Wednesday, January 23, 2013

One Ends and Another Begins

First day of the new semester. Rolled into the office about 9am--after the gym. Felt good to start with some exercise, and I got my morning reading done to boot. A few students visited the office to get exams from last semester, register for new classes, or just to catch up. I'm lucky to have good rapport with my students. Not everyone does.

My classes are full. That's a good feeling too. With other similar classes being cut due to low enrollment, it's nice to have full classes. And the program that I coordinate is healthy as well. Upswing in students, actually. Having to create the first wait list for our program in...at least two years. It's nice.

It's also nice to begin a semester where I know I have tenure. I just finished the process last month, and it becomes official in March. It's a very good feeling. Don't let anyone try to pass it off as nothing. It's not nothing. I really feel like I belong here now. I'm not temporary. I have a place here; I have a voice.

But just as my tenure process ends, my wife's is about to start. She found out today that she's been offered a full-time, tenure track job in a different county. She's taking it. That means that she's moving, and I'm staying here. We'll have to find a place in the middle to live, but for now, we'll be living separate.

It'll be a strange semester.

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