A Conversation with
Elizabeth
1998
It's Over (for 20 days)
From:
Elizabeth
To:
LMixson@PEC.com
Sent: Tuesday,
December 15, 1998 1:09 PM
Subject: It's Over (for 20 days)
The test was a toughie. My friend always says, "but its supposed
to be hard." I went out afterwards, but it was a very small crowd.
I just had a diet coke. I hardly ever drink anymore, not even
beer, although at times I think I would like to return to having scotch
on hand, which I really like. Also, I'm watching my pocket money
as I've got a big crunch in resuming to pay "full" tuition every month
(the first payment is due Dec. 31st for the new term) and the place the
law students have started going to is pricey. BUT, today (Tues)
when I got here I found out that yesterday I won the car pool lottery
again (200.00) but I wasn't here to get the message. So that was a
very, very pleasant surprise and just the money I needed (basically
pocket money) to give me a boost (recall I just spent 100.00 on books).
You know--I quit listening to NPR about two months back--at least when I
am driving to work. I just got fed up with the incessant yah yah
yah and I found it was making my drive on the boulevard worse, which is
stressful enough. I happened to switch to a black radio station and have
found it is ideal in the mornings. It is NPR affiliated, but only
does some of what NPR does. In the mornings, at least when I am
driving to work, they play what is called "mello jazz and vocals" and I
absolutely love it, although I don't really like most jazz. They
do the NPR news, but only the major part, at 10 til 8 which is perfect
for my drive to work. It has been a very positive change, although I
have been an NPR addict for years. I also got sick of some of
their "columnists." A bad thing in the test last night--one
student reported another for cheating. I was one of the last to
leave the test and one of the last to get to the Fox and Hound.
When I got there the other students said a student had just GONE BACK to
the school, to make a report to the professor that someone was copying
his paper during the final. The school is only a short drive away,
and I guess he did not want to disrupt things during the final. He
had finished really really fast, as he had studied very hard, but he
became aware a person was copying him. He apparently put down a
"decoy" answer that was totally totally stupid (you know how profs
sometimes put in a ridiculous choice, just to make you laugh) to "trap"
the person. He apparently said that if that student puts that
answer down (having copied it) it will help prove he was cheating.
The other students said it was someone who had not come to class ALL
YEAR. The professor showed up later and he was REALLY bummed out
about it.
Ethically, he probably shouldn't have even discussed it, but we all knew
about it anyway. I think the prof took it personally. I
haven't really liked him all year, but later I didn't mind him so much.
He tries to be a "chum" in a way, and goes out for beer afterwards with
the students, and he is very, very "loose" with his class, AND makes a
lot of jokes about his MANY ex-wives, but I think he means well overall.
(Some jokes are kind of marginal--for example, he said "In a divorce,
first they go after your stuff, then they go after your thing--I mean
things." I think he's on his fourth marriage.) So, I believe he was hurt
that someone would cheat, when he goes out of the way to make things
"easier" on us.
Well, I have such a backlog of personal "tasks" to do, I don't know
where to start, and truthfully I don't want to start. Some other
students said as well they just seem to want to "zonk" for several days,
just staring at the t.v. or something. "Normal" life seems a
little alien right now. This morning I got up really early and
loaded the dishwasher--it all seemed rather mundane. Well, it has
been a busy day so far, but I wanted to write and say, "I survived."
Elizabeth
Updated: 04-13-2024