Dazed and Confused

Dazed and Confused
Once again I find myself posting before having to teach. I have 40 minutes and I don't plan to do much today. I am just going to introduce the course and urge them to go hear the convocation speaker: Eric Schlosser.

I would like to go hear him speak, but there are so many other things I need to do. I don't think I will hear anything new at his talk, though. What would really be interesting would be to meet him, but as a new and marginal faculty member, that would probably be too difficult. It is likely that I will pass.

It was nice to hear that my absence was noticed by a few. It gives pause to the incoherent existential ramblings that take place in my head. And I do have quite a few observations to share, when I have a little more time, things settle a bit, and I get internet access at home.

I am still going through each day in somewhat of a disoriented haze. Part of it is that I have not recovered from the chaos and the exhaustion of the move - by far the most stressful and difficult one I have been part of (and I have been part of many) [on a side note - I just got a cranky message from our old landlord bemoaning the condition we left our old apartment. It was messy, but I warned her that it would be. I scuffed a wall with one of the last pieces of furniture I moved out, but nothing major. And some sticky jelly-like decorations Sara put up in the bathroom left some marks that need to be painted over. I don't think it is all that bad, but her complaining bothers me - I am not sure why. I just need to let it go]. Moreover, it really has not hit me that we now live in New York and not Boston, nor that school has started and I need to be more engaged in my classes and teaching. I am here, but I don't feel like I am. Finally, I think there is a bit of culture shock that is going on, but not only have I yet to process the shock - I am still unsure of what exactly the shock is. I know it is there, but I have yet to identify it.

Despite the confusion, I am excited about our new locale. There are so many things to explore and learn about; so many places to visit and foods to try. I am eager to fall into a stable routine and begin to engage the metropolis we are inhabiting, the courses I am teaching, the new research that is awaiting me, and the cuisines that are begging to be consumed.

I just wish I had a little more time to let things settle.

Well, I have the twenty minutes before class starts.

I am hoping to get out and take some pictures to post with my upcoming observations...let's see if that happens.