It’s the Little Things in Life

This being-at-home-all-day thing is great.  In all actuality, though, I just have two more days of it, so I better enjoy them while they last.

It’s amazing how the “little things” can make you feel productive.

We got our garage door fixed because someone was actually HOME all day so the repairman could come.  The thrill of just pushing a button and watching the door either open or close is almost too much.

I edited my COMM 1101 (Intro to Public Speaking) syllabus and decided that yes, my students should be aware of politics and public life and thus they will give news summaries each day in class.  I feel like it, I think it’s a good idea, I find it fascinating, the exercise encourages THEM to be speaking and not ME, and it corresponds very well with the “Civic Life and Ethics Theme” under which this class falls.  So there.  We’re doing it.  And therefore 25-28 unwitting students will be subject to my grip.  Or something like that.

Having not really cared about my iTunes line-up for the past few years (much easier to insert a CD into our kitchen player while making dinner), it took me almost an hour to change my email address, remember my password, find the songs I had from college, and create new “playlists” for the bus rides which will commence a week from yesterday.  I keep reminding myself that these little things will help save time in the end, like the other hour I spent adding important birthdays and anniversaries to my Google calendar.  Birthdays are a big deal, and they all need to be in one place.

Last night, as the grad school orientation festivities concluded, I talked to a 6th-year Ph.D. student who is finishing his dissertation and looking for jobs.  He asked if I were coming right out of undergrad and I replied that it has been four years since I was an official student.  He made the comment that he thinks a break between undergrad and grad school can be very good, good in that when you are up late writing papers or grading tests, you remember that yes, this IS what you want to do much more than work 8-5 behind a desk following the directions of someone else.  Don’t get me wrong – I’ve loved the past four years and the experiences they have provided.  But the idea of being paid to read and study and delve into my interests and pursue questions I’ve always asked… how amazing is that?

For the first time in my life, though, a part of me feels old.  I don’t often feel old.  But reopening iTunes and going to the college university bookstore and transferring my full-year planner into an academic one reminds me that this is new and different and yes, even scary at times.  Maybe the feeling you get when you’re on a roller coaster and are chugging up to the first big drop and you can see a part of what is ahead (but not all of it) and suddenly your heart is in your throat,  nervous yet excited, terrified but thrilled?  Yep, that’s the best way to describe it.

I’m planning a “Second Inaugural” post of sorts come Monday, but until then, Happy First Day of September, Happy Last Weekend of Summer….

… and always, thanks for reading.