Hello, Friday

There's a low round vase on my table with some purple carnations with yellow circles at their centers. The rain is drop, drop, dropping off the roof on this cold, rainy Friday. I've already finished my tea. My glasses–reserved for driving–sit beside me as a tap, tap, tap on my keyboard. 

It has been the kind of week that feels like three. Maybe it was because I stayed home sick on Wednesday with a headache that wore me out so much that I slept for the duration of a workday. Before and after, I have been grading essays, writing comments that start with "Consider..." or "Aim to..." but also "Fix..." and "Try again." I'm simultaneously introducing a dystopian unit. My voice today is hoarse from the spirit I brought to my book talks. They were presenting their pre-unit thought experiments about how their utopias could flip to a dystopia with corruption, AI monsters, happy pill addiction, and the usual stuff. During their presentations, I'd ring a bell. Ding, Ding! to announce my connection to their reading options for the next few weeks. 

I see you're curious about government surveillance. You're clearly concerned by the propaganda flowing freely through your feed. Maybe a gruesome torture scene will scare it out of you. Here's a copy of 1984!

How about teenagers suffering through side-effects of genetic "lifting"? AI companions to make up for your lack of human interaction? You'll love Klara and the Sun!

Hate reading? Love your screen? Uninterested in complicated thoughts and fascinated by fire? Fahrenheit 451 is for you!

You're right, post-apocalyptic gang warfare is the pits. Drought and hunger? Dismembered bodies within the exposition? Try Parable of the Sower!

At the end of the day, a group of kids came in. I had taught them first thing in the morning, but they were all feeling the Friday vibes. They were making their way down the hall to say bye to their teachers, and they stopped in to look at my wall display, make some jokes, and say, "Have a great weekend!"

My kitchen table is clean. The dog is slurping up the water in her bowl, and the sun has gone down. My glasses are going back on, I'm headed to writing group. And life is good.