Back to reality

I’m midway through the first week of the semester. Today I got caught up on quite a few errands. I went to the bank to deposit my holiday and reimbursement checks, Staples to get 2008 pages for my planner, pens and paper; and the grocery store. I had a hair appointment scheduled for Friday morning, but that got canceled because stylists’ grandfather passed away. :-( I was really looking forward to getting my hair cut this week, but I guess I’ll have to wait until next Tuesday. Oh, I also went to the recycling center to drop off my first load of recyclables! Hopefully I won’t have to go every week, but with new items from the holiday and moving things around, the trunk of my car was almost full.

I reorganized my bedroom/office when I got home. I put a table I was only slightly using in my office, and moved the printer that was on that table to the corner desk unit. I have a lot more negative space now. I also put out one of the end tables that came with the apartment, that I had been storing in my living room closet out by one of the chairs. That also looks nice.

My first class went really well yesterday. We watched part of the very first episode of The Office, and another video that described the employment practices and culture of Wild Oats (a healthy/natural food focused grocery store). After seeing both I got the students to discuss the effective and ineffective elements present at Dunder-Mifflin and Wild Oats (i.e., lack of training at Dunder-Mifflin, mandatory 30 day course for new employees at Wild Oats). Two of the students in the class are considering a career in my field! Tomorrow is the first day of lecture, and will be my first time filling a 75 as opposed to 50 minute class.

I’m also excited about the class I’m taking this semester. The projects for the class are interesting as there is no writing/papers/exams - just various presentations and participation. I have a meeting with Dr. Advisor on Friday in the morning to discuss the paper we’re working on, my dissertation and probably my yearly update/”performance review.”

I have no plans for the weekend and really don’t “get anything” out of MLK day this year as I have no classes that day. Hopefully I’ll be able to get more into the swing of the semester. And - because I’m kinda on a roll with the appointment/personal-errand thing - set up an eye exam to get new contacts and glasses! I’ve wanted new glasses for awhile (my current ones are from early undergrad and when I have to wear them I usually run into things for awhile!). I want rectangular, plastic frames in blue. If I have glasses I like to wear I might wear my contacts less, saving money over time. ;-) Maybe blogging about this here will get me to finally set up an appointment I’ve been putting off for about a year.

Ok, I need to go - I’m having dinner with friends in about a half an hour - Mexican - yay!