Let’s Get Ready to Rumble

I have a feeling this upcoming semester is gonna be a rough and tumble one. Classes start Monday and there is NO way I am ready for it. I’m teaching a new class (English 102) and I’m unfamiliar with the curriculum and papers the students will be assigned to write. I’ll admit that I’m tired of teaching English 101, but there’s something to be said with familiarity … okay, as I’m thinking about it, the thing I would say about it is that IT’S BORING! As I’m having a mental freak-out right now I’m also getting kind of excited. There’s just so much prep work that needs to be done and I hope I can get it done by Sunday night: syllabus, calendar, creating homework assignments, lesson plans, paper assignment sheets, setting up the Blackboard site, and all the little things I can’t think of right now.

That being said, I’m also not ready for everything I, as a student, will need to accomplish this semester. I have my thesis proposal due at the end of September, I’m applying for a possible teaching position next fall – for which the due date is the middle of September (if anyone has any tips about writing letters of intent, I’m all ears), I also have the numerous chapters of reading I’ll need to do for my classes, I need to study my foreign language (German) and see if I can’t test out of the class, AND I signed up for another class this week. –sigh- I must hate myself. Okay, it’s not that bad. The new class I’ve signed up for is Ceramics. Yes, it is a three hour studio course twice a week, but I think it will ultimately be relaxing since I’ve taking ceramics in high school and my undergrad. There’s something calming about throwing pottery on a wheel and seeing the clay take on the shape/form YOU want it to. The creation is my favorite part.

I’ve also been partnered with a new office mate who I LOVE AND ADORE!!! We had a couple of classes together last semester and got along great. Her name is Christina Mangiapani (yes, she is of Italian descent and I can’t help saying her last name with a crappy Italian accent each time) – not to be confused with my roommate, Christiana (kristy-ahna). Mangiapani’s starting volume is loud, and then it gets louder. She has the most boisterous and infectious laugh and putting her and I together is a recipe for a loud and rambunctious office. IT’S GREAT!

We have a great crew of incoming Teaching Assistants (some of which I know from previous classes we’ve taken together) and I have a feeling I’m going to be a lot more social in the next few months than I really should be. My ultimate and ambitious goal this semester is to have a rough draft of my thesis done by the end of Christmas Break. This means I’ll be researching, synthesizing, and writing 60+ pages/3 chapters of a book (which, trust me, I don’t see ever being published), but hey, it's a draft so it doesn't have to be perfect -- I just need to keep repeating that to myself.

Yep, with the good comes the bad…but what a wild ride it’ll be!