Thanks for all your words of support yesterday. I have not yet sent in my application, although I hope to do so. Sifting through ancient posts in search of writing samples has taken a little longer than I thought. We�ll see what I manage to pull off.

I spent part of my morning on a conference call because in a moment of weakness, I apparently volunteered to help my college�s development office. When it comes to volunteering, if I�m in the mood, I never hesitate to offer my services to my alma mater. Their coordinators are unfailingly organized and professional. I never feel like my time is being wasted and I always feel like my efforts, no matter how small, are appreciated. They are really quite miraculous in that regard.

That said, conference calls are very, very strange. I�ve never been a fan. But given that the 12 of us in today�s call were in at least 9 different states, I understand their practicality. When I was connected, though, I wasn�t sure what I was supposed to do. Interrupt to say, �Yo! I�m here!�? Sit silently until somebody thought to call the roll? Cough nervously until someone asks if anyone new is on the line? I�ll give you one guess to figure out which one I did. Other people must have been more experienced. They were introducing themselves with each speech like pros. �This is Debbie, speaking. Could you tell me how�� On the plus side, it was possible to crack bad jokes anonymously in the middle of conversations. Like a hit and run. �Who said that?� Total silence. Ah, fun with technology.

I got to leave the call early since I did not agree to actually ask people money but only to thank them afterwards. When I came upstairs, AJ was watching The Wonderpets, also known as opera for preschoolers. Thanks to this program, every time the telephone rings, AJ bursts into recitative. It�s a beautiful thing. I feel that somehow this program needs to be worked into my opera lecture, but I�m not sure how. Maybe it will just have to be my own private chuckle.

And speaking of which, I have to go proofread my syllabus. The students are logging onto the class website already � classes don�t start for almost three weeks � and I haven�t got much to show for myself. Yet.

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