I am in a grading groove. I have somehow, miraculously, maybe, broken through the wall of procrastination and self-doubt that makes grading divinity student papers a heinous chore. I feel like if I sat down and did it right now, I could get this entire stack of papers graded within a couple of hours. I could assign fair grades and provide concise yet helpful and encouraging feedback (okay, encouraging might be a stretch for one of them), and actually enjoy the project.

Who is this weird person? What kind of freak enjoys grading?

The frustrating part is that I can't do it now, because I also have a seminar presentation for tomorrow for which I have not finished the reading. So I have to shelve the grading and dive into Medieval English -- which I also enjoy, especially when I'm in a groove, but grading grooves are so hard to come by it seems a shame to waste one. What if it's not there anymore when I return to this task tomorrow?

I guess the good news is just knowing that there is such a thing as a grading groove, and that I am personally capable of having one. This bodes encouragingly for a career in academia. It would suck to have a major part of my job description involve an activity I always detest.