Reading Diary: The Infinity Particle by Wendy Xu

Here is a synopsis from the author's website:

This thought-provoking limited palette graphic novel by the co-creator of Mooncakes explores big questions through the eyes of an aspiring inventor and the lifelike AI she finds herself falling for.

Clementine Chang moves from Earth to Mars to start over. On the first day of her dream job working for Dr. Marcella Lin, an Artificial Intelligence pioneer, Clem meets Dr. Lin’s assistant, a gorgeous, yet cold humanoid AI named Kye. Sure, Clem has built her own robot—a cute moth-shaped companion named SENA—but Kye feels almost…human.

When Clem and Kye begin to work together, their chemistry sets off sparks. The only downside? Dr. Lin won’t allow Kye to become more independent. And their relationship is causing Clem to question everything she knows about her work. After all, if Kye is sentient enough to have feelings, shouldn’t he be able to have his own thoughts? Where is the line between AI and human? As her future and her past weigh down on her, Clem becomes determined to help Kye break free— even if it means risking everything she came to Mars for.

I picked this graphic novel up for a few reasons. I've been on a sci-fi kick for a while, but I'm also finishing up a sci-fi unit with my sophomore class. The texts we've read have all had rather grim warnings about possible futures, so I thought it would be nice to add some sci-fi with a more hopeful and sweet tone to the classroom library. Plus, as a graphic novel, the kiddos are more likely to pick it up. I also wanted something sweet to read after I finished He Who Drowned the World, and this hit the spot.

Compared to a regular novel, the story is a bit thin. We get hints of backstory for Clem and for Dr. Lin, the scientist who built Kye, things that could have really fleshed out the theme in a prose novel. Alas, due to the restrictions of the form, we don't get too deep into the philosophical quandary. The timeline of Clem and Kye's romance is also very short, which left it feeling a bit too ephemeral for my tastes. But I enjoyed the time I spent with it, and I think any of my students who might read it will enjoy it as well.

Tales From Clown School #5.5: Spring Break (Official)

Welp, it's official. Our spring break is fucked up this year because the Ring Leader couldn't secure the dates she wanted for the "traditional graduation trip" to Bali. SO now, we get 3 days plus a weekend off, come back for three days of work (one of which is a student work showcase day + half day of "PD"), and then get a further two days and a weekend off. At least this year, unlike last year, our break contains two weekends. Hahahahahahahahahahahahaha 🙃

It totally fucks up my plans, but it also means my mom might be able to stay longer. I'm glad I hadn't actually paid for anything yet. I think some staff members have already paid for flights.

My department head is right in that this is a lost battle for us, but I still can't decide if I should say anything to the Ring Leader. It's abundantly clear that she has no respect for her staff. She has full-on screaming meltdowns at least once a week. She is also clearly a narcissist with no ability to empathize with anyone else. Her View is the Only Way. I don't have any illusions that saying anything would change the schedule, but I want her to understand how insulting it is not only to fuck with our breaks but to not even be the one to tell us. Oh no, she made the associate principal make the announcement. She was too fucking cowardly to do it herself. She has absolutely no respect for us, either as professionals or as people, and it's going to bite her in the ass. Except it won't, because when the school inevitably collapses because she can't hire well-qualified teaching staff, she'll sell off the land that the school sits on for a small fortune and move on to something else. And as long as she can still "get" kids into elite colleges (which she does by forcing out anyone who can't hack it), regardless of whether they're prepared to be successful in college or not, parents here are willing to put up with her tyranny and force their kids under her reign.

I'm biding my time. The only reason I haven't (yet) broken my contract is because she hasn't (yet) directly threatened me. And also, I really do like the kids I get to work with, and I feel like I have had some positive influence on them, however small, so I'll see out my contract (for now). But I'm not giving a single extra thing to her or this place. I'm not coming to any evening activities. I'm sure I'll be "sick" on student showcase day (which, if it's going to be anything like last year, we will work hard to put it together, and then she will change it to a contest the morning of). I won't miss out on the PD because the school has not provided any PD at all the whole time I've been here. I'll go to a job fair. I actually got an email last night, mere hours after the announcement about the calendar, offering an interview for a school in China. I didn't accept initially because I didn't want to break my contract (yet), but it's for next year. I still held off because it's for AP Lit, and I really, really want to try an IB school so I can get some experience there. However AP experience would be good for me if I decided to move back to the US. But I told the person who emailed me that I am planning to go to the job fair in January so I'm not ready to make any decisions, and they were really nice about it.

Anyway, that's clown school! My tummy hurts, and honestly, I think I'm tipping into a depressive episode, but I hope I can stave it off. Fingers crossed and all that.

🌠🤡🌠