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I’ve been really enjoying Basic Instructions.  I just found it today, and I can’t stop reading em. 
My favorite so far 

via videosift.com

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I’m not one to necessarily shirk my responsibilities…  I usually do what I have to do, and I generally don’t even complain about it.  What I don’t like is when my responsibilities come with a whole lot of consequences.  I teach… And in the grand scheme of things, I don’t teaching anything all that consequential… philosophy.  If I screw up, nobody is going to be the worse for wear because of it (unless I screw up in my ethics class perhaps…) 

One of my students told me that she wanted to be a defense attorney.  I couldn’t understand that.  I would want to be a prosecuting attorney.  If I screw up, then at worse, a guilty person goes free.  Not the worst circumstances, but thats a lot better than having innocent people go to jail, which is what happens when I screw up as a defense attorney. 

Justabum is a nurse… an ICU nurse…  Wow.  Talk about not wanting to mess up on a day to day, hour to hour basis.  And I’m sure she has lingering guilt about it when things go wrong, as evidenced by her blog entries… but I don’t think I could possibly live with something like that.  I know people say that they get used to things like that… But just the idea that I could become accustomed to something like that horrifies me just as equally.  I’m reading the Omnivore’s dilemma, and there was a passage that stuck with me…  it went something like:  The most morally troubling thing about killing chickens was how quickly it became not morally troubling after you’ve done it for a while.

I suppose to a certain extent I do it too.  I don’t care about each and every one of my students…  They become part of the crowd.  But that is something everyone does everyday.  Prioritize who they allow themselves to get to know and who they don’t, simply because we don’t have the time in our lives to learn about all 8 billion people on this planet.

My life is all about positioning…  Positioning myself to avoid any kind of frightening responsibility.  I’ve done an excellent job of it so far.  At the same time…  I wonder if I’m missing out on something too.  I sure I am. 

So…. Bogo my gianormous 17 pounds of raw cuteness of a cat has decided to start peeing out of the box.  Thinking out of the box is acceptable, but peeing isn’t.  Even now…. the search is on…  I can smell it in my room somewhere… I just can’t find it….  But when I do, Nature’s miracle to the rescue. 

So work has been a bear this semester.  But it hasn’t all been bad. 

Letsee, this semester student enrollment skyrocketed, and I have 50 students in 3 classes, and signifcantly less in two others.  But still, thats a lot, compared to previous semesters.  So I’m working my butt off trying to keep up with all of these kids.

So in case you’ve forgotten, I teach philosophy.  Not exactly the go to major, esp in the community college world.  My office mate has her psychology majors, and my other office mate has her english majors… but I just usually get people looking for GE or transferable units…  But this semester I’ve got count em TWO philosophy majors in my classes!!  I’m totally stoked!  Its so refreshing to have people asking me insightful questions, and who seem to actually understand what I’m talking about! 

I actually have to sort of contain myself around them! I’m afraid the other students might think I’m playing favorites, or that they might think I’m in love with them.  Which wouldn’t be too far off the mark, because I really do like them a lot.  They are by far what I look forward to in my work day now.  Obsessed teacher stalks students.  Film at a 11.

Of course this semester also brings with it duties… I’m part of the faculty senate this semester.  Committee work that I’m contractually obligated to do.  I could join a stupid committee that does nothing, but I like the idea of having some kind of influence in the world.  And although I’m not sure exactly what kind of influence I can have in the Faculty Senate, I’m giving it a shot.  So far, not too bad, but it is a lot of work.  

But it should all pay off soon.  By the end of next year, I should have tenure!  Not that I’ve ever felt that I needed the protection of tenure yet.  Although I’m sure the wife would like me protected by tenure, just because she knows the kind of things I talk about in class.    I’m a freaky kinda guy in some of my classes! 

I’ve been busy with work, and if not work then wasting my time on a silly little game.  I’ve found World of Warcraft…  There’s something very meditative about that game…. you sit for a long time then you realize hours have passed, and you’re not sure if you were for the better after it.

But here I am… It’s a cold wet friday here in the Bay Area.  I was working on a lecture, grading exams and papers, and getting over a cold.  Oh yeah, laundry on the side.

Fizzy went to the vet this morning too…  A couple of days ago she started freaking out when she was eating, and after a bit of frustration, we came to the conclusion that it was her mouth that was bothering her.  I gave her some canned food, and she sucked it up.  But today she seems to be better.  Little booger.  Gets hurt just long enough to hit me in the wallet. $225.

I’ve been feeling okay lately.  No life drama or anything, which is nice.  I am getting a little burnt out on WoW, so I might just take a break for a bit. 

Who knows, maybe I’ll blog more because of it.