East of Eden and a college tryout

I'm still not finished with East of Eden, but I'm still enjoying it. I want to finish it, because there is other reading I have to do, but have been busier than I'd like to be lately, and it hit a snag. I'm determined to finish it before Sunday finished. I've got less than 200 pages. Still not sure if I'm going to add it to the curriculum.

Next up: The White Tiger by Aravind Adinga. It seems to fit my Money = Corruption theme I'm toying around with, and might be the fresh world voice I'm looking for, in the vein of Haruki Murakami.

***

Today, I drove one of my baseball players (who just graduated, so he's no longer a student) down to Virginia State University for a tryout on their baseball team. I rented a car (wasn't sure if my old car would make it, and didn't want to risk a breakdown with someone's future in the balance), and we left at the crack of dawn, drove the 3.5 hours, and made it almost an hour early. Beautiful campus, which we drove through briefly before getting loose.

The tryouts were quick and well-organized, and my student did well. It was eye-opening, too; I struggle with what to do with my better players, and now, after seeing him alongside other players, I see what his weaknesses are, and am reminded about his strengths. Great arm, a bit slow on the exchange in the field. On the mound, he doesn't use his lower body enough. Told him that for years. He'll correct himself for a pitch or two, and revert. Hitting, though, when he's on, he's on. Luckily, today was a good day. Out of 17 tryouts, he was in the best 5, I'm pretty sure. I think he'll get an offer.