Newfound Prestige

So much to say.

The first is, hell or high water, I'm buying a bed tomorrow, and taking a very long nap on it.

The rest of the things are work-related.
1. I like my new job. I like having an office and only one office mate who isn't around much. I like working with the door closed and walking through the building with relative anonymity (though I'm not as anonymous as I think I am, probably). It leads to a fairly quiet workday, which I like. Of course, this can't last forever, but it's definitely a change, and one that causes me to believe even more strongly that I'm living in an alternate universe.
2. Quite literally and alternate universe: We may have complained about the Southern kids for one reason or another, but at least they have manners! I never had a student second-guess me the way some of these kids do. "Do we have to do this? Move our laptops? Even though they're plugged in? Why are we doing this?" At least the Southern kids kept their mouths shut when they were feeling lazy and unmotivated.
3. Humor: It says on the department website that I am an assistant professor. So today I e-mailed the assistant chair to point out the mistake. And...it's not a mistake. Instructors with terminal degrees are called assistant professors. So I have been a professor for two weeks and didn't even know it. Three weeks ago I was sadly gearing up to go back to the horrible job I did before grad school. And now here I am. It's a lesson for all the kids out there--don't give up, because you never know what you might trip and luck yourself into. When I read that e-mail I was laughing like Bellatrix LeStrange, newly free on the steps of Azkaban.

I am glad I got this job. My Mom doesn't need me as much as I thought she would, and I was still able to take her to chemo on Monday. So I am not bored at home, feeling like a loser and going to a crap part-time job. Also, the break between semesters coincides with radiation, which is the worst part, so I can be around for that.

Party on.

UPDATE: I just gave a simple instruction and was asked, "Are you serious?" Yes, I am.

Look What You Did To Me

I always considered myself a good driver. Totally accident free, no tickets. This opinion was always reinforced by my time on the road in Alabama. But guess what! The Alabama drivers rubbed off on me, and now I am bad at driving! I have come near to killing myself about three times this week. Maybe I can attribute it to being in an unfamiliar place. I miss you Tuscaloosa, but this is all your fault.

Biblical Floods

Okay, so I appear to be over the whole "blog" thing. But something worth mentioning happened yesterday, from 2:00 to long after I went to sleep: torrential rains! Awesome when you're moving into a new apartment. It is good because there has been no rain all summer, but yikes. And my sister stole my umbrella.