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Etsuko spent all of last night teasing me that I was never going to get to sleep. It was the first day of school. First day of school!

I usually can’t get to sleep the night before any big departure– and this was a big one in many ways. I said goodbye to eighteen koma a week and hello to only nine. Yup. Part-time to full-time means going from twenty-seven contact hours a week to only thirteen and a half. And, I get a raise in pay as well. Whoo for me! And, I get to pick and choose many of my classes. And, I get not one but two offices. And, I get a research budget. And…

As an added bonus, classes went extremely well today. Three class meeetings: a first year intermediate level core class, and two sections of upper level Discussing Current Issues. This time last year I was staring down over one hundred students on a Monday in four mandatory first year classes of varying to low level. Now I see a grand total of thirty five students and many of them actually selected my course. A handful even chose my classes to have me as an instructor again. What a change. Can you tell how happy I am?

I guess I knew how good it was going to be to get back to full-time teaching instead of part-time drudgery. That is why I slept the sleep of the just last night despite all the teasing.

We’ve all done it. Well, maybe some few really organized types haven’t, but all normal people have at one time or another left money somewhere without realizing it. I once pulled an old denim jacket out for some reason and discovered a whole week’s pay in the front pocket. Of course, that week way back when really sucked, but I felt rich when I found that 230 USD. On a smaller scale, who hasn’t found a fiver in their pants pocket as they did the laundry?

Today was a really good one. The biggest ever.
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