Arwen's Blog

Efforts to make this my "official" blog have not been especially successful. My blogging life remains pretty much at labingi. Over there, I've been writing more about the progress of my original writing. Here's a tag to posts that focus on my science fiction universe:

The Continuation

In short, I'm plugging away on my screenplay for The Hour before Morning, slowly but surely. I'm up to Meravyn's big flashback, which is probably 40% of the way through in terms of the first draft.

In teaching news, I've just completed my first term in a few years as a university instructor. What a big contrast to community college! The students, in general, are much more prepared and more "traditional" students. I enjoy both settings, but they sure do have different needs.

And finally, here's a little review of Ueda Akinari's "The Chrysanthemum Vow" or "Reunion."

Ah, long overdue update. I've been so busy teaching 4 composition classes that I haven't had time to blog about it. Careerwise, I've been living life rather than writing about it, which is better than the other way around. It has been a fascinating term! No library work but my first experience teaching at a community college: 2 actually in 2 very socially distinct towns. The university town, unsurprisingly, sent me a group of students not unlike university students but slightly more inclined to skip class and not turn in work. A very good class though--one of the most motivated and proactive mixes of personalities I've ever taught.

My 3 classes in out in "rural Oregon" were a revelation. Here's a description adapted from a letter to my pen pal, S. I feel a bit cheap recycling it, but, S., I wrote you first!

This has been the most socially conservative area I've ever worked in. My classes tended to be very patriotic (though, at this point, almost no one is in favor of Bush/the war). Almost all my students were pro-life and many spoke very openly of their devout Christianity. About half wanted a more fiscally conservative economy and half a more liberal economy: these groups, unsurprisingly, fell along socioeconomic lines, with the poor students more inclined to feel there should be more social services for the needy. For many of them, birth control is not part of their culture. Their argumentation runs something like, "You shouldn't have sex as a teen because you're too young to have a baby," as if that consequence were inevitable. There were also many more smokers than I'm used to. Even though they all very politely smoked in the designated areas, my folders all smelled of cigarette smoke all term. And oddly, there seems to be an epidemic of drunk driving in this area. I'm baffled by how many of my students spoke of having loved ones killed/injured by drunk drivers or having close calls themselves. I wonder what's behind that.

I am, however, principally impressed with the sheer dedication of many of these students in pursuing their careers under extremely adverse conditions. Some are almost destitute; some are poor, single parents; some are in/recently out of abusive relationships; some never finished high school or got their GED; some had been in trouble with the law. It was inspirational to work with them (I don't say that lightly). It made me very proud of my fellow Americans. It made me angry that dominant discourses in our country show no sympathy for the day-to-day struggle so many people go through simply to keep going. It made me hope that kinder times lie ahead.

I got a job! It's not a library job. It's teaching composition (which includes an information literacy element) at a community college as an adjunct for no benefits and what my employer describes as "ridiculously low" pay. Oh, and it's an hour commute each way.

So why am I so jazzed? Because for my life needs right now, it's very close to perfect. Let's look at the pros. It's work I'm experienced in, mostly enjoy, am pretty good at (if I do say so), and consider socially worthwhile. It's a lovely campus and a wonderful bunch of colleagues. It's also a smallish, rural school and feels very much "my speed," as I'm a kid from the country. It's part-time work, which is what I need right now because I want time to work on my own creative projects. Moreover, while full-time work would provide benefits, I wouldn't be a good teacher tackling 5 classes/term; 3 comp. classes of 25-odd students sounds like a good maximum to me. And, right now, supporting no one but myself, I don't need much money. And I'm good health, so I probably won't need the health benefits (though, of course, if I lived in a civilized nation, I'd have them anyway). And the commute is not bad: freeway driving, pretty, almost no starting/stopping; I can listen to lots of Russian CDs and books on CD. I only have go down 3 days a week, which isn't bad at all. And it's something relevant I can put on my resume--and my first crack at community college work: a definite resume plus.

I bring all this up because I've just been reading The Tao of Pooh and thinking about the idea of doing what's right for you. This job is not a conventional "career move." It may look a bit sad on paper for someone with a Ph.D., MLIS, and additional BS. But aside from the general social point that giving college teachers poverty-level pay and no benefits speaks deplorably of America's investment in having an educated populace and successful democracy, this is the job I want. It feels like a right choice. I'm stoked.