The Ghost of Semesters Present

Okay, so here's my first blog post regarding the end of semester and the final exam.

The exam is being held on Monday, December 9 in the Physical Education Building gymnasium at 9 a.m., and it's a 2.5 hour exam.

VERY IMPORTANT: Please bring your student I.D. card to the exam room with you. Otherwise, they won't let you write the exam. (On a more humane note, if you happen to come to the gym next Thursday morning and realize, "Crap! I forgot my student I.D.!" do not panic. Come on in to the exam room. If you've been to class on a regular basis, I know who you are. (Only you can guess whether I'd be willing to admit it.)

You are not allowed to use cellphones or other electronic devices during the exam. No eating, and please don't bring coffee or tea in with you, and no smoking (anything) during the exam.

Also, no taxidermy. (I said this last year, too, and I'll be damned if Empire Theatres didn't start issuing the same warning before their movies. Just goes to show. Taxidermy is generally frowned upon.)

Also, if you must use the bathroom, you will be accompanied by a professor - me, if you're male and not me, if you're female.

I strongly recommend you study for the exam.

Okay, the other stuff. I really did enjoy teaching this semester. I mean, always do, but this semester was my favourite in a long time simply because I had two excellent 1080 classes who showed up regularly and took literature seriously enough to want to discuss it in an intelligent way. Most days, it was a lot of fun. Even those who didn't talk much but showed up almost all the time really impressed me. Believe me, I noticed who was there and who wasn't. It was one of those semesters when I couldn't wait to go to class, and when the semester was over, I was genuinely melancholy about it.

As I mentioned in class on Wednesday, I'm taking next semester and the summer (at least) to work on some writing projects, as well as an extensive book tour through the Maritimes this winter. It should be fun, cold and cozy, not to mention exciting. If you have any relatives up that way, tell them to keep a look out for an event near them. If you want to follow what I'm up to, you're welcome to sign on to my author page: http://www.facebook.com/leedeetee/posts/10152279143015577?comment_id=36687074&ref=notif&notif_t=feed_comment#!/pages/Gerard-Collins-Author/176696569065790

Or you can keep up with my literary and personal shenanigans on my author blog: http://gerardcollinsblog.blogspot.ca/

Those of you who have friend requested me on Facebook, or plan to, of course, I will accept but while I'm not responding to everyone personally just yet, you should know that I'll be waiting until after I've graded the final exams next weekend before accepting. It's not necessarily about being fair, but about the appearance of being fair. And justice for all.

It's another busy weekend, but I wanted to touch base. I'll be blogging again at least once and probably twice more before the exam.

Meanwhile, I'll see you in the exam room. Expect the next blog post before the bell tolls... two.

GC