I've made my bed. Now I get to lie in it!

Wednesday, August 29- I was so exhausted because I took me until about 3 a.m. to grade all my students’ e-mailed homework (note to self – move up deadlines) and plan the next day’s lesson. SO TIRED! But, because of how my schedule is, I could take a nap. Hooray! I generally don’t like napping, though. It makes me all disoriented, like “What time is it? Where did the day go?” I’m sure I’ll get my schedule ironed out soon, though.

Thursday, August 30- Writing day! I thought it was an accident that I had a day with no stuff scheduled, but my colleagues informed me that’s my “writing day.” Ooooh. Got it. I spent some time writing blog entries…which I am just now posting. I also edited my poetry portfolio.

Then my bed arrived in two 2’x2’x3’ boxes. Getting it out of the uber-taped plastic wrap was the hardest part. I placed the layers of foam on the frame of the bed I’d assembled Wednesday night, then covered them with their mattress pad, sheets and embroidered quilt. Yay! I have a real bed…made of foam. It’s mostly comfy. I can kind of feel the slats of my platform bed when I’m sitting on it for long periods of time, but when I’m lying down it feels nice.

Soon it was time to plan my lesson and check student work again. For a while, I had wondered if I should have signed up to tutor instead of teaching this semester. The hours are easier. Well, there are more scheduled hours, I think, but when you count planning and grading time, tutoring takes less time. But now I’m glad I’m teaching. I really love it.

Today it’s Friday. I finished reading the assigned reading for poetry. Now I just have to do the reading for my teaching class and my 19^th Century British Lit class ( I have to have finished Emma by September 12, when I will give a presentation. Someone’s got to go first, right? I have to tie it in to other writing from the time. Technically the assignment called for tying the novel to periodicals of the era, but I was inspired and got permission to tie it to etiquette manuals of the period. I think that will be a fun topic.)

This evening I was a little bit lonely. In New York I would out with my girls right now. We would have had dinner earlier. Now we would be sipping cocktails. Perhaps our boyfriends would join up with us. Instead I am here in my room. I should have gone for a walk or something. I had planned to check out the neighborhood, but instead I’ve been changing my address of record for all the things in my life…all the ones I could think of, anyway. I guess tomorrow will be the day of exploration.

I tell myself that someday soon, I’ll find my places here. I’ll find my people. For now, I’m a little lonely and a little sad. But that’s okay. Starting over is always hard.