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Awake at five am, which is entirely strange for me, especially given I was going to bed later than that just a week or so prior. Again, the strange form of ping-pong for my thoughts:

- The sun is not up at five thirty am, no matter if it is winter or late summer.

- My husband can lie about his intentions of getting up early when he doesn't have to just as well as I can. This morning, he wanted to walk the dogs early so he could beat rush hour on the way home. I could have jumped up and down on the bed: he was not getting up.

- I learned from the general TA orientation this morning that it is not a good idea to date your students or get involved in other TAs having a crush on students in your section. It is not, however, illegal. Food for thought.

- You can get a seriously badass parking spot in Dinkytown when you have an eight o'clock orientation on the other side of campus the week before school starts. Fifteenth and seventh, and I tell you, I'll never see the likes of it again.

- I still walked enough to stink at the end of the day.

- I wrote a poem during the general TA orientation. Apparently the Mayo Auditorium is very inspiring. Or maybe it was the slide show hosted by Goldy the Gopher (which was just a little icon--not the mascot in person, which was a huge disappointment given the promise on our schedule sheet--they need to learn to model clarity on their agendas).

- The poem began and ended with the word "mornings." I think I was a little obsessed with the rising sun.

- I also viewed the brilliance of the setting sun on the way home today. After orientation, there was a "best practices" session with the Ph.Ds, MAs, and MFAs. We learned how to plunk our keys down with authority and to show up just as class is starting, unless we are suave with small talk (a talent I am sorely lacking). After best practices, we broke into groups according to what we will teach and we peer edited our syllabi. I think I was a wee bit tired when I wrote mine, as I told my students to contact their email address (as if they were from outer space?). Keep in mind, my friends, each of these sessions claimed many hours, and there was a lot of thinking, mostly sprinkled with a deep set sense of panic and nerves. And after, there was a relaxing dinner with girl friends at Emily's place: homemade guacamole, fajitas, and farmer's market flowers to adorn the table. And I was even greeted by two rambunctious dogs, and even though I think I have a Jersey-face print on my face still, it was exactly what I needed. I was sadly missing my own pups and their forceful love. Oh, so the point is this: it was a long day, and I drove to the tune of the sun rising and setting.

- I also drove to the tune of the Democratic Convention being covered on MPR. And how cool is it that Barack Obama is giving his nomination acceptance speech on the 45th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech? (I taught that to my freshmen each year, and I really loved doing it.)

- I can sleep in just a wee bit tonight, so I am going to curl up on the sofa with a pint and a book, and I don't care if I could fall asleep standing up (which isn't entirely true as I have this blister since Saturday that now covers an alarming amount of topography on my right foot and is causing a fairly goofy hobble) because I am going to read--not edit a syllabus or grade fake student papers or come up with a good and clever response to the question, "What is poetry?" No, no, friends, I am going to read, and it isn't going to be something I'm assigned (or I assign, although I won't be assigning much as the course I am teaching has a pre-established course reader) (and I am going to love 98% of that which I am assigned / assigning anyway, so I'm not sure what the point is here, except there is a bit of a fizz when you are forced to read something, though seriously, who is forcing me to be in school?).

Oh my with the rambling. I better hop on that couch before I pass out just here.

Happy Thursday, all. Next week this time, I will be recovering from the first class I'll have ever taught at the college level. Just fifteen or twenty minutes recovering, in fact. Eep!