Potpourri

It has been a couple of weeks since my last post. Life is full and I am often too tired at the end of a long day to write. Right now, most of my days are long . . . and the weekends are generally too short and also FULL up.

But I am taking a moment to update . . . if for no other reason than to assure the three of you who read this regularly that I am alive and well. :)

OBEDIENCE SCHOOL
Stella and I began obedience school last Thursday. It is an 8 week course through Petsmart and our teacher is a woman who served as a police officer, K-9 trainer, and assistance dog trainer so she really knows her stuff. So, I am hopeful Miss Stella will learn some manners and I will learn how to be the alpha dog in our relationship. With Zoe it was easy, and Buster seems a willing Omega, but Stella continually challenges my authority so I am also learning behaviors in class! We are making positive strides with her on-leash behavior and I am optimistic for her in-house behavior as well.

SCHOOL DAYS
School is going well but I am putting in very long days. I am up with the dogs at 5 AM and am often on-campus by 7 AM. I am usually there until 5 or 6 PM and last week Blondie invited me to come into a rehearsal of her show and workshop some monologues with the students. I was thrilled, but of course it meant going back to campus and getting home after 11 PM. I really need to get back into that schedule. Come spring, I'll be directing myself and keeping those crazy hours! Speaking of which, I have read multiple translations of Oedipus now. My brain is full to the rim with Oedipus! Of those I've read, I've set aside two I like and think I could work with . . . but I have several more to go before the final decision will be made.

I am enjoying the teaching for the most part. I really like the students and I am so grateful my colleagues treat me kindly and with respect. It is an unusual experience for me after two years in the Wasteland and I'm still pleasantly surprised by it. I am definitely applying for the tenure track position, but of course there are no guarantees so I am applying all over. UGH. What a pain in the ass!

I have to say, my new school offers a lot of little perks which is really nice. I just wish I had more time to do some of them! I am going to enjoy the free Spanish classes. We meet Monday nights for just an hour . . . and it's a no homework, casual setup just for faculty. Pretty cool!

I'm also amazed at how SOCIAL my new "college" is! Our Dean seems to have something social going for the college faculty/staff every weekend. Last weekend it was a new faculty picnic before an outdoor bluegrass concert (two bands, one is the band that played the music for O Brother Where Art Thou?) that was part of a campus-wide Ozark Festival. It was a stunning evening and we enjoyed free ice cream as we listened to the music. I just wish I could have enjoyed more of the festival! This weekend it was another picnic - at a local park - but I passed as I was just too tired.

SOCIAL LIFE
So obviously, my social life is way better than in the Wasteland, but it has been a quiet weekend. I think that's okay. Ike passed through last night and dumped a ton of rain on us so going out wouldn't have been much fun. And I was wiped out by Friday. Today I have more work to do so . . . I'm cool with being on my own. I am looking forward to doing a couple things this coming week . . . nothing planned yet but I'm sure I can convince a friend or two to join me.

I am still doing the eHarmony thing. It's going okay. One guy I kinda liked is now out of the picture, but so it goes. There are far more than I could possibly keep up with anyway. I'm afraid my rule of communicating with anybody who asks has gone to the wayside. I am needing to be pickier if only for my sanity. I'll let you know if I ever MEET any of the guys in person.

Of course, I'm not opposed to meeting somebody the old fashioned way either!

RUNNING
So I managed to get in a 2.5 mile run on Tuesday at the faculty "gym" on campus. I meant to run on Thursday, too, but I also started teaching the movement warm-up to my students last week and by Thursday I was so sore I couldn't bear the thought of running. I think I'll get in two runs next week, plus a nautilus day, so I will feel more like my old self - I hope - in no time. I don't like feeling quite so soft!!!

I guess that's about it for now. I'm just trudging along . . .

I hope to catch up with you sooner next time.