I just checked the lecture list for Hilary Term and have most of my schedule lined up. It looks like everything will be crammed into Tuesday and Thursday, leaving Monday/Wednesday/Friday completely free (except for the semi-regular meetings with my advisor on Fridays). But please tell me if you think this schedule is too ridiculous for words, and if I should cut back - especially if you have relevant knowledge of the content. I'm sticking to Medieval/Golden Age because trying to cram in some Latin American or Modern Spain would just kill me.

Here we go:

Mondays: Free!!!!!

Tuesdays:

• The Romancero Viejo, 10-11, Weeks 1-4
• The romances of Lope, Góngora and Quevedo, 12-1, Weeks 1-6
• Literary Theory, 2-4, Weeks 1-7
• Spanish Research Seminar, 5-7, Weeks 1, 2, 4, 6-8

The romancero lectures are of the "not necessary, but relevant and interesting" variety. The other two are of the "necessary no matter what" variety.

Wednesdays: Free!!!!!

Thursdays:

• El Medico de su Honra, 9-10, Weeks 1-4
• Rinconete y Cortadillo, 9-10, Weeks 5-8
• Literature and Textuality in Golden Age Spain, 10-11, Weeks 1-8
• Literary Theory, 12-1, Weeks 1-8

El Medico is of the "I've read it before and can't remember a damn thing but it's important so I should review" variety. Rinconete is of the "you can't call yourself a cervantista without knowing this stuff" variety. Literature and Textuality is of the "it's for undergrads but I need it" variety. Literary Theory is of the "can't graduate without it" variety.

Fridays:

• Meet with supervisor at either noon or five, depending on availability, not a regularly scheduled event but still important.

So...what do you think? Will I live to tell the tale?

Happy New Year!
Kaitlin

Dear Friends:
Only twice in my life have I been able to buy, sign and send Christmas cards on time. This year is not one of them. So this blog message will have to suffice. (I'm hoping I can squeeze in a few emails and Facebook pokes as well before Sunday!)

Although this message is neither personalized nor hand-written, the sentiment is still sincere. I would like to wish all of you, blogfriends and "amigos en vivo," English-speakers and hispanohablantes, old friends and new, Oxonians and Hawks (you get the picture), a very merry winter solstice holiday of your choice and a happy new year.

2005 was an exciting year for me. I taught my first four classes as an adjunct and was no longer someone's TA, and it was great to be able to make my own decisions for a change. My work in educational technology really gave me a new perspective at the faculty side of things, and I got to work with a lot of really great people. And of course, in September I arrived in Oxford, and I returned home for the winter break a changed and "bettered" person.

Yay to all of you for making this such a great year. Let's make sure that 2006 is an even better one.
Paz, amor y felicidad para todos...
Kaitlin

Hahahahaha this is awesome! Completely random, but I'll be humming that song forever.

Thanks Ianqui!

And no, I don't mean Cambridge. I'm talking about my teaching blog. If you know the link go find me there, if not, email me and I'll send you the link.

I'm going to start leaving a few posts there now that I'm starting to think about my winterterm class. It's hard to cross back over into Facultyworld (sounds like a theme park...and hey, in some ways, it is), but I need to make the transition.

So go visit me o'er there, as my first back-to-work post is a request for advice.

Cheers!
Kaitlin

I'm back. And it's weird. Updates to follow.

But I couldn't go any longer without thanking my secret spoiler from Spoil-a-Blogger 2.0, who I discovered a while back but never managed to thank publicly on my blog. So, a big huge THANK YOU to Lori-Lyn over at The Dream Life for all my excellent gifts! I'm so sorry I didn't thank you on here sooner!!!

I don't know if Gwen is planning another round of Spoil-a-Blogger, but if she is, I'd encourage you to participate. You do need a blog (and it doesn't have to be on Blogger, it can be any kind of blog), but you do not need to be in the United States. It is a lot of fun to get gifts from a secret person, and then when people compliment you on them and ask where you got them, you can say mysterious things like, "A girl in Kentucky gave this to me, but I don't know her," hehehe.

Thanks again, Lori-Lyn!
Much love to all,
Me

This is the last pic I took in England before I went home for the break. I'm home now, and will be back in Oxford on January 16. I'll post an update or two in the meantime, but for now I have to get ready to go back to being Adjunct Kait.

Oxford folks - miss you already!
Hartford folks - are you ready for me???

Much love,
Kaitlin

About a half-hour ago, I finished my last tutorial of the term. I am d-o-n-e done!!!!!

My final paper was craptacular but I still somehow managed a 70, which means I finish the term with a distinction-level average. Now I have to focus on getting packed up and outta here.

Where will you find Kait when she's not at Catz, you ask? Good question. I'll still leave the occasional post here, probably talking about stuff I miss. I'll also be back at the teaching blog, sharing all my winterterm antics. If you're interested, I'll send you the link if you've never read it before. As for the Xanga, it's pretty much retired, but I will keep it open so I can comment on other Xangas.

Damn! It's pouring out, and it's black tie guest dinner night! What am I supposed to do?!? It's a bit of a hike to the hall from the MCR when it's pouring out...and I'll have to carry a coat and an umbrella.

3 1/2 days to go...

Much love,
Me

Where the hell did November go?

I have been in Oxford now for two months and three days. Tomorrow I will have been in the college for two months. I go home for Christmas in exactly five days. And I will return one month and two weeks after that.

Whoa.