My (almost) past ten years... no, 9...no, just 8...what year is this, again?
As an arbitrary point in time, I'm starting post-wedding (sort of) and moving forward from there. I liked what LeAnn said about her initial friendship with Jason -- that they knew they were going to get married so they should probably start dating. That's funny, because I kind of felt like that when I met Topher my freshman year in college. I knew, in a way, that we would be together -- dating was a formality, I guess. Anyway, he and I married in December 1996 -- I think most of you were there! -- and that's where I begin my post.
This point in time was a rapid transition point for me, for obvious reasons, but in the next year, I also graduated from ESU, moved to Topeka, then to Marion, and settled into my first teaching job. (OK, not only is it weird to realize I've nearly been married nine years, but also a bit weird to think I've been teaching -- in some capacity -- for nearly that long as well!) My first teaching gig was at no other institution than MHS. Getting that job came as a complete surprise/
coincidence/blessing/curse. Topher and I had already moved from Emporia to Topeka in the hopes of finding teaching jobs or at least steady sub work. Then, back in Marion one weekend, I ran into Jan who heartily encouraged me to apply for the position vacated by Kris Burkholder. Yeah, I know -- it's weird for me to think about, too. But the idea was tantalizing -- and just enough crazy. At the same time, Topher landed a job at Peabody (not to be a great land for him we later realized, but at that point, we were a bit job-focused -- maybe too much so). After I interviewed at Marion and got the job, we found ourselves moving to Marion, just a block north of the high school itself. For the first time in my history, I was able to WALK to school.
All weirdness aside, my experience teaching at MHS was pretty postive -- I mean it. I was treated as a colleague and everyone had my back. Sure, I had to deal with snotty high schoolers, but I would have to deal with that anywhere. I might as well do it in a community that actually did care about me, as I learned the two years I taught there. Oh, I'm not naive -- I'm sure plenty was said about me that I never did get wind of -- but what does it matter? And my second year, of course, was much better -- I even had the chance/opportunity/death drive to direct the musical that year when Jan got married. (It made me feel good that I could kind of pay her back a portion of all the time she'd spent on productions when we were in school.) Anyway, after two years there, and Topher antsy to get out of Marion -- okay, so was I -- we moved back to Emporia to work on our M.A. degrees in English.
In December 1999, we moved to an amazing apartment that I still miss -- the story of how we found it is great, too, but I won't bore you with that now. At this point, however, I don't think Topher would mind me sharing that he began a rough spell in terms of school and work. His desire to teach had been crushed by a rough year at Peabody; his ideal jobs in software and writing were nowhere to be found in Kansas; he didn't have the resources to complete his M.A.; etc. He selflessly worked on campus at an icky desk job until I completed my degree and thesis. But then where? I had applied to graduate schools around the Midwest, hoping to work on my Ph.D. in English. We both had our eye on Illinois at Urbana-Champaign -- Topher even discovered a video game production studio that existed there! It sounded like a good college town fit for us, and when my letter of acceptance came, we packed up everything -- even LeAnn and Jason who helped us move here! They ROCK! -- We had to send them back to Kansas, however. :(
Now we've been in Champaign for the past four years, and it's really grown on us. We've begun to feel a part of the scene (even though we feel too old to really be a part of a college town scene). It was tough our first years here -- Topher searched for a job, even working as a barrista at a coffee shop for awhile. And dontcha know, graduate teaching assistants don't make much money! But Topher started working at Volition, the game studio, as a tester during the first summer we lived here, and after a few long hauls with the company, he received a position as a level designer this past February. It was a long road for him, but it all paid off because he really has what he calls his "dream job." As for me, my graduate work has gone well -- although the past several years of juggling my own research/writing and teaching every semester have been challenging, to say the least. Last February, I passed what is known as my special fields exam -- basically, a two-hour "conversation" with professors about a lengthy list of books in my area (medieval English literature and language). So, now I'm what's known as ABD -- all but dissertation -- and I'm struggling/working/loving/grieving/cheering through the whole process. At some point, maybe I'll bore you all with what I'm actually writing about! I hope to be done in less than two years. In the meantime, I'll also be teaching -- mainly rhetoric/writing and introductory literature classes -- , attending conferences to present papers, and trying to get some of my work publication-ready. After all this, I'm not sure what my job prospects will be, or if I'll even want to get a past-paced tenure-track position somewhere. Topher loves his work and we're thinking of buying a house here in the next year -- and that may allow other opportunities for us.
