A pack-and-a-half day...

Perhaps because this is my 34th "official" back-to-school, I'm experiencing as almost comfortingly familiar this sensation that my head is about to explode. This time, everything certainly feels much more last-minute than ever. Just got syllabus today for my new prep - after having taught Spanish 2 for the past 3 quarters, I advance to Spanish 3. I have an 8:00 A.M. section. ¡Qué horror! Best thing about this: I'll always find parking. Worst thing about this: Um...it's an 8:00!

Worst thing about work/school today: Another new office, another 20 minutes of my life spent disinfecting and cleaning another scummy keyboard of a shared computer. Today's was particularly offensive so I wrung the liquid from a Clorox wipe over it, let that sit a minute and then used another wipe to scrub every "mother-fucking last one of" those keys. Whatever was encrusted in the crack between the "D" and "F" keys was absolutely vile. The current inhabitants of my 2 previous offices damn well better appreciate the pristine conditions in which I left their keyboards and mice (?).

Best thing about today work/school today: The welcome session with all faculty and all grad students. The Chair did use the f-word to describe the department, but it really is a bit "familiar". If the exclusively male professors from my first programs were avuncular, the women I've studied with here are avaunt-guardian (and yes, it's ben all women thus far).
Loved meeting the new students - they're very...cute! And seem to be a bit more with it than we were last year. They all stood up to introduce themselves...the vast majority declared linguistics as their field. The last to speak was a peppy little thing who said she'd originally planned to study literature, but now is maybe thinking linguistics...I half expected one of the professors to pull out the Sorting Hat...

Before sleeping, I'll do what I do every night before the first day of class...go to bed way too late after deliberating too long in front of a closetful of nothing to wear.

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Paquita la del Barrio sí barrió un poco el disgusto del día. ¿Me estás oyendo, inútil?