I am still alive and have survived the first week of school, in case any of you were worried (unlikely). After a summer of teaching five days a week, it’s both a blessed relief and a little bit confusing to go back to a two-day-a-week schedule. To ward off feelings of uselessness, I have scheduled myself for office hours and research time on two additional days, which is what I am doing right now. As you can see, I am using that research time quite productively!
Here is where I would traditionally insert some lengthy, profanity-laced complaint about the weather here in New Wye, but it has been strangely lovely for the past few days. Warm, no rain, little humidity. My bike ride into campus this morning was downright idyllic. I have no idea what’s going on here but I am too busy knocking on wood to do any complaining.
This week I am watching a documentary with one class and teaching a poem I have pretty much memorized by now with the other class, so it’s kind of like I don’t even have any work to do yet. This is fine by me, see, because I am almost finished with reading Infinite Jest (finally! I started that thing back in April!) and I’m sure when I get done with it, maybe tonight, I will have to engage in some serious Thinking and Reflection About It All. What an effing brilliant book, I must say.
And now, however, I have another hour to waste here in the office before I head to yoga class. Yes, life is hard sometimes. Tell me, though, how is your job going?
Well, since you asked… Not so bad, but classes here start tomorrow, so there are many annoying little things to be done, and once again there’s a line at the coffee shop. Oh, AND there was an hour-and-a-half faculty meeting centered on why, whether, and what to rename certain courses. Result: one renaming, much silent eyerolling. Luckily this will not be repeated anytime soon – the university is switching to new software and so there is an eighteen-month ban on course changes. I don’t understand? how it can take 18 months? to move data from one program to another? it’s just text? The mysteries of administration.
Oh, you’ve got to love a good pointless department meeting! We’ve got some similar nonsense going on here, in which I am trying (so far with success) not to get involved. Don’t even get me started on our inefficient and poorly designed online course CMS – which is the NEW ONE we JUST freakin’ got.
Job? We ain’ got no stinkin’ job! We retired!
It’s great, I quit.
S – But, but, then what is there to complain about??
T – Awesome! I remember quitting my stupid bank job years ago – best decision ever.