Ok, this has all been really boring job/school stuff, so what am I really like now? Hmmm. What has changed about me? I'm a better teacher, I think, and it is a job that doesn't stress me out as much as it used to. I am an academic writer more so than a creative writer, and I've learned to accept that change in my talents. I'm more 'girly', I think, than I used to be -- like, I only seem to wear heels everywhere, I finally got me ears pierced 3 years ago (how did I live without earrings!), and I regularly get my nails done. And I'm a bit more social -- one of my best friends here has brought that out of me. I really love to try cooking and baking more than I did when I was young. I drink every so often -- yes, I drink, and coming from a person who didn't get drunk until she was nearly 25, you know that's a change. So I guess that means I've loosened up -- some. And I've finally traveled to Europe (more specifically, France and Turkey -- given Turkey's location, I can say Asia, as well). I like BAD country music, and I'm willing to admit it. And, as Jen told me last summer, I was visited by the "boob fairy." (Wow, I think I hear her laughing right now!)
How I have not changed: I'm still an uber-perfectionist, to a fault; I still get pretty stressed out about stuff and I'm still accused of being "too serious," whatever that means; I love coffee -- can't live without it; Topher perfectly balances me, even when he's tired to death of me; I cry at any sort of slightly emotional tv/film moment; I am a fantasy/adventure/epic movie nut (does anyone else think Pirates of the Carribbean is a Princess Bride for this decade?); I love GOOD folk music when I happen upon it; I miss Kansas, and my parents, and my home on Highway 150 that will always, always be home; I love the books that first made me want to pursue medieval studies; I love the country and cannot handle being in a city for very long; I love my memories of Marion days......
And, of course, I miss all of you.
This point in time was a rapid transition point for me, for obvious reasons, but in the next year, I also graduated from ESU, moved to Topeka, then to Marion, and settled into my first teaching job. (OK, not only is it weird to realize I've nearly been married nine years, but also a bit weird to think I've been teaching -- in some capacity -- for nearly that long as well!) My first teaching gig was at no other institution than MHS. Getting that job came as a complete surprise/
coincidence/blessing/curse. Topher and I had already moved from Emporia to Topeka in the hopes of finding teaching jobs or at least steady sub work. Then, back in Marion one weekend, I ran into Jan who heartily encouraged me to apply for the position vacated by Kris Burkholder. Yeah, I know -- it's weird for me to think about, too. But the idea was tantalizing -- and just enough crazy. At the same time, Topher landed a job at Peabody (not to be a great land for him we later realized, but at that point, we were a bit job-focused -- maybe too much so). After I interviewed at Marion and got the job, we found ourselves moving to Marion, just a block north of the high school itself. For the first time in my history, I was able to WALK to school.
All weirdness aside, my experience teaching at MHS was pretty postive -- I mean it. I was treated as a colleague and everyone had my back. Sure, I had to deal with snotty high schoolers, but I would have to deal with that anywhere. I might as well do it in a community that actually did care about me, as I learned the two years I taught there. Oh, I'm not naive -- I'm sure plenty was said about me that I never did get wind of -- but what does it matter? And my second year, of course, was much better -- I even had the chance/opportunity/death drive to direct the musical that year when Jan got married. (It made me feel good that I could kind of pay her back a portion of all the time she'd spent on productions when we were in school.) Anyway, after two years there, and Topher antsy to get out of Marion -- okay, so was I -- we moved back to Emporia to work on our M.A. degrees in English.
In December 1999, we moved to an amazing apartment that I still miss -- the story of how we found it is great, too, but I won't bore you with that now. At this point, however, I don't think Topher would mind me sharing that he began a rough spell in terms of school and work. His desire to teach had been crushed by a rough year at Peabody; his ideal jobs in software and writing were nowhere to be found in Kansas; he didn't have the resources to complete his M.A.; etc. He selflessly worked on campus at an icky desk job until I completed my degree and thesis. But then where? I had applied to graduate schools around the Midwest, hoping to work on my Ph.D. in English. We both had our eye on Illinois at Urbana-Champaign -- Topher even discovered a video game production studio that existed there! It sounded like a good college town fit for us, and when my letter of acceptance came, we packed up everything -- even LeAnn and Jason who helped us move here! They ROCK! -- We had to send them back to Kansas, however. :(
Now we've been in Champaign for the past four years, and it's really grown on us. We've begun to feel a part of the scene (even though we feel too old to really be a part of a college town scene). It was tough our first years here -- Topher searched for a job, even working as a barrista at a coffee shop for awhile. And dontcha know, graduate teaching assistants don't make much money! But Topher started working at Volition, the game studio, as a tester during the first summer we lived here, and after a few long hauls with the company, he received a position as a level designer this past February. It was a long road for him, but it all paid off because he really has what he calls his "dream job." As for me, my graduate work has gone well -- although the past several years of juggling my own research/writing and teaching every semester have been challenging, to say the least. Last February, I passed what is known as my special fields exam -- basically, a two-hour "conversation" with professors about a lengthy list of books in my area (medieval English literature and language). So, now I'm what's known as ABD -- all but dissertation -- and I'm struggling/working/loving/grieving/cheering through the whole process. At some point, maybe I'll bore you all with what I'm actually writing about! I hope to be done in less than two years. In the meantime, I'll also be teaching -- mainly rhetoric/writing and introductory literature classes -- , attending conferences to present papers, and trying to get some of my work publication-ready. After all this, I'm not sure what my job prospects will be, or if I'll even want to get a past-paced tenure-track position somewhere. Topher loves his work and we're thinking of buying a house here in the next year -- and that may allow other opportunities for us.
