Into the whirlpool of the quarter

Okay, okay...I'll write an ACTUAL update on what I've been doing. Mainly because I can finally take a moment to do it.

I just finished a production of Noises Off. I had no intention of trying to do anything pertaining to production work this year at all. I though I should try to get acclimated and try to learn my way around this program and this HUGE campus. Somehow, it didn't work our that way. I was approached by the director of Noises Off (faculty member Maureen Ryan) and asked to play the role of Selsdon (the old man). She told me that Mark Shanda (the department chair) had mentioned to her that I might be willing to do it. Well, I am currently trying to substantiate my case that the department would benefit from letting me stay on there to do my PhD, once I finish my Masters, and as such I am in NO position to turn down ANY opportunities--least of all those sanctioned by the department chair! So I accepted!

The show only had a 4 week rehearsal period. Which is SHORT. But everything came together beautifully, and the production was great. I am VERY happy that I did the show, and I really grew as both an artist and as a scholar.

Every day it occurs to me just how lucky I am. I wake up in the morning and am TOTALLY immersed in the theatre. I teach it, I study it, I read ABOUT it, I just DID it, tonight I am going to see a play, tomorrow I will be writing about that play...I literally live and breathe "theatre". What is astounding to me is that I am getting paid (not much, but still) to think about, read about, teach about, learn about, and talk about what I would choose to in my free time. YES, it IS a lot of work; YES it IS hard...but when you get paid to do what you'd do for free because you love it so much, can it REALLY be called "work"? And, add to my fortune the fact that I have THE BEST wife possible, who supports me (intellectually, emotionally, financially, etc) in this effort, who sees the benefit of my work, who allows me to bounce ideas and thoughts off her, who helps me to synthesize my ideas into coherent thoughts, and who doesn't even seem to mind the fact that I am EXCEEDINGLY boring most of the time, and you see that, I AM the single most fortunate man on Earth.

The other day, I got to hold, in my hand, a notebook that once belonged to the great playwright Samuel Beckett. In this notebook there was an original, hand written, copy of his play "Happy Days", complete with his notes of the play as he was writing, and doodles in the margins. I got to look at Samuel Beckett's actual margin doodles. In many ways, seeing these doodles made me appreciate Beckett's work so much more--the doodles were dark, complex, intense, and abstract, really a perfect representation for Beckett's plays.

I am so lucky.

**WARNING** political rhetoric

I know I haven't posted in a long time--I'll explain in a posting soon-- but right now I need to say something political.

Sarah Palin is insane. She is a danger to this entire country. If the people of this great land prove (once again) that they are unable (or unwilling) to keep an absolute idiot out of the highest offices of the land, I will take my family and move to Ireland. I cannot stomach the idea of living in a country with a hypocrite as the Vice President. In one breath, she claims to be a champion for women's rights, and in the next she signs a bill that CHARGES RAPE VICTIMS FOR THEIR OWN RAPE KITS.

Honestly, this danger to society should not be allowed ANYWHERE near the White House without an armed escort to prevent her from spreading her unique brand of nutjob-ness to the masses.

And it's sad, because I don't dislike John McCain per se. I think he's a funny old man who likes to pretend he's a "maverick" when he's really just a yes-man to the GOP--but, hell, what Republican isn't? If he wouldn't have shot himself in the proverbial foot by selecting the most dangerous woman in politics I might have even considered listening to his spiel. But, alas...he decided to be an idiot.

Oh well--

VOTE OBAMA

First day of Grad School

School has finally started! Right now I am sitting in my office (shared betwixt 8 of us), having just come from the first lecture for the course I am teaching. My work assignment works thus: 2 days a week the students attend a 48 minute (not sure WHY 48 exactly...) given by the course administrator, then 2 days a week they meet with me for 48 minutes for "recitation" (what we would call a "discussion" session at the U). I have 3 recitation sections with whom I meet twice a week. I am solely responsible for the content of the recitations, having been given only a brief outline of what we should cover. It's great! I get to run my own classes, covering material my way. I have an awesome job!

In addition to this, I hold office hours 3 hours a week, and of course have my own classes to attend. Later today I have the first meeting for my Theatre Criticism class, then tomorrow I have Research Methods.

Having finally met my fellow grad. students, many of my fears regarding legitimacy have been allayed. I AM ready for this, I DO think like a grad. student, I AM as prepared (in some cases BETTER prepared) as my colleagues. I certainly have A LOT to learn, but I think I belong here.

This past week has been nuts--meeting after meeting after meeting, but now that I have some time to think it over, I realize the overall value of all of the (literally) heaps of information I have received in the past week.

I guess I am now a Buckeye for the realsies!

SORRY!

My faithful reader (s) tell me that it has been far too long between posts, and for that I apologize. I'd like to say that I have been really busy, but I don't think I have--in truth, I have been twiddling my proverbial thumbs waiting for school to start.

I have promised to post pictures of my new house with decorations. My wife has just put some on her blog, and rather than just re-posting them here, I will provide you with THIS link--

http://repottingthefamilytree.blogspot.com/

Anyway, I start orientation classes on Tuesday, just a mere 2 days after my 31st birthday. Somehow I really feel like a fraud, like I am in no way qualified to attend grad school--let alone teach at THE Ohio State University.

I now have to run out the door--I will post more later to discuss that fraud-like feeling, and to tell you all about the Utah/Michigan football game that I went to!

"Toto...I don't think we're in Kansas anymore"

Nope. Not in Kansas--nor in Colorado, Missouri, Illinois, or Indiana. And CERTAINLY not in Utah anymore, either. We ARE, in fact, in Ohio.

