TUESDAY. 5:16 PM. Can you believe that there's been an entry two days in a row? Well, golly, will wonders ever cease?

Today was the first day of classes at the Home of the Terrapins. Someone turned summer on again because the weather was sunny and warm (compared to the rainy and chilly weekend).

Students ran, walked, leisurely strolled, and lounged all over campus today. Some seemed hurried. Some seemed already harrowed. Some seemed entirely indifferent to the hubbub of the first day of school.

I began the day with my long established tradition of going to the office of my friend and former professor and writing mentor Dr. Michael Olmert to sit and chat. I found out that a project he wrote for Discovery is nominated for an Emmy. The program is called Walking with Prehistoric Beasts in the "Outstanding Animated Program (For Programming One Hour Or More)" category. That's pretty darn cool. He's an absolutely amazing human being and I hope to be like him when I grow up (more).

Then I discovered that it's quite a hike from my office (located on the south side of campus) to the classrooms where I am teaching (located on the north far side of campus). I guess I'll get a lot of hiking in this semester. I teach in the Cambridge Community Center, the Computer and Space Sciences Building, and the brand new and very swanky Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center. All of these places are a brisk fifteen minute walk (more like twenty) from where the Freshman Writing office is in Susquehanna Hall and where my office is in Temporary Building I near Susquehanna.

My students seem like they'll be a good bunch this year. Most seemed to respond to me and to laugh at the appropriate time and ask a fair number of questions. I can already spot a few possible disinterested faces, but hopefully I can swing them around to at least get something out of their time in the classroom (or maybe they'll simply drop out of the class).

It was really invigorating to be in front of the classroom again. Though, I pour so much energy into keep the motivation high and my own interest level high that I'm drained by the end of the teaching day. But it's all worth it to me. And I guess I'm both invigorated in mind and spirit thought I'm tired physically and emotionally from the exertion.

As per usual, most of the students were completely blown away that I was going to be their teacher. A few of them even asked a lot of questions to try to figure out how it is possible that a "young looking," pink-haired, wallet chain-wearing, tattooed guy could be their instructor. It was funny and endearing. I'm glad to blow apart some of their pre-conceptions on day one. The rest of the semester will only get better and more challenging.

FRIDAY. 11:00 AM. I know I'm totally riding the coattails of Wil Wheaton, but this is not okay.

MONDAY. 12:37 PM. The weekend went by in a blur. So fast. Whoosh. And now it's Monday and I'm very glad that I teach Tuesday and Thursday. I get to have an extra day to recover and rest. I guess this means I have to do a recap of the whooshing weekend.

Friday night, I went down into DC to see my friend Nancy. I helped her move some stuff from her apartment in Chevy Chase, MD to her new apartment in the heart of Adams Morgan. She literally lives a couple of blocks away from the main drag. I went to see the progress on her new place and to hang out in the city. I am jealous of her new city life and I'm glad she's getting the chance to do the whole city thing.

We started the evening with a few Stoli Vanilas and ginger ale. Then I took her to Asylum, where the drinks were cheap and people really friendly. We ended up sitting with two random women and chatted a while. It was a lot of fun.

After Asylum, we walked across the street to Julia's Empanadas, which is now one of my favorite places in DC. I had never had an empanada, which are basically baked pastry pies filled with dessert fruit to savory beans or meat or vegetables. Very tasty. Very highly recommended. It was like being back in the Mission in San Francisco.

From Julia's we walked down to the Pharmacy Bar, whose website isn't currently working. Nancy and I had a drink there and then decided that it would be a good idea to have something without alcohol in it.

Tryst was next. We sat down and ordered a chai for her and a decaf mocha for me. When our drinks came, Nancy asked to taste my coffee. I handed her the pint glass (remember PINT glass) and said that it was a little hot. She takes hold of the pint glass and proceeds to DUMP the ENTIRE thing in my LAP. Sploosh. Fortunately for me, my clothes seemed to have been an adequate sponge and thermal insulation because I was not burned at all. The coffee was scalding. I sat there stunned. Drunk and stunned. The people at the tables RIGHT next to us were agape. It was actually hysterically funny. The waitress came over and saw the aftermath and said she'd get me another one. And I said, "Nancy! She thinks *I* dumped my own drink on myself!" It was too funny. I was brown from nipples to knees. Brown and frothy. We managed to sit and finish our drinks and chat a little. While Nancy was in the bathroom, I turned to the two gay boys (on a date, they were so cute) to my right and said, "Thank god she and I are just friends and this isn't like a date or anything." There was much laughter. After the coffee on my groin, I decided that I was done. My chances of hooking up were drastically reduced from the usual "snowball in hell" chance to basically near absolute zero.

