For the past five years, I’ve been primarily working at home. In the fall, I am returning to full-time teaching and will be once again joining the river of commuters on I-40. I’m immensely excited about this change, and yet I know every change, even a good one, has a period of adjustment. Here is a partial list of things I will no longer be able to do at the end of this month.
- TUI. No more typing under the influence. Although, some professors I’ve known make me wonder if this is not altogether out of the realm of possibility.
- Work in my pajamas. Again, see the disclaimer on #1.
- Sleep until 8:30 if I damn well feel like it. (I have an 8:00 class every day this fall. 45 minute drive-time, 10 minute get-from-parking-lot-to-office time, 20 minutes to make sure I have a clue what I’m teaching that morning, and 15 minutes to check e-mails adds up to leaving the house by 6:30.
- Take a break to play with my dogs.
- Stop work to throw a load of clothes in the dryer. (No, wait, that’s a good thing.)
- Eat lunch with Susie.
- Use Facebook as my personal water cooler. No more keeping it open all day long on my second screen so I can watch all you people come and go (i.e., “walk by my office door”).
- Brag about how green I am because I only put an average of 10-50 miles on my car in a week.
- Bitch that I never have time to read.
- Complain that I’m not doing anything useful with my life.
You are so lucky.
On second thought, luck has nothing to do with it. YOU DESERVE THIS. I’m just jealous. I’m still standing in line, tho. I’ll be next.