Tired, But Seeing the Light

MUWCI passed the first Major Voting Body that it needed to pass in order to for real and for true to become approved. It's not perfect. I don't even like some of the things that it has morphed into. But I don't need to be madly in love with it, nor does anybody else. It just needs to pass. And it did! And I love that the person who made the motion for the vote was a colleague who's done nearly as much for it as I have, and that I was the one to second the motion. And, shit, it was gratifying to see that it didn't just die a sad and pathetic death today. And it also felt really good that people congratulated me for all of my efforts. I wasn't the only person who busted their ass on this, but I really did bust my ass. And it's nice to be recognized for that.

So now on to the next Major Voting Body. I'm cautiously optimistic.

I also got confirmation today that pushing the "new major" through the curricular process (for which I'm primarily responsible) is not going to be the Horrifying Ordeal that it might have been if a particular spot on a form had to have Incredibly Specific and Fucked Up Information included on it. Rather, it turns out that this document I created years ago that nobody (pretty much universally) pays attention to has all of the information necessary for that spot on the form, so even work that I've done that is nearly universally ignored is ultimately useful to me and good for our department generally. Huzzah!

My classes are going amazingly well. Have I mentioned that? Like seriously: all of them. Even the on-line one. Even the class that I hate teaching at night because it attracts a fucked up population of students at night. Even the grad class (in spite of one student who clearly doesn't read), and most especially My Favoritest and Most Important Class That I Teach.

And speaking of teaching, I put in my request for my two-year scheduling preferences today, and I'm pleased with what I've asked for. I'm also really hoping that I get my heart's desire. I even put in a request for next fall, although I sincerely hope that I get my sabbatical and that there will be no teaching next fall. (I'm a superstitious gal, and I couldn't just not put in the possible schedule, for fear that the gods would strike me down if I exhibited such hubris.) I've decided that I really want to return to teaching comp - though on my terms. I want to teach one section of freshmen writing a year, in the fall with little brand spanking new Freshmen. So assuming the sabbatical comes through, I'll return to this in Fall 2011. I think this is a good thing. Let's just note that the fact that I'm not returning to 4 sections of comp a year (2 each semester) is not me failing to be a team player. Even since I got rid of comp from my schedule, I teach 3/4 of my classes as service classes, and I always (and will continue to) teach one course online (which is a huge service to the university). So limiting the teaching of comp is not about getting out of teaching the general population for me, and it never was: it's just about the fact that I'm best as a lit professor, and I'm best when I don't resent the courses I'm teaching. That said, I actually miss teaching first-semester freshmen, and I even miss teaching them writing. I was burnt out when I found my way out of the comp rotation, and the couple of years off from it have been really, really good for me. And no, I don't want to go back to my former (hellish) comp rotation. But I do want to return to the comp classroom. I'm even sort of excited about it.

For the rest of my courses, I've designed a rotation that incorporates the best of the old while leaving room for some new experiments. And one of those new experiments would be a course that I would propose that would be The Course on the Next Book, which I want to marry just thinking about it.

Hmmm. What else? I've been diligently reading job applications, helping BES with her SoP and getting my LoR for her submitted at the places with online apps, I submitted another student's rec for Teach for America, tomorrow I'll do all of the paperwork stuff for the New Major, and over the next four days (it's our fall break) I'll clean my house and finish the revisions for the essay that's been accepted with minor revisions.

When all that's done? I shall be FREE! FREE! FREE AT LAST!

Oh, and tonight I taught my grad students the first half of Foucault's History of Sexuality volume I. And I so know my shit when I'm teaching Foucault. It was awesome.