Welcome to my world!

Classes start in four days. Needless to say, I am more than a little anxious about this. I am making a major change to my class this year - I am ditching the textbook - and to be honest, I'm sort of regretting my decision. I actually have quite a good history with this class considering it is a large, introductory course, so it's sort of stupid of me to change it up. And why should I care if students have to drop $240 on a textbook they won't use that much? That's their problem, not mine. I guess this is what happens when you get bored with your job - you start fixing things that ain't broke.

But of course my major concern is how my hip and leg are going to hold up. My classes are an hour and 15 minutes, so when you factor in getting to class and from class, getting set up, and talking to students after class, you have to figure it's a minimum of an hour and half standing. I have not even come close to being on my feet for an hour and a half. Not that I have even tried, seeing as how that is not good for my blood clot. I guess I've just been counting on adrenaline to help me get through this.

I mentioned to my physical therapist today that I have to teach in a classroom that is across campus from my office, so I'm worried I'll be spent by the time I get to class. I have not successfully walked across campus without a walking aid yet, but I am pretty dead set against using a walking aid once classes start. He asked if I could get a ride - you know, in one of those golf carts. HA HA! I thought he was joking, but he continued on and on for several minutes about how there must be a way for me to get a ride across campus, and seemed genuinely surprised when I told him that there was absolutely zero possibility of this happening. I guess this just goes to show how little the general public knows about the inner life of academia. Just the fact that he even thought it was a possibility that someone might give me a ride in a golf cart across campus so that I could save my energy to teach is absolutely hilarious.

This led to further discussion about how teaching at a university isn't as glamorous as some might think it is, and I further shocked him by telling him that I have to pay $620 for a parking pass, and even then you aren't guaranteed a parking spot. I told him I had to go to work after PT, and given that it was already about 10:30 AM, it would be VERY hard to find a parking spot. By midday... forget about it. He then started to tell me a story, but then sort of backtracked and said, "Nah, I probably shouldn't tell you this." I assured him that I would not be offended by a story criticizing the university; getting crapped on by at least one person a day is pretty much the story of my professional life.

My physical therapist is also a professional musician, which I knew. He said that he once had a gig at a very formal affair at the university, and of course, he couldn't find a parking spot. It also happened to be pouring rain, and he had to unload his stuff, so he made his own parking spot - sort of on the grass and out of the way. Then he went inside to set up all his stuff. However, someone then approached him and told him that the Chancellor had complained that his car was "blocking her" and that he needed to move it. So out he went, in the pouring rain, in a coat and tie, to move his car. Of course he had to park, like, half a mile away, and then hike back up in the rain to do his gig. By the time he got back, he was soaking wet. He said, sort of hesitantly, "Now, I know this woman might be a nice person and all..." to which I quickly replied, "No, she's not." So then he finished, "But I was not blocking her, and I feel like she made me move my car just because she could." I said that sounded about right. So then he went on to say that he was so ticked off that he made a point of going up her, soaking wet and dripping all over their fancy freaking carpet, just to tell her, "I just wanted to let you know that I moved my car for you." Her response? "Well, we could have lent you an umbrella!"

My therapist is extremely calm and mild-mannered and not a complaining type, and I could tell when he finished his story that he sort of regretted sharing it, as if I might be defensive about the woman in charge of my workplace. He looked at me sort of sheepishly when was done, and shrugged, as if to suggest that he wasn't trying to be overly critical. But I just looked back at him and said, "Welcome to my world."