Brrr!

Thank, you icy weather! You canceled classes today! Although you have made my house freezing cold...

ACU canceled classes today because of the icky, icy weather outside. It's kind of a moot point for me, though, since I don't have classes on Tuesday/Thursday anyway. But my two meetings were canceled, so that's a good thing! And I also don't feel guilty about hanging around the house in my pajamas. But seriously, couldn't the cold weather have picked a Monday, Wendesday, or Friday to ice over? That would have been awesome.

ACU is notoriously bad about communicating to students when classes are canceled due to bad weather; they just can't make up their mind. One year I kept checking my e-mail right up until I left for my 9:30 class, waiting for news of a cancellation and hoping I wouldn't have to drive on the ice. I finally gave up and drove to school, and as I was walking to class I ran into a professor who asked me why I was on campus, since classes were canceled. It turns out the administration closed the school at 9:28 or something. Smart.

I really do love the cold weather, though. I always get a little excited when the weather gets cold enough to wear my heavy coat, thick sweaters, gloves, and scarf. I suppose it stems from growing up in San Antonio, where the weather never, ever gets cold; you can wear flip-flops every day of the year and be just fine. During my first semester of college, I remember thinking how bizarre it was that I had to buy a coat and closed-toed shoes to wear during the winter. I'd probably go crazy if I lived somewhere really cold where it stays cold, but right now I'm enjoying this chilly Abilene weather.

Back to School

This week has been pretty eventful; I started back to school on Monday and taught my first 107 class. Teaching 107 is fairly similar to teaching 111, and for that I'm thankful. I use a very similar syllabus, so I can re-use the successful activities from last semester and weed out the ones that just didn't work. I'm also a lot more confident this time around. I know how to teach freshmen, and I feel like I'm a better teacher that I was a semester ago. Even though beginning a new teaching job in the fall will be stressful, my 111 and 107 classes have equipped me with confidence and valuable experience.

While teaching is going well, I have one huge obstacle to tackle this semester: COMPS! I finally narrowed down my topic and have the makings of my booklist, which I'm very excited about. I met with my committee chair this morning, and I showed her my current bibliography of nine texts, thinking she'd congratulate me on having such an extensive list. She said, "Everything looks good, but it needs to be about twice as long." Yikes! That's a lot to read. Comps will be an interesting journey, but I know it will be rewarding in the end (or at least that's what I tell myself).

A sampling of my Comps texts
Can you guess my topic? :)

Brendan and I are headed to San Antonio on Friday for a three-day weekend. He usually isn't able to come home with me on the weekends since he works Saturdays, but he's off this weekend. I'm so excited we can spend the weekend together. It'll be good to see my family and spend some of those Christmas gift cards that have been burning up in my wallet!

Looking to the Future

My last (!) semester of grad school begins on Monday, which officially kick-starts the beginning of the end. This semester I have to complete two classes, pass Comps, and teach an English 107 class, and I'll be home free. I'm so proud of myself and my achievements in grad school, and I look forward to the days when my semesters will no longer be punctuated by twenty-page papers. Graduation is looming on the horizon, and despite the feelings of joy and relief, it brings one horribly frightful thought: I have to get a real teaching job!

I don't know where that job will be located or when it will be offered to me. I'm such a planner and certainly not a fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants type of person, so not knowing anything about my future can be pretty disconcerting. I'm probably being more dramatic about this than I need to be, but transitioning from college to career is pretty intimidating. I've got a couple of months before the job hunt officially begins, and I'm really ready for the future to start.