*waves* Hi!
First, this is my first encounter with the new version of Blogger. In general, I'm wary of change. And I don't think I like this new version. NOTE: I definitely don't like this new Blogger composition window.
Second, I'll be starting a random feature here that I think of as "The Island of Misfit Toys" (IMT). If you're familiar with the claymation Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, then you know that the Island of Misfit Toys is where Rudolph and Herme the Elf found themselves after they escaped (or, you know, were banished from) the North Pole. This island is home to toys that were somehow wrong...a wooden train with square wheels, a jack-in-the-box whose name isn't Jack, a pink elephant with red spots (my favorite). These are toys that were deemed not good enough for children to receive as gifts. So they sit on this remote island, abandoned and unfulfilled. As is probably fitting for most children's stories, especially ones having to do with Christmas, these forlorn toys are recognized by Santa, who has just come to appreciate that differences like Rudolph's shining nose are to be appreciated, not rejected. So the poor rejected misfits eventually find happy homes.
Well, my IMT will feature my own writing misfits...pieces that I know aren't quite right but I that I still want to give a home to.
Third, I'm in the middle of crunch time this semester and way behind on grading. So, paradoxically, I may be blogging more heavily as I procrastinate (or, to reframe this...as I recharge my mental batteries in the middle of grading). We shall see.
