Tuesday, May 01, 2007

I have decided

...that invigilating a three-hour exam in an auditorium-style classroom counts as my exercise for the day. Sure it wasn't sustained cardio, but during those three hours I was probably up and down the stairs at least 50 times, moving for at least half the time, and standing for the rest.

...that "invigilate" is a funny word. A friend of mine has suggested that invigilators be called "invigilantes" since we'll be going over those cheaters. Of course, "proctor," the term I used in the States, is a pretty funny word too. (Insert proctologist joke here.)

...that I should have worn socks with my Crocs. Sweaty feet + Crocs material = squeaking.

...that I need to reassess some of my gender assumptions. Over the course of three hours, two women went to the bathroom; I lost count of the number of men. The male invigilator spent more time escorting students to the bathroom than in the classroom itself.

...that university students are getting much younger. Because I refuse to recognize that I'm aging.

...that I'm going to stay up for another hour or two and try to finish my second paper (aside from a few footnotes I'll need to track down in the library). Yes I'm exhausted, but staying active until so late means I won't be able to sleep for at least that long.

...that this counts as a Monday post since I wrote most of it in my head in between students' questions.

4 comments:

Pendullum said...

Socks with crocs is... well... its just wrong... kinda like sandals and black socks type of wrong...

cinnamon gurl said...

invigilator IS a funny word! And, isn't there something called plate invigilators? or am I mixing it up with something else?

Mad said...

Hi Mouse,
Sorry for the absence but I was swamped this past week and a bit. My reading has been down all over the place. I did just get caught up here and I must say I enjoyed reading a bunch of posts at once. It felt down right chatty.

You'll be 10 on your next birthday? Congratulations.

As for students getting younger? Oh my. We had a party for my husband's GRAD students this week and almost all of them seemed too young to be freshmen. Oy.

Mouse said...

Finished with exam #1, so taking some time for fun. Responses in order:

Somehow I think I get a pass on the socks and sandals thing because I'm gay. It's also something that allows me to wear my Crocs or Birks (though I don't have a pair right now) pretty much year-round. It doesn't feel as subversive with Crocs, though, since they cover more of the socks than my Arizonas ever did.

I've heard of the plate invigilator as sort of a joke thing at BBQs and the like--which makes the serious use of it that much funnier.

And I should remark that a good number of the grad students are way too young also. But I can't let myself think about it too much since I'm one of them, albeit 10+ years older than some. Doesn't help that I found a gray hair yesterday!