Ok, this has all been really boring job/school stuff, so what am I really like now? Hmmm. What has changed about me? I'm a better teacher, I think, and it is a job that doesn't stress me out as much as it used to. I am an academic writer more so than a creative writer, and I've learned to accept that change in my talents. I'm more 'girly', I think, than I used to be -- like, I only seem to wear heels everywhere, I finally got me ears pierced 3 years ago (how did I live without earrings!), and I regularly get my nails done. And I'm a bit more social -- one of my best friends here has brought that out of me. I really love to try cooking and baking more than I did when I was young. I drink every so often -- yes, I drink, and coming from a person who didn't get drunk until she was nearly 25, you know that's a change. So I guess that means I've loosened up -- some. And I've finally traveled to Europe (more specifically, France and Turkey -- given Turkey's location, I can say Asia, as well). I like BAD country music, and I'm willing to admit it. And, as Jen told me last summer, I was visited by the "boob fairy." (Wow, I think I hear her laughing right now!)
How I have not changed: I'm still an uber-perfectionist, to a fault; I still get pretty stressed out about stuff and I'm still accused of being "too serious," whatever that means; I love coffee -- can't live without it; Topher perfectly balances me, even when he's tired to death of me; I cry at any sort of slightly emotional tv/film moment; I am a fantasy/adventure/epic movie nut (does anyone else think Pirates of the Carribbean is a Princess Bride for this decade?); I love GOOD folk music when I happen upon it; I miss Kansas, and my parents, and my home on Highway 150 that will always, always be home; I love the books that first made me want to pursue medieval studies; I love the country and cannot handle being in a city for very long; I love my memories of Marion days......
And, of course, I miss all of you.
posted by Lesley at 10:14 AM
12 Comments:
Ok, I've only skimmed this because I have to be somewhere in 45 minutes but I wanted to interject here that I, too, cry at semi-emotional film moments as well as emotional ones. I admitted to Lesley that I cried when I saw the Lion, Witch, and the Wardrobe PREVIEW this year, and now I may as well admit it to all of you. I saw my name in Lesley's post so I will come back later to refute or support what she said about me.
Aww, Lesley...you're still so YOU! :) I must say two things now that I've thoroughly read your post:
1. Moving you to Illinois was a most lovely adventure, including the part where we lost Topher and the cats in Topeka.
2. I too have developed a taste for bad country music! Does it not make you think sometimes you're on the bus on the way to school in the mornings??? I turn on the classic country station for Asher in the car and Jason just cringes. I'm trying to teach Asher to sing "El Paso" by Marty Robbins but since he can't talk yet it's going rather slowly.
I am a huge fan of old-school country, but contemporary country, well, not so much. Except every now and then it reminds me of growing up in Kansas, and then it's ok, and makes me nostalgic.
Well, my 'bad' country music tendencies take me to the realm of singing along with some rather schmaltzy crossover stuff. The country station here -- sadly, no classic KFDI-type thing -- is all mainstream stuff, but somehow, I'm addicted to listening to it nonetheless and singing LOUDLY. Perhaps it is just to make my husband cringe as well :) It's stress relief mainly... and I like seeing Topher's eyes roll when he turns the car on and I've left WIXY on (yes, that's the station's name)!!! Also, I can't help but go back to my senior year of high school when I hear Garth Brooks -- even though I never liked him then!
I know, it's sad when I realize that I've been singing along with a song done by somebody called "Big and Rich"...wonder which one is which? But I still really enjoy myself.
I love love Big and Rich. Oh, and there's Big Kenny (the one with the hat?) and John Rich. I think that's it. Maybe the other way around? That's new brand of music they're dubbing "hick hop." Cracks me up.
The Boob Fairy for me is like the tooth fairy. I swear she came and took them away in the last year. And there´s no quarter under my pillow either. Sigh.
Better than the butt fairy!
Much better! But if I'd HAD a visit from the butt fairy I'd still just be big, not big and rich. Sigh.
Wonder what the butt fairy's magic wand looks like?
The butt fairy's wand:
a giant collagen injection needle!
Well, I think we decided the butt fairy would look something like the Venus of Wittendorf (is that the right word?) So we'll add the collagen injector to make the image complete! lol!
HaHa! The butt fairy. I knew someone would say that! And let me say that Hallie wastes no opportunity to comment on my, uh, proportions...I´ve never been able to find pants that fit right, because of my nalga, as they say here.
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