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August 29, 2005
first day (kinda)
classes start today.
i'm teaching a T/H this term, so mine don't start until tomorrow, but knowing my students were getting into it today, i went ahead & e-mailed both classes to (a) let them all know that they're supposed to be finding the 3rd edition of the book everybody else is using the 4th edition of, just in case they're overachievers & prowling around the bookstore early, & (b) tell my 9:30 class how to navigate their way (knock on wood) to the beautiful classroom hidden deep in a residential labrynth we're supposed to be meeting in. the instructions go something like this:
if your schedules are like mine, they say the course is meeting in WATSON 147. i was over in watson checking the room out last week. it's a great room--but it's 149, not 147. there is no 147.to get to 149, you have to come in the main doors of watson hall, cross the courtyard, enter the doors on the right side of the room/lounge straight across the courtyard from the entrance (the building is a square w/a square courtyard inside), & then go up a small ramp or flight of stairs. the first door you'll see labeled 149 is always locked; go around to the lounge in the center of the area & enter through the door by the lounge TV. sound confusing? it gets better:
because watson is a dorm, the front door will not open unless your student ID gets you past the ID scanner. mine doesn't work--i had to e-mail ID services to ask for temporary access, and haven't heard back yet, so you might find me standing outside the building waiting to be allowed in. i'm assuming all of your IDs will let you in the building, but (a) make sure you bring them, and (b) if you're a UC student or live off-campus and aren't sure whether your ID grants you access to on-campus dorms, you might want to call ID services to ask about that--or at least plan to be early so you'll have time to wait for someone to open the door!
i don't know if i'd find that daunting or amusing on my first day at a new school (i'm teaching 2 sections of research writing for transfer students this semester, & really looking forward to having classes at least mostly filled with students not already seeped in SU attitude), whether it would sound more like an impending headache or a "welcome to the chaos--and you're not alone!"; i'm hoping they're more of the 2nd. in any case, tomorrow promises to be an adventure of several varieties.
this afternoon's agenda: get to campus for a while, collect copies of syllabi, make sure nothing else has dramatically changed in the last few hours, then come home again & clean/organize this office so i can find surface, relevant materials, etc. this semester--i've been avoiding my office all summer & keep looking around at the piles thinking i'd like to keep doing that for another term, but that's really not responsible thinking. i'm sure it's going to be easier to impose discipline on this madly amorphous exam-process if i have a neat workspace wherein i can find things--and where the last 2 years' clutter isn't in the way of everything i want or need to find!
good luck to everybody out there getting started on a brand-new year!
Posted by ttobryan at August 29, 2005 10:40 AM
Comments
I don't feel so bad now. I thought I was the only one who had ignored the home office all summer. MIne's a mess. And now I need to work. and it's a mess. guess I know what I'll be doing tonight!
Posted by: Chris Geyer at August 29, 2005 02:18 PM