Enjoying La Vida Part-Time!

I'm liking this new schedule. Leaving early (7 a.m.) and teaching back to back classes means getting home by noon. Very nice. Don't have to hassle packing a lunch, avoid the late-day rush hour traffic, relax with the paper for an hour before setting up for next day's class.

And I've decided I'm OK....no, more than OK, with being a part-time instructor. Yes, Yes, I know, I've been griping and grousing and feeling all woe-is-me-ish that I'm nothing and no-one, just a lowly adjunct professor. And yet, when I think about it, I really wouldn't want to teach more than two classes anyway. How do people do it? Unrelenting, merciless, never-ending....woe is they!

And I've also decided I'm really OK with  Thursdays! Yes, Thursdays! No class on Friday, then the weekend. Why think of the things I could do! Maybe go to Nordstroms Rack....maybe try to finish The Poisonwood Bible, maybe post a blog entry, maybe clean a bathroom or two, maybe go to the gym (gasp) in the middle of the day! The possibilities (as they say) are endless.

Nothing wrong with being "just a part-time professor."

Nothing at all.

It's a New Year, It's a New Semester, It's a New Routine!

I feel empowered. I've been having trouble adjusting to my new (Spring 2010) schedule, Monday through Thursday, 8-8:50 a.m. and 10-10:50 a.m. The first few days weren't a problem, though I'm not sure why. Maybe some of the local San Marcos schools hadn't started yet? I managed to leave the house by 7:15 and be at Palomar by 7:35 or so. Plenty of time. That was the first week. The second week, much different. It didn't help that I didn't leave the house (one of those days) until 7:22 (never never never again). Not only did I get hung up on the merge from the 15 to the 78, but then Mission Avenue traffic near the aforementioned schools was a major logjam. It also didn't help that it was raining. I was out of my car, walking to my classroom and wishing I had time to use the restroom when the clock tower chimed 8 times. I arrived 5 minutes late (to a 50 minute class?!) apologizing profusely, still needing to use the restroom, and vowing to all who cared to NEVER BE LATE AGAIN.

That was Monday.

Tuesday (yesterday) and Wednesday (today)....what a difference 10 minutes makes! Tuesday I was backing out of my driveway at 10 after 7. A little traffic on the merge and some on the main streets but I arrived 15 minutes early and parked in Lot 11, which is a stone's throw from my classroom. I was able not only to set up my papers, boot up the computer, and put notes on the board but also managed to sneak away and use the toilet. The only annoying part of the day was leaving campus after my second class. Lot 11 is right in the heart of campus, next to all the construction, and the one-way road leading out (Comet Circle) has been narrowed to a single log-jammed lane. So creeping my way to Mission was the only sour note.

Today was a thing of beauty! I left at 5 after 7, arrived at 7:30, parked in the main lot off Mission, inches from the school, strolled leisurely to the restroom, set up my classroom, chatted with a couple of early-bird students, then sauntered over to the English department to check my mail, and was back in my classroom before half the class had arrived. We started up five minutes early....

 I am EARLY! I am in CONTROL! I am WOMAN! (Hear me roar?)