Getting to a Friday on the First Week of Classes is So-Well Deserved. Having Space to Think & Simply Be is the Greatest Gift. Weekends w/o Meetings = Total Joy

I was a good boy and out of my house by 6:45 a.m. yesterday for my 8 a.m. class. Granted, I forgot my coffee and slept like crap the night before, but at least I was up and at it. I am around 14 miles from campus, but I'm on the I-95 corridor. It took me 60 minutes to go those 14 miles and the thing that got me was all 20 of the students were in the room at 7:45 a.m. as I arrived. Y'all crazy. Go back to bed for 15 minutes. They helped me rearrange the furniture and get going.

Good crew. Lacking the diversity of most education programs, but definitely on par for Fairfield University. By nature, I must seem like an oddity to these kids as I shared my story as a teacher, the work I do, and the locations I've been. Most of the kids who attend our campus arrive from locations VERY unlike the public school systems most Americans know...the locations representing global and national populations. It was fine, and we had Jacqueline Woodson to thank for starting it off: The Day You Begin...perfect for discussing a first day of school and when we begin (she's such a gifted mind).

I thought Abu was rolling in at night, but he's coming sometime today. I had food prepped, so I ate well. There are leftovers. By 8 pm I wanted a pillow. I'm exhausted. Of course, first week back, I'm approached about taking on another job, in addition to three I already do: Professor, Director, and administrative assistant to CWP. When I responded in shock that they would even ask, they said they saw my blood pressure rising as the request was delivered. What are they thinking? 7 days a week, 364 days a year, 15 years without breaks....but can I do more? We need you to do more?

Nope. I've been at my breaking point for years. As I told a colleague, when I arrived in 2011, there were several holes leaking through the dam and many of us together did our best from allowing it to burst. Since then, one by one people have stopped trying and left the university....they've not been replaced. A few colleagues and I have been doing all in our power to plug the holes as best as we can, but it's not sustainable any longer. Perhaps they don't pay attention until the dam finally collapses....

the lack of planning does not constitute the emergencies of several years of being warned...

it is what it is. I do good work. I love what I do. I will continue. The gull of asking for me to take on even more is not only infuriating, it's actually quite funny. HOW THE @#$@ CAN CRANDALL TAKE ON EVEN MORE? Nonsense.

And who knows where it will land. Not me. Not all those who left before me. 

My hope for today is no traffic. No noise. No people. Just the work I need to get done to finish summer programs (yes, it's September and I'm still doing summer work because, like I noted, I don't get support). This is no new. What's new is my absolute commitment to pointing out the absurdity of it all.