What's Up

Listening to Madonna and thinking. Not obnoxious Kabbalah Madonna, but awesome Immaculate Collection Madonna. Sacrilegious Catholic Madonna--my fave. The throb in my gums gets fainter and fainter each day and today I have whole day free.

Syllabi and homework schedules are done and sent in for copying. First week lesson plans are tweaked and ready to go. Meetings are over and eyebrows are waxed. Now it's just the last few days before the rush. Last night was porch sitting and margaritas.

I am eating food again and loving it! I missed eating so, so much. After a meeting earlier this week, L. and I went for lunch at Chae's, and it was delightful. The first meal I enjoyed in over a week and a half. Broccoli, lo mein, zucchini. Yuh-um.

Our campus is a construction zone. It's hard to see that. It's hard to understand that there is money for that, but not money for the ones who teach and keep the university running. I propose this: someone bigwig can put their name all over, say, a $4,000 bump in my salary. I'll put their face on my office door and put their logo on every handout I make. They can sponsor the hell out of me, and I'll make them proud.

Isn't that how it works? Money for new buildings and sidewalks and lawns and lampposts and athletics is always easy to find. Money to attract and keep talent here, money to continue nationally-known, significant programs is scant. The higher-ups have spent the last 7 months jerking around B's father. They showed the man as little respect and professionalism as possible. Another friend who works on campus is feeling devalued, and I am blown away. Just absolutely blown away.

Things will work out, I hope. And this semester will be a good one. I was in a Business Writing meeting yesterday, and it was, um, okay. I realize I haven't been teaching for years and years, but I've taught a lot. By my calculations, after this semester, I'll have taught over 32 classes. That translates to over 550 students who have walked into my classroom.

And I'm confident about my teaching abilities. I wasn't. Not before, not when I was just starting out and took everything, and I mean everything, to heart. But I've matured as a teacher and I feel confident that I give my students an engaging and intellectual experience when they choose me. I received a letter from my Dean yesterday. According to student evaluations, my classes last Spring were ranked in the top few dozen in the College of Arts and Sciences. Now, I don't know how many classes the College offers each semester; I would guess it's in the hundreds. And I'm teaching required, gen ed classes. I'm not teaching, you know, the History of Rock and Roll, or Art Appreciation, or Acting I, or Human Sexuality, or other sexy classes like that.

But now I feel like my Comp I class is a pretty sexy class. And that I am making a goddamn difference.

And that's a pretty awesome way to start out a new semester.