I always seem to have mixed emotions about the start of the semester. On the one hand, I’m filled with nervous excitement about my classes. I find myself logging into WebCT shortly after midnight, just to read the syllabus and see what I’m going to be up against throughout the semester.
On the other hand, I dread the madness that will ensue at work. By the time I report for duty tomorrow afternoon, I can generally expect exhausted and irritated colleagues who have been running like crazy to make sure the desk is covered at all times, especially the hours when no students are scheduled.
My goal is to get there early tomorrow, not necessarily to get a jump on my work, but mostly to find a parking spot. The first day (and week) of classes is always a parking nightmare. But depending on how many students we have and how busy it’s been, I may find a lot of things waiting to be done when I arrive; things that I can’t ignore once I’m in the building (at least not the first week of classes).
Comforted by the knowledge that my financial aid has been worked out, I just ordered my textbooks (three of them) on Amazon. JM also needed textbooks, but I managed to find his on OhioLink. I *heart* OhioLink. It is the greatest thing ever. Unfortunately, mine were not available yet. Only one of my texts showed up in the catalog and it’s current status is “Ordered copy on 12/07/2007.” Fortunately, Amazon had all of them in stock and I qualified for free 2nd day shipping. Even if I’d had to pay for shipping, it would have cost me less on Amazon than if I’d gone to our on campus bookstore. Sad, sad, sad.
So, here I sit, on my last official day of intersession break, waiting. Anticipation tinged with despair. Intersession break has many good things about it. We can leave campus every day for lunch, something we won’t experience again until spring break in March. We can run over to Starbucks in the morning without worrying that we’ll be standing in line for our entire break. We can cover the circ desk without having to get up every 30 seconds to handle whatever problem has just surfaced.
But intersession break is also missing something: energy. I spent two years working for the university in a department far removed from the heart of main campus. The day I interviewed for my present position, I practically bounced back to the parking lot with joy as I listened to the clock tower bells chime the hour and passed the throngs of students and faculty on their way to their next destinations. That was the campus I remembered from the time, not so long ago, when I’d been a full time student.
Yes, the chaos can be maddening sometimes. Even so, after three and a half years, the days I like going into work far outnumber the days I dread it. I may complain, but overall? It’s not a bad gig.