Saturday was a little slow during the day. I spent most of it working on some writing and updating my website. Saturday night, a bunch of people were gathering for my friend Rob's birthday. Happy birthday to Rob! There was much drinking to be had that night, too. It was a lot of fun. Before any of us realized, it was like two o'clock in the morning.

Sunday was even slower. But I managed to go and play Tellings, which was a good session even with bleary-eyed, hungover players.

I slept very soundly Sunday night.

Today, I've spent most of the day grading the first response papers from my classes. They're generally pretty good. It will be an interesting semester I think. Tonight I'm going to a meet-and-greet at the University of Maryland for the LGBT and allied students, staff, and faculty on campus. I should run into some friends I haven't seen since I've been back. And I hope to make some new ones.

WEDNESDAY. 11:00 AM. I prefer to take this day, this time, to wish my friend Shawn a very happy birthday! I hope to gather some folks and take him out for some food and drinks and laughs. Today (and everyday) is about living in the present and realizing we all have a lot to love, to learn about, and to remember. Happy birthday, Shawn! Peace!

SATURDAY. 7:38 PM. I have been so busy as of late. Too many projects running around in my brain. But I'm happy to be busy. Teaching is going fine. I cannot believe it's already two weeks gone. My students are slowly sorting out their new lives at college. Their first paper is due on Tuesday. Then I get to be in grading hell.

I've been working a lot on the revision for Archaea; the new website is almost done and the 5th edition sourcebook is nearing completion as well. I am hoping to start up the game again this November just in time for Archaea's 10th Year Anniversary. Crazy. Time is certainly flying by.

I have also been working a ton on my website. I developed six rolls of film this past week. I've been madly scanning photos and putting them up. Go here for pictures of my new apartment. Go here for pictures of Ed looking sharp in a kilt for Kate and Skinner's wedding. Go here for pictures of my trip with Dustin to Seattle. Go here for pictures of my trip with Dustin to New York City. More is on its way.

"I don't care if it rains or freezes
'Long as I got my Plastic Jesus
Riding on the dashboard of my car.
Through my trials and tribulations
And my travels through the nations
With my Plastic Jesus I'll go far."
--Ernie Marrs

WEDNESDAY. 3:36 PM. I got a very curious housewarming gift yesterday from my friend Dana. She gave me a four-inch tall plastic Jesus. He's wearing an orange robe with a blue cloak and sits on a rock with his hands clasped in his lap. He has an almost contemplative expression (though according to some, he looks like he's on the toilet). His lips are painted a garish color of glossy pink. He almost looks pouty.

At first I didn't know what to make of the gift. I'm not a Christian by any stretch of the imagination. But somehow I was a tinge uncomfortable with accepting it, with putting it in my home, with having to display it somewhere visible. It's not very often I'm confronted with a such a dilemna, one that skirts the edge of bad taste, disrespect, even the idea of sanctity.

Like I said, I'm not a Christian nor am I religious in any traditional sense. But I do believe in the potent power of symbols. But how could a very poorly made, poorly painted plastic Jesus made in China for a dollar store by handsthat probably could've cared less that it was some deific representation have any power? It's an interesting question. Clearly, he does have some power in my mind. He is definitely lower-case for me.

He's sitting next to me right now on my desk staring wanfully at the bookshelves nearby. I look over there expecting to have some bizarre surrealist moment where the statuette springs to life and tells me to "believe in me."

I can't help but feeling a little queesy, a little queer (pardon the pun), like I'm suddenly remembering something not so nice from my past. It's like I'm the victim of some secret indoctrination. Well, maybe not so secret. It is the United States after all and for all out talk about the separation of church and state, it's like Prego spaghetti sauce--it's in there! Why do I feel like I'm going to be eternally damned? Why does he keep looking away like he knows I'm talking about him?

All silliness aside, I guess I am a man of respect. I may not subscribe to Christianity but I understand that an sacred image no matter how profanely made is still an image of certain profound ideals. And in those mind-body-spirit-thought-word-object associations, the object is powerful. I don't want to disrespect those that would hold such a thing in reverence.

Yet, I am also shy of having things that conjure less than favorable associations with Christianity--persecution, homophobia, oppression, conversion, and ultimately violence. I guess he worries me. He worries me in a way that makes me want to leave him on the side of the road or at the doorstep of some more understanding family.

I don't know what I'm going to do with my little Jesus. He definitely pushes a couple of comfort zones for me. In that sense, he has taught me something already about myself. For now, I'll keep him on my desk so he can watch me grade my students first papers. Maybe he'll offer some sort of inspiration or perhaps consolation in the process. And I can look up now and then and wonder again why he has such pouty lips.

MONDAY. 11:29 AM. Sigh. A good way to start off a Monday entry, right? But the sentiment fits. It's a sigh because the weekend was long and full and I'm tired but glad. And it's a sight because I just finished a harangue with my cable internet service provider and am not glad.

