Two Weeks in Academia

I've gotta say--these first few weeks of classes have flown by.  Probably because I've been busy having the adventures that I'm going to describe below.

The week really started on the Tuesday following MLK Day.  That's when I discovered what it was going to be like in Dr. M's class.  Mind you, a lot of my classmates have taken classes from this professor before, but he was all new to me.  So, I got a little cranky when he called everybody by name except for me.  What's wrong? What did I do?  Did I get off on the wrong foot?  What the hell could I possible have said to make him hate me?  He's a real bastard, not saying my name and all. This is how my mind works.  But that was the first week.  This past week?  What a fun class!  This teacher is fantastic.  He said my name!!!  He knows who I am!  He said I made a good point.  Best class EVER!  As the late great Sandy Woolfolk would say, "Hot-cold, hot-cold."

My German class is my favorite so far this semester.  Taught by a Ph.D. candidate, the atmosphere she creates is very conducive to learning.  It's so relaxed, there are only six or seven students in the class--all historians except for a very likable guy from the English department.  Catherine, the instructor, has the most beautiful pronunciation of German I've ever heard (sorry Petra, Melli, Sascha, Ollie, and all the rest of my wonderful German family).  Because we're learning German only for purposes of being able to translate written material into English, the class isn't really about speaking German.  But Catherine is kind enough to pronounce things and to speak some German in the class.  I'm finding that translating is actually sort of fun.  It's like a puzzle!

One of the best parts of the German class so far has been my ability to introduce one of my favorite expressions into the discussion.  Translating a few paragraphs about Galileo Galilei found me telling my classmates about the tour guide who introduced Yvette and I to the city of Pisa so many years ago.  That guide made sure that we all understood the following:  "Galileo Galilei, from Pisa not Florence."  Today, on our first quiz, one of the sentences to translate concerned the fact that Galileo Galilei was born in Pisa--to which I had to include:  NOT FLORENCE.  Catherine rocks!

Wednesday means Dr. F's class--researching and writing an original essay.  I had hit open a topic last November before the prior semester even ended.  I'll be examining the role of Jessie Benton Fremont in her husband's presidential campaign of 1856.  Sounds good, right?  I'm all excited about it.  Last Wednesday found our class in the library to get a a quick tour of the primary sources available in the library's collections.  The best part was meeting with an archivist from Special Collections, who, in the course of her presentation to us, laid out several pieces from the collections that cover the Jacksonian era, including a big Bible that had been presented to Jackson during his presidency and a letter to Jackson on which Old Hickory had scribbled a few notes of his own.  The best part?  I GOT TO TOUCH THE LETTER AND THE BIBLE!!!  That's right, ladies and gentlemen, I put my DNA on a piece of paper which contained the DNA of ANDREW JACKSON!  The feelings that swept through me as I did this are what I like to call a "historical orgasm."  You history nerds will know what I'm talking about.

This past Wednesday wasn't quite as pleasant--at least for me--in Dr. F's class.  Oh, I was hot, sweaty, flushed, and panting--but it wasn't from a "historical orgasm."  No, I totally lost track of time and found myself ten minutes late for class.  I flew out of my office with just a notebook and the monograph we'd be discussing.  I raced up to the sixth floor, only to be told that Dr. F had moved the class to a room in the Hoskins Library--two uphill blocks away.  So I scooted down Cumberland as fast as I could, arriving in such a disheveled state that I'm surprised Dr. F would even let me in the room.  Solution?  I've ordered a little clock for my desk!

Of course, the inauguration made up an important part of the past two weeks.  I have traditionally taken a day off every four years to watch the inauguration.  The whole ceremony makes me feel all patriotic and sentimental.  This year, unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on your political persuasion) I had to teach sections from 9:05 to 12:05 on inauguration morning, then go to German class until 1:10.  So, I didn't see the inauguration and, to be honest, I didn't watch a rerun of it either.  I did, however, watch the inaugural parade, which I loved.  The Pride of the Southland Band marched in the parade, playing, what else, Rocky Top!  I ran into one of my students from last semester who is in the band, thinking she'd be all excited, but apparently for the band members, the whole thing was a lot of hurry up and wait with only a few moments of actually being in the parade.  Still, I was proud of our UT band.  What got me truly verklempt, though, was watching the Marine Corps Band, "the President's own."  Playing the Marine Corps Hymn (I think that's its name--you know, "from the halls of Montezuma..."), that band was fantastic.  They have performed at every inaugural since Thomas Jefferson's in 1801.  How amazing is that?

Far and away the best thing that happened over the past two weeks happened on Inauguration Day.  It had nothing whatsoever to do with politics.  Rather it was getting an email from Dr. F telling me I'd passed my Fourth Semester Review.  This means that I can finish my coursework (with the exception of one course that won't be offered until next spring) at the end of this semester and move on to take my comprehensive exams next fall. That's YUGE (to use a word apparently working its way into our lexicon).  As I told my father, "Dad, I don't suck!"

Today was my discussion sections--we discussed Richard Wright's Black Boy, which, if you haven't read it, I would highly recommend.  Dr. O sat in on my 10:10 section to see how I'm doing as a teaching assistant.  I'm very nervous about his assessment.  I had a quiz in my German class, which earned me 97 out of 100 points.  I can't wait until Monday to see where I went wrong.  And I'm just now about to wrap up my office hours and head off to the grocery store.  The best part of the day?  The snow flurries that swirled down from the sky as I walked from classroom to classroom this morning.  It didn't stick, but it was still gorgeous.  Weatherman says more snow possible for Sunday and Monday.  Dear readers, please keep your fingers crossed for a possible Monday Snowday!

Bye for now....

