The test pile this year is smaller than in years before but it never gets any smaller. It is very much like a plate of pasta or a car trip across Nebraska. The more progress you make, the less progress you seem to have made.

Relatively speaking, I have already made a lot of progress: I’ve finished one batch of exams (my smallest batch) and am almost halfway through my second batch, although it seems to have taken a long time to get there.

The third batch taunts me.

Complicating matters are an evening class that steals away some of my official time-wasting time (because I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t actually be marking that quickly even with lots of time to mark) a piano recital this coming Sunday, the arguments affiliated with piano recital practice/lack of practice, and in-bound in-laws.

Although I like my in-laws their arrival will involve a lost Saturday night filled with lots of food and beer. There will also be long explanations of why She Who Must Be Obeyed has not been feeding me properly when they see that I’ve lost almost 33 pounds since the last time they saw me. This will be made worse by the fact that most of my clothes are now baggy as I’ve been putting off shopping until I reach my weight goal (which is more-or-less what I’ve just done).

The only good thing will be that I’ll actually be able to go this year, unlike last year., which will earn me back some Good Graces Points. (I will probably lose those, though, if I decide to take exams to mark for when our girls aren’t performing. It might actually be worth it to try.)

I will have Monday to finish, but by then I’ll have failed to establish any rhythm. Until then, the test pile, no matter how hard I work, will always be the same size.

And the third batch will keep taunting me.