I'm Back

I can't believe the Fall semester is underway again. I took a break from this journal not because I was in Barbados on the beach or anything, but because I was so busy this summer teaching two brand new online courses, selling two houses, and trying to move. In my down time (little that there was), I was taking swimming lessons with my two-year-old son and playing with him in the park (definitely time well spent). Anyway, I'm back and I'm just as busy. I'm going to try, however, to work this journal into my regular routine (as well as the rest of writing101.net).

I'm excited about this year. There's a lot happening. I'm teaching two online courses--Composition II and Intro to Fiction (the ones I developed over the summer). I've also taken on an interesting project: a "contextualized" composition course for automotive students. It's your basic COM101 with an automotive flavor, so to speak. Geared (no pun) to students who are enrolled in the automotive program and have to take COM101 as a part of their gen eds. Historically, it's been tough to retain these students in COM101. The solution? Voila. "COM101 auto edition." The thing is, it's just me and three other guys. That's a class size I'm not quite accustomed to, although I welcome it. I'll have to adapt to the intimate setting, but I'm really looking forward to it. The guys are an easy-going bunch. I expect will have some good fun and learn from each other along the way.

I'm also teaching two sections of the traditional COM101, and I'm trying a few new things. Add the couple new courses that I have in the hopper for the next term and that makes me a busy guy. Oh, and we can't forget about my tenure review and other department responsibilities. I'm definitely not complaining. It's a good kind of busy. I love this job.

It's good to be back; even though, it feels like I never left.