Epiphany in Baltimore

2001-04-20

Epiphany in Baltimore has moved to epiphanyinbaltimore.blogspot.com

I'm sick, and pissed off about it. This is the second time this academic year that I've been sick, and it really sucks. It started on Tuesday, got worse on Wednesday, was horrible on Thursday, and is just as bad today. I finally broke down today and went to the doctor. Apparently it's a little bronchitis type of thing, but showing signs of pneumonia. The last two weeks have been crummy health weeks for me, but it's tough to get back on track when I cough every two minutes. I met with Josh and Kevin and the rest of the senior staff I'll be working with this summer. Josh is better than anyone I know at inspiring enthusiasm in others. I'm actually looking forward to the summer after meeting with him. Kevin is someone I think I'll learn a lot from. He got a teaching job in Fairfax County, which is a district I'm seriously looking at. Kevin is someone I do not know well, but someone who I respect quite a bit just because he carries himself so well. The two of us were actually vying for the same position this summer, and he's the one who got it, but I'm absolutely fine with it. We had a big reslife love-in this afternoon. It was lamer than usual. Still, I was surprised at how emotional I got when Ann Bolger's death was mentioned. That woman was amazing. Her death was, and still is, a huge shock. I still expect to see her when I head to the basement of Wilson Hall. Reslifers have taken to wearing pins saying, "Do your best", which was Ann's favorite saying. It's a very simple motto, but I can still hear her saying it and feeling empowered and trusted. Yesterday was my one-year anniversary doing this diary thing. I still enjoy writing in it. There's a few things I regret. For example, I'm not sure what the purpose of me using my entire first and last name in the address was. Part of me was thinking, "I'm just going to be totally honest - I want people to get to know who I am!" when choosing my name. But I now regret it. Anyone - my employees, my students, my employers, etc - could look at this and easily be able to trace it back to me. While I certainly don't put anything criminal in here, it's always a thought in the back of my mind. I rarely talk about some of the big issues in my life - namely, relationships - because my friends all read this thing. Sometimes I feel like there's a big elephant in the room, but I'm trying to write about everything else, pretending it doesn't exist. Still, I'm honest with everything I write. I think that's important. I think it's important for someone like me to be able to have a forum like this. Since I started this thing, I've graduated from college, I've ended things with her, I've had a great summer, I've taught for almost a whole year, and in general have had some of the happiest times of my life. I've got a ways to go, and the next few months will have lots of soul searching as I decide where I want to plant my feet. We'll see how my journey progresses...