Welcome Back

It's the first week of the fall semester, and the insanity has hit full force. Not only do we have the usual rush of students (me in the classroom and Brian in advisement), but they have invaded our town, making it impossible to shop, eat, or even drive. On top of that, Katie started preschool today and dance lessons last night, so we're feeling a bit busy (I know - that gets worse as time goes on, but this is our first experience with it).

Overall, it was not bad to be back at work. I had several office hours before my first class (three, to be exact), so there was a lot of time to prepare. Except for the fact that I couldn't prepare for any of the issues I had. When I arrived in my first classroom, I discovered that none of the students could log onto their computers due to technology issues (not their fault, for once, on a first day). Then, after using a generic login, we found that none of the computers were hooked up to the printer (problematic as our department requires a typed, printed assessment during the first two class meetings). After that, I discovered that even though all the students were enrolled in our Blackboard site, none of them saw the class listed or could access it. Of course, the Help Desk is overloaded and I haven't heard back on any of these problems, so I guess I just hope it's fixed by tomorrow.

To make things more interesting, my Reading class is being held in an art studio classroom - no one could find it, and, when they did, they were sure they were in the wrong place. I tried to pass out the handouts I had made prior to the semester (I ordered them in July in order to avoid the rush), I discovered that the number of handouts I had requested was apparently not a requirement for the person who did the copying. I asked for twenty and received 11. So, about half the class was able to get the homework assignment (and, since the printer doesn't work, I couldn't print out more).

In short - long day. Nothing unmanageable, but not the impression you want on your first day. After that, I had to pick up Katie, get her changed, get her to dance class and then home. Let me tell you, after all of that, I HURT. I felt like I had just run a marathon. Of course, I made the poor choice of actually dressing up for the first day and wearing kitten heels (I assumed that the really really low heel would not be a problem - boy, was I wrong). My back was killing me. My legs ached. I felt like I'd been hit by a truck. I'm really thankful that the fall semester always goes quickly because if that's the result of a full day of work, this could be rough.

Other than physically feeling like I was beat up, things continue to go well. Jellybean has gotten REALLY strong and can now kick me hard enough to cause interesting results. Yup, she can kick my bladder hard enough that I pee my pants (also a fun experience in front of students - thank you pads!). She can also kick my stomach hard enough to make my stomach/clothing move. Several students chuckled at her yesterday after a few solid kicks to the gut. I'm glad I can offer entertainment on all fronts; I am a full-service instructor :)

Since it's been a while since I've shared, here is some video of Katie from her first dance class. She didn't like it at all, as you can tell. Enjoy!