go look through her place. Oh, and she tells about a box Lucas has, a wooden box that she's never seen opened. She hasn't seen it in a while and doesn't know where it is, but it's the only thing that's markedly his she's really noticed.

Meanwhile, the Knight, the Half-Wizard, and the Angelic Host (sort of) were standing in a very formal meadow, if one can imagine such a thing. Dylan takes up his diviniations here, trying to find a trail or heading they could follow to find Lucas. It takes longer than they'd hoped, and while he's calculating, the "grass" around Zeke's feet starts to ripple outward from him, and then to blacken and sort of die. No one takes this as a good sign. Uno starts hearing music on the wind that no one else can hear, and Dylan's getting distracted by an awfully playful wind. He manages to keep enough concentration to get done, though, just about the time Uno starts hearing his name.

Uno opens the gate this time, as Dylan's a bit mentally frazzled at this point, and they all go through. Once through, though, the gate doesn't seem to want to close. Uno has to really work to close it, which he eventually does, only to turn around and see... a brownie. Wearing livery.

Said brownie addresses him, specifically, telling him that his Lady Mother was most saddened that he should come into her lands without the courtesy of a visit. A great deal of hemming and hawing commences, as those were not his mother's lands last he knew, and she has not tended to be so.... formal... in the past. The brownie announces that she will be coming to meet with him soon, and he can apologize in person then -- he "and his companions" should therefore "make ready for her arrival." With a small flourish and bow, the brownie then vanishes.

So. Fallen seeking new hosts, corrupted college students, uptight sidhe moms, rising tension and interparty trust issues? Whatever shall we do! Come back and see next time -- it should be a blast!