Today ended up being MUCH better than I thought.
I managed to fall back into my school morning routine pretty quickly. I got to campus, chatted with some friends, and made my way to my new academic home. All my classes are held in Reinhardt Hall and since it's stocked with a full kitchen, showers, and lockers for each student, I expect to be living there part of the time. And I'm more than okay with that.
Considering I didn't read for ANY of my classes today (I still don't have all my books yet), I managed to get by. We jumped into discussion of the material for Organizational Efficacy; I realized that Mills has given me the tools to get by in a situation when I'm not prepared. I got by and contributed to the conversation using my own knowledge and experiences. I really overestimated the class, but I am still conscious of the fact that I can't skip the readings. I'll only be hurting myself.
My class with Mark was FANTASTIC and I can tell I'm going to love every second of it. I signed up to lead three class discussions of the reading throughout the semester. And since I'll be missing a few classes, I'll be giving mini-presentations on what I learned during my travels, as they relate to planning. Again, not something I'm particularly worried about.
I had a two hour break following Mark's class, in which I shared lunch with Isabel, chatted with friends, and sat on the benches beneath the Campanil. I've spent the past four years here and never once have I sat beneath the clock tower. I find this amusing, since my favorite historical fact about the campus is that the Campanil (which chimes every quarter hour) was the first concrete-reinforced structure west of the Mississippi River. When you consider the area west of this major river, this is a serious deal. I turned in my cross-registration paper (YAY!!!) and then cruised back up to Reinhardt for my final class of the day.
This class, Qualitative Methods, proved to be a little harder to BS. We were supposed to have read the majority of a book that (you guessed right) has not arrived yet! Even though I could think of valid answers to many of Carol's questions, they were text-specific, so I didn't want to risk looking like an idiot and a liar. As they say "Better to remain silent and be thought a fool, rather than to open your mouth and remove all doubt." Again: sound advice. Sometimes, though, I have to mentally tell myself NOT TO SAY A WORD in class, when I haven't read the material due for that particular class lecture and discussion. The last thing I want to do is be called out by a professor for having not done the readings.
Heading home was a relief, despite the things I have on my To-Do List. I'm leaving tomorrow after class to Colorado to visit Cameron and see my folks for Labor Day weekend. I took the initiative of making a list of everything I need to do. I got to most of them, but I will still end up packing tomorrow morning. I had Riley over for dinner and to keep my company while I did my laundry and cleaned up. Now, he's passed out (which I'm ready to do also) and I will get to the rest of my travel things tomorrow, before I head to class and then to the airport. I'm not looking forward to having to haul so many books to Colorado, but considering I have fallen behind from the start, this is my opportunity to catch up. Getting ahead isn't likely, but one can hope. As long as I have hope, the odds will be in my favor.
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