Back in Knoxville, Back at UTK

I have seriously not been keeping up my blog the way I should.  There.  I admit it.  I meant for this to be my diary of my time here at the University of Tennessee, but I'm falling down on the job.  But, thankfully, only on blogging--actual pursuit of a doctorate seems to be going O.K.  Well, at least today it is.

I had a wonderful winter break, although it started more than a little troubled.  Just a few days prior to leaving Knoxville, my beloved Stella decided that her starter no longer worked.  First the Firestone people then the Dodge people took a crack at her--and I was left carless.  Thank God for Uber.  With the help of a really nice Uber driver who was not freaked out by animals, I was able to drop Smoke off at the Hotel Vet (as I called his boarding at his vet's office so he'd think he was on vacation too).  I had to leave Stella at the Dodge dealership while I was in California because she still wasn't fixed before I was set to fly out of Knoxville.  My neighbor, Annie (also of party office fame) had graciously volunteered to start Stella every now and again while I was gone, but she was relieved of that duty when Stella spent the holidays with the Dodge people.  Thanks to Annie for volunteering, though.

Flew back to California, and my first stop after landing was the cottages of Heidi and Danny (Dandi) and Maddie and Randi (Mandi).  While it was terrific to see my babies and their significant others, I was especially moved by the warm reception I received from Penelope Pitstop Camille Dias Herbon.  My dingo still loves me.

Accommodations were provided by the House of Orth, where I enjoyed my same bedroom with the racecar motif.  Yvette, who is never to be outdone as a hostess, ensured that both Diet Coke and Sam Adams were stocked in the fridge.

Of course, food was number one on the agenda, so dinners and breakfasts with my babies and my buddies took center stage.  Thanks to Phoebe, Denise, The Trishter, The Princess, Sally, and Linda for taking time from your busy holiday schedules to spend time with me.  I don't know why this paragraph is centered on the page--Blogspot sucks!!!

Of course, the majority of my time was spent with the parentals.  Evening Jeopardy watching with my Mom and Dad was a must.  My Dad thinks I cheat at Jeopardy because I know stuff that he doesn't know, but I can vouch for the fact that my knowledge is all my own.  Besides which, I don't know nearly the number of random factoids as my trivia-savant of a sister does.

The days before Christmas went by like a whirlwind.  Cooking decorating day was a blast.  There was much merriment, especially as a certain nephew of mine (who shall remain nameless although he doesn't read this blog anyway) manfully accepted the challenge of decorating a couple of "adults only" cookies that Maddie and Randi had sneaked in to Grandma's batch of cookie-cutters.

Christmas Eve at Tricia's featured an Oktoberfest theme, complete with inexpensive "photo booth."  Sausages and sauerkraut headlined the menu, and Tricia even made eierliquor as a special surprise (almost as good, but not quite, as Petra's homemade stuff).  One of the top moments of the evening was when Stacy lit the candles for the first night of Hanukkah and she and Matthew offered up a couple of traditional songs.  Nothing says Hanukkah to a bunch of Christians and Atheists as the singing of Adam Sandler's Hanukkah Song, which was performed by Matthew, accompanied by Joe, and chimed into by the rest of us.  Drink your gin-and-tonica and smoke your marijuanaca!

Christmas morning festivies were held at Reiner's house--which, of course, came with a fantastic breakfast.  Damn, I'm still thinking about that bacon right now.  Hmmmmm.  I'm headed to the grocery store as soon as I leave campus.  Might I find some of my own magic bacon?

Christmas dinner was at the parentals' house, my mom's delicious roast beef with mashed potatoes and gravy and biscuits.  The film of the day was Robin Hood: Men in Tights, one of Dad's favorites.  It really stands the test of time, as do nearly all of Mel Brooks' films.

The next week flew by, and on New Year's Eve, the unthinkable happened.  I willingly entered a church--and not for sightseeing purposes.  I had New Year's Eve potluck dinner with the Lutherans at my Mom's church.  The people were nice, the food was good, and no deity struck the building with lightning.

My trip back to Knoxville, while delayed by a day due to weather, was not actually that bad.  Several of my colleagues here on the 5th floor had a much more difficult time getting home thanks to the terrible weather in the Rockies and in the Southeast.  I was surprised to find maybe two inches of snow still on the ground around my apartment when I arrived home.  It was gorgeous, but a little intimidating, especially on the day I went to fetch Stella from the Dodge people.  While her starter was fixed, it turned out the next day that her battery was not dead.  It never rains but it pours.  Much thanks to the AAA guy who installed a new battery, right there in the Willows parking lot.  Stella seems to be doing fine now.

The main reason I needed Stella as badly as I did was that, by the time I got home, I was seriously jonesing for Smoke.  When I picked him up at Hotel Vet, he didn't seem that happy to see me.  I was worried that he might be angry with me for leaving him for so long.  Once we got in the car, he started meowing like a crazy boy.  I put my fingers through the bars of his carrier, and he rubbed against them.  I had to drive all the way home that way or he would start meowing again.  Once home, he ran around and meowed at every door I had left closed--he wanted to inspect the entire place.  Once I laid down on Lovie to watch a little TV, he climbed up and laid across my chest and went to sleep.  He's my cuddle baby once more.

Today, I'm in my office on the fifth floor of Dunford, gearing up for tomorrow's first discussion sections.  I'll be a TA in a class on the second half of American history, and I'm really looking forward to it.  But its going to be a hectic Friday.  I've got 50-minute sections to teach at 9:05, 10:10, and 11:15 a.m., followed by my German class at 12:20 and office hours from 1:30 to 3:30.  The day is going to be hell on wheels.

Alright, time to get out of here and go to the grocery store.  Taco fixings, magic bacon, cereal, Diet Coke--came to Mama!

P.S.  It's now Friday afternoon.  Sections went well, I'm in office hours, and I'm kicking back!!