Pre-Semester Honesty.

Process of creating syllabi:

Stage 1: Denial (two weeks before classes start).  “There’s plenty of summer left!  I’ll do it later.”

Stage 2: Preliminary Acceptance (one week and 6 days later).  “Ah hell, class is tomorrow…I’ll get started now.”

Stage 3: Naïve Excitement (upon immediately sitting down at the desk).  “This will be the best semester ever!  I have so many ideas, and two months of sunlight and socialization have washed away last semester’s disillusionment!”

Stage 4: Confusion (after consulting Official Academic Calendar, which is completely different than Regular People Calendar).  “Wait, that can’t be right…there’s an extra week here…”

Stage 5:  Apathy (when it’s getting late).  “Eh, I’ll just change the dates on last semester’s calendar.  It’ll transfer.”

Stage 6: Anger (when somehow last semester’s syllabus dates won’t transfer to the current one).  “@&#$^$%!  It’s the SAME as last year!  Why is there still an extra #*$&ing week?!”

Stage 7: Paranoia (when it’s getting later).  “This is IMPOSSIBLE to do!  Weeks don’t just magically appear!  Who ARE these people – wizards?!”

Stage 8: Final Acceptance (after a few beers).  “Oh forget it…we’ll just watch a movie that week.”