spynotes ::
  May 26, 2006
This is the time and this is the record of the time.

The family is splitting up and stepping out today. AJ is picturing a map with three dots, one for each of us, each headed in a different direction.

My husband is dropping AJ off at his aunt�s this morning on his way to institution of higher learning that keeps him on retainer. Every now and then he needs to go show his face and talk to people.

AJ packed as many books, videos and toy cars as we would allow to take with him. He will, as usual, be spoiled rotten. His relatives treat every visit like a monumental occasion. His aunt was making a special trip to the grocery store to buy all his favorite foods. His grandmother and uncle will be coming by later in the day for a visit. Possibly his cousins as well. There is very little question that he will have a good time.

I must rationalize all this, of course, because I�m heading out myself. I�m going to campus for the first time in a couple of months. A couple of professors from my department are giving a small conference at an institute on campus at which I really should be doing some networking. The conference itself looks interesting, but my schedule the last couple of days has, unfortunately, meant that I am missing the sections that most interest me. The conference, however, is taking place in my university�s library, which means if I get bored, I can always escape and get some work done.

When I haven�t been down to campus in a while, I always feel like it is an enormous production. Well, it kind of is. Two trains two separate mile-long walks between things. A minimum of two-and-a-half hours just to get there. But it�s also not hard. If I want to exchange money for time, I could avoid the two walks and the second train by taking a cab. It�s a measure I will weigh when I arrive at the train station.

I seem to be uncharacteristically superstitious about my trip today. I�ve been looking for excuses to get out of it. I swerved and gasped as I nearly hit a squirrel on the drive to the train station, letting the air out of my lungs with a hiss as I saw the small grey body catapult into the greenery at the road�s edge and disappear. I didn�t leave myself enough time to park in the lot that I usually have to park in at this time of day, but, thanks to the holiday weekend, even the close-in lot was half empty. I nearly missed my train because the closest track entrance, was closed for construction, adding the crossing of a busy street and an unexpected block and a half to my sprint for the track. But, no, there was plenty of the time in the end. I settled in with my laptop and turned on iTunes. Laurie Anderson started singing �From the Air� into my headphones. �This is your captain speaking. We are all going down.� Ominous. Strangely, though, the next track brought Petula Clark singing �Downtown.� I felt better. I watched the jockeys warm up their horses as the train passed the racetrack, already bustling with activity for the holiday weekend. I look longingly at the sign for Java Depot and wish I�d had another cup of coffee.

* * * * *
Despite my perceived bad morning karma, things have turned around. I�ve been on campus for a half hour and it�s already been a productive day. I stopped by the bookstore first to make lunch plans with my friend H. and buy a couple of books. It is an amazing thing to be able to drop into a bookstore and find just about anything you would want on the shelf. It is, in this regard, the complete opposite of the local big box bookstore, which inevitably does not have anything I�m looking for. Including major works of literature.

I ran into my former boss on my way out. He�s giving an organ concert in the chapel upstairs later today, which I�m hoping to catch the beginning of. I haven�t seen him for a while, although we�ve been exchanging emails the last couple of weeks about some business. It was nice to catch up.

I headed next to the library where I returned a massively overdue book to the tune of $75 in fines. I then sat down to log onto the teaching evaluations site, which can no longer be accessed from off campus. My evaluations from a year ago were finally posted and they were awesome. Seriously, you�d think I�d paid them. In the section where they were supposed to evaluate my weaknesses, a bunch of them said they didn�t think they had any. Clearly that�s not true, but it was great to hear and I�m feeling all motivated.

My favorite comment is this one. There were several others that were similar, but this one best articulates how I want to appear in the classroom:

[She is] very well-prepared. Very enthusiastic. Very concerned if we didn�t understand. Encouraged questions and independent thinking. Kept class interesting � never boring. Good pace of class to go through most of music history.

Now all I need is a job. But first, I must attend a conference.

4 people said it like they meant it

 
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