On a Saturday Morning

On this Saturday morning I woke up to discover the following things eagerly awaiting my input:

• a student who is trying to convince me that she read two extremely complex and long novels of the Spanish Baroque in a matter of days, even though her Spanish skills are on the Spanish 102 level;
• a string of angry e-mails from a company whose product I reviewed unfavorably and whose employees seem to think that writing to me a lot will make start liking their useless product;
• a stack of final essays and lab assignments to grade;
• a panicked e-mail from one of my stellar students who has been stuck with irresponsible partners for the final oral presentation. The students who are supposed to do the presentation with her have disappeared and cannot be located;
• a huge collection of dossiers from job applicants to read and attendant surveys to fill out;
• a new book from my favorite Ruth Rendell that I am absolutely dying to read and review. I have placed this book in front of me to serve as a beacon of hope amidst all the other less fascinating things I have to do.