The internet in my room is still down. This upsets me greatly, since I have to meander down to the nearest internet bar and fight with the teeming masses (who are playing Counter Strike) to get a computer. But now that I'm on a 'puter, I'm not getting off for a while. So let me tell you about the past week.

It's been rough. Apparently there were some problems with the grades that I gave to my students last semester. My boss knew this. Rather than talk to me about it, he gave my phone number and my address out to ALL of my students, so that they could get in touch with me. This upset me, since he's the one who told me not to give this information to my students. My phone had been ringing off the hook, students kept "popping in" at inopportune times, and I spent most of my free time trying to sort through this gigantic mess. Eventually I unplugged my phone - I had given all of my students my email address, but they'd rather call, so this way they had to email me - and spent as little time as possible in my apartment. Yesterday was the last day to change grades for the past semester, and the madness has thankfully stopped. The worst part was that I'd resubmit a grade, and it would take two days for the registrar to change it officially (and notify the student of the change.) So I kept getting upset calls and angry emails and late-night visits from students that I'd already helped. 'Twas frustrating. But it's done now, and I can move on. Hopefully.

My classes are much smaller than last semester, and the students seem to be a little more confident than the previous ones. I'll be spending more time this semester doing lesson plans, since I don't really have a textbook. It'll all work out, I hope.

This past weekend I helped Mike and Christie move in to their new home - I was impressed by how fast it went (although I wasn't there for all of it) and how easy it is to find. It is very conveniently located, and there's even a coffeeshop (which makes great smoothies) right outside their door - ah, the extravagance. That's a word I'm surprised to use.

Wednesday night I hung out with Jared, and when we were walking back from the restaurant, we stumbled across an rink where a bunch of people were playing hockey. We were invited to play, and I had quite possibly the best time that I've had in China. I'll mention this, because I'm sure that Jared does on his blog - I had forgotten to wear a belt, so my pants kept wandering in a general downwards motion, especially when I would try to sprint.

That's all for now, I have to run to my next class. I'll fill in more later.