The short story is that I have not had a stable connection to my apartment for a month. My cable access was initiated on August 23. One month later, I still do not have connectivity. Basically, I'm dropped ever few minutes. The techs (and there have been four) that have come out to "fix" the problem have told me that my signal is very weak and a new line needs to be put in. To get my cable line replace has required me to wrangle not only with the cable company but with my rental office. Both have given me the run around. Supposedly, the problem will be fixed this coming Wednesday. I have alerted both the cable company and my rental office. All I can do is hope.

Other than my battle with corporate bureaucracies, things have been busy and pretty good. Teaching is taking up a lot of my energy. Now that I've started to grade their first papers, it's also taking up a lot of my time. But I'm having fun. It's hard work.

This past Friday night, I took my friends Shawn and Ryan down to Adams Morgan. They had never really been and I had promised them a while back that I'd take them out drinking. They're a couple of the young'uns in our group of friends and complain that when they finally hit legal drinking age the rest of us stopped partying. Well, I'm not quite done yet. We hit up Asylum and Pharmacy Bar and Toledo Lounge. I ran into my friend Nancy and her friend Chris. It was a good night. But I'm definitely feeling my creaking bones and wincing liver.

Saturday, I went with Meredith, Kate, and Skinner to the Maryland Renaissance Festival. We met up with a bunch of other people and partook in merriment and ribaldry and drink. I hadn't been to the MD ren fest in years. It's still pretty much the same: shows, vendors, fest actors, vendors, costumes, vendors, food, vendors, mead, vendors, games, vendors, annoying fest actors, vendors, and an elephant (which was new to me). We all had a good time though. There was much drinking to be had under the shady open-air pavillion of the Red Dragon Inn.

Saturday night, I went to a BBQ-slash-party held by the University of Maryland's Graduate English Organization. It was a fun evening though I was a bit bedraggled after drinking on Friday night and drinking during Saturday day. So, what better way to get over exhaustion than with more drinking! I met a bunch of the new Master's and MFA students. I even met a few people who have my sister in their classes. (Alenda wasn't feeling well and couldn't make the party.) I made a few new friends. Everyone was really cool (and young) and smart and well-spoken.

It was definitely interesting being at a party of mostly graduate students in English. Where else can you hear a conversation about early modern plays next to a conversation about whether Byron could beat up Wordsworth in a fist fight? It was a fascinating evening.

Sunday, my gaming group got together to play Tellings. It was a decent session. My friend Dana, who is married to Rob, joined our table.

Today, I'm working on grading papers. It's going slow. I forgot how slow it can be (and how grueling it can be). I'm trying to pick up the pace so I feel like I'm making a dent in the pile I have. Hopefully, I'll get most of the grading done so I can have a week off before their next papers come in. Ahh, the joys of teaching English 101.

MONDAY. 3:57 PM. My father stopped by to say hello to me and to drop off some random things (he's like that). In the five minutes that he stayed, he told me that he and a friend of his won a silver medal in the Maryland Senior Olympics playing tennis in the "Mens 55 Doubles." They qualify to go to the National Senior Olympics next year in Virginia Beach. Go dad! That's pretty darn cool. I'm proud of him.

In other news, I'd like to wish my friend Meghan a very happy birthday!

FRIDAY. 2:51 PM. I am very tired. Have I said that enough? I am very tired. This past week has been chock full of work. Mainly, I have been grading my students' first papers. Sixty three to four page papers. I've got about two dozen left to finish before next week. I had forgotten how draining commenting and correcting papers can be. It's probably my least favorite part of teaching. But I'll struggle through. Now, if the papers were all brilliant and well-crafted, I would have nothing to complain about. Alas, my students are still young in their skills. I have to give them credit for effort. Besides, they are in my class for a reason, right?

I am also still in the midst of finishing up the revision of the Archaea rulebook. It's taking a bit more time than I had anticipated. Lump that in with the revamp of the website and I've got a more than full plate.

There is good news. My high-speed internet cable access is finally fixed. They event came out to fix it a day early from my scheduled appointment. I guess my nine page fax I sent to their complaints department might have spurred them into action. It's a bit late but I'm glad my connection is happy and stable.

I have also decided to add to my distractions. I want to buy a television soon. I have been without one since I moved into my apartment. I was going to abstain but the new television season has lured me in. I watched the season premiere of Buffy, which I thought was pretty funny and definitely on the right tract after the abysmally depressing last season. "Oh my god, I have mom hair!" It's just too funny. I also saw the season opener of Smallville, which was also fun. I've heard from my students that the new season of Real World XII in Las Vegas has already started off scandalous. I guess I'll have to find out for myself.

Anyway, I've got to get back to my pile of stuff to do. More later.