On the road
It took my five hours to get from Knoxville to Portsmouth today--I left a little after nine, and got here at 2:30. There were a good three hours in the middle which were absolutely in the middle of nowhere--I started contemplating strategies of "what if my car breaks down here?' towards the end of that. However, I have a lovely rented Saturn (which apparently has heated seats, which I haven't tried), and am now in quite the cushy hotel room (why don't more hotel rooms have really comfy recliners? It's a brilliant idea) in the middle of quite a pretty little city. It looks as though it were quite the bustling city 100 years ago, and hasn't done much since. The Ramada's across the street from Shawnee State, so the next few days should be nice and pedestrian-based.
I didn't bring cds with me, and relied upon the radio here. The middle of nowhere in Kentucky is pop country and classic rock--I've heard the Eagles' "Lying Eyes" three times today. However, I also heard Fresh Air, which was really interesting--Terry Gross interviewed a man who works at a Refugee Trauma Center in Boston. He's worked with Tibetan monks and nuns and Guantanemo prisoners--what amazing work.
I'm feeling rather hopeful about the fall today. Teaching schedules are posted (which I can't help but be charmed by seeing my name listed as "instructor" for the first time). My own classes are Monday and Wednesday, 11-12:25 and 2:10-3:25; my 101 classes are Tuesday and Thursday, 12:40-1:55 and 2:10-3:25 (in a couple of bizarre engineering buildings--far away from the English department, but strangely close to the stadium, which is where offices for grad students are. So, the offices which most people complain about will actually be close to my 101 classes, and convenient to hold office hours in before class.)
The best part is that Fridays, I have no obligations on campus. So, this seems like I might be able to keep at least a shred of my sanity for what I hear is the "harder" MA year--learning to juggle my own classes with teaching two classes, while I'm studying for comps and applying to phd programs. I'm hoping that by keeping my summer clear (you know, except for three weeks in England), I'll be able to both get some recovery from this year, as well as get a jump on the fall.
That's the plan, at least!
I didn't bring cds with me, and relied upon the radio here. The middle of nowhere in Kentucky is pop country and classic rock--I've heard the Eagles' "Lying Eyes" three times today. However, I also heard Fresh Air, which was really interesting--Terry Gross interviewed a man who works at a Refugee Trauma Center in Boston. He's worked with Tibetan monks and nuns and Guantanemo prisoners--what amazing work.
I'm feeling rather hopeful about the fall today. Teaching schedules are posted (which I can't help but be charmed by seeing my name listed as "instructor" for the first time). My own classes are Monday and Wednesday, 11-12:25 and 2:10-3:25; my 101 classes are Tuesday and Thursday, 12:40-1:55 and 2:10-3:25 (in a couple of bizarre engineering buildings--far away from the English department, but strangely close to the stadium, which is where offices for grad students are. So, the offices which most people complain about will actually be close to my 101 classes, and convenient to hold office hours in before class.)
The best part is that Fridays, I have no obligations on campus. So, this seems like I might be able to keep at least a shred of my sanity for what I hear is the "harder" MA year--learning to juggle my own classes with teaching two classes, while I'm studying for comps and applying to phd programs. I'm hoping that by keeping my summer clear (you know, except for three weeks in England), I'll be able to both get some recovery from this year, as well as get a jump on the fall.
That's the plan, at least!