Fall semester. First day. Sunny. Hot. Humid.

Surprise! No regular parking spaces during the day. Parked in faculty lot fire lane. With other profs. There is WAYY more parking when you teach at night.

Writing class: 20 juniors and seniors. They look motivated. Time will tell.

Mass media & society class: 30 incoming freshman. On their very first day of college. Ever. Holy moley! One from Amsterdam. Another from Spain. Trinidad. Lots from New Jersey. No, that is not a non-sequitur. Have to work hard to keep their attention. This will be a hard class to teach. But fun.

Conversation with my colleague and teaching partner, Dr. B about whether I’m too old to finish my PhD: “I know plenty of women your age who go back and get their PhD. Think about it this way: what if you were 28, knew you were only going to live 20 years, would you get your PhD?”

“Actually, no,” I said. “I’d find all the hot men I could in 20 years and fuck them.”

“Well then, maybe you could think about all the hot men you’d find in your PhD program if you were 28,” she said.

I love her. So I bounced another one off her:

“I have this fantasy of going off and teaching adjunct at major fun universities all of the country,” I told her. (That’s right, it’s not hot men at all. It’s teaching. That IS the truth. Because I am married to the man I consider hottest of the hot. Haute, even.) “Is this even possible?”

“Absolutely,” she said. “In fact, it wouldn’t have to be adjunct. It could be visiting professorships. And you’d be surprised at the number of schools hiring faculty without a PhD but who bring to the department incredible professional work experience, like yours.”