We've made it to our house, after 3 grueling days of driving. We've also spent 3 days here sans furniture...acquiring and organizing. On the drive, everything went very well. No major problems with our old cars, or with our aging bones. We saw Kansas City briefly. We stopped in St. Louis and went up-up-up in the arch (I have pictures--as soon as my camera charger arrives with the rest of our stuff on Monday, I'll post them!). We drove through Indianapolis and pulled into Columbus just in time to see the beautiful sunset reflecting off the city. It was a truly wonderful welcome to the city.

Since our arrival, things have been a bit crazy. The kids have been a bit neurotic (they get it from their father!), and we've been going a bit nuts--or more.

I'll update soon with some pictures of the finished house decor, and of the stop in St. Louis.

Dead Man Walking

Okay, not really "dead".

I took a walk just now across the University of Utah campus. It was really a pragmatic thing, as I had to go get my final transcript to give to Ohio State. I certainly could have driven, but I wanted one last chance to see the campus. I am very glad that I did.

This campus is really pretty...apart from the ongoing construction. The grass is green, the sidewalks bright white, the sky a beautiful shade of crimson---er, blue (sorry, got a bit carried away).
I had my moment of peace with my Alma Mater. I got my chance to tell her goodbye.

It is my last day of work, and that is an odd feeling. I am quietly nostalgic, and a little sad. The advent of Facebook, blogs, e-mail and the like DOES make me feel like 1800 miles isn't THAT far away.

Tonight we load the truck. Monday morning we set sail for a new port. I am ready. At this moment, I am at peace.

T minus 6 days and counting...UP and DOWN, UP and DOWN

My last day of work at the University of Utah will be Friday, August 1st. This is a little deceiving, though, as I work 4 days a week-Friday through Monday. That ACTUALLY means that, after today, I only have 1 more working day here. 10 more hours. That is a strange feeling.

I have been on a bit of an emotional roller coaster this week--pendulum swinging between excited to go and terribly depressed. Sometimes I swing for no reason. On Saturday morning, on the way to work, I heard the song "The Night Chicago Died (nah-nah NAH na NAH NAH na NAH na NAH)", and was singing along happily (if not well) right up until the line that said "On the street somebody said/ about a hundred cops were dead", whereupon I suddenly burst into tears. I must say that I was NOT expecting that.

The best guess that I have for that reaction is that for the past 4 years, my job has been to bring police officers home safe at the end of the day. I had NOTHING that was more important than that. And as of Friday, while I know that I am leaving my officers in capable hands, they are no longer MY hands. That is really hard for me.

I am handling goodbyes well, though--which is nice. Only teared up a little while saying farewell to one of my favorite cops. Darn it. Still haven't said goodbye to my closest friends. I'm pretty sure that it'll be ugly.

I'll be okay. I hope.

1 week to go

I thought I’d join the “blogosphere” once-and-for-all. I am actually appalled that I just used the term “blogosphere”. This is a term that I have heard repeatedly on list-servs and internet fora for several months, and is generally used by pedants trying to intellectually one-up the rest of us. It seldom works, as the proverbial “rest of us” either don’t care or simply chortle at the poor sap that thinks that the “blogosphere” is a valid episteme.

But I digress…

In just one week the moving van comes that will take our stuff away. Not by itself, of course, we’ll have to load it (incidentally, if you have any free time on the 1st or 2nd…). But it’ll eventually take our things to our new house in Columbus. I am terribly excited to move, optimistic and enthused about this next stage in our lives, and devastated at the thought of leaving the life we have here.

Leaving here, I’ll be leaving the University of Utah. This is a bigger deal than one might think, mainly because of my relationship to the school. I have worked at the U for 6 years. And not just any type of work, but in the Department of Public Safety—first as a security officer, then as a police dispatcher. For the past 6 years, it has been my job to serve and protect this university, its buildings, its people. And I am VERY good at my job. I have been told, either directly or through not-too-subtle hints, that I would be the next dispatch supervisor if I were not leaving (our previous supervisor was tragically killed in a motorcycle accident in June). This causes me some real heartache, because I am so vested in the campus and the university as a whole—and I’d love to stay here...kind of (more on this later).

This University is also my Alma Mater. I managed, quite miraculously, to complete 2 degrees here in just 4 years—while working full time. My wife would want me to point out that I also graduated cum laude in both majors (in the top 5% of my classes). But there’s more to it than that. Somehow I always knew that if I went to college at all (which seemed unlikely until about 5 years ago), I’d go to the University of Utah. My brother went here; my Grandfather went here, various uncles, aunts, etc… When I first moved out here in 2000, it was to try to get work at the Pioneer Theatre Company on campus (but not really related to the U). I have countless friends, colleagues, and mentors here. I will REALLY miss this place.

Earlier I mentioned that I’d love to stay here. This is not really true. I hate Salt Lake. I hate the climate—both meteorogically and politically speaking. I hate the way that everything here is hyper-politicized and polarized. I hate that people care what religion I am. I hate that my football rivalry has to run religious lines, and that just because I detest BYU as a school, some believe that that hatred extends to the religious body that governs the school. I am ready to leave here. I just wish I could take all of my friends and family members with me.

I am VERY excited to become a part of The Ohio State University family. I look very forward to the quality of education there and the tradition. I can’t wait to go to a school that has money, in a state that prioritizes education over all else. I am excited to have my kids go to school in a public school system in a state that cares about quality enough to pay for it. It will be so fun to explore Columbus with my kids, and with my wife. I am so optimistic about her new business; I just know it will work out great!

So why does knowing without a doubt that we are doing the right thing not make it hurt less to leave?