It's been 8 weeks since the start of the academic year at UT (and pretty much any other semester-based university) and my fears of being nostalgic have proven to be anything but.
I haven't had a break from school since kindergarten. KINDERGARTEN. That's 1987 folks. 13 years of primary and secondary school, 4 years of college, and 7 total years of graduate school, fall 2011 is my first Fall off since the fall of 1986.
It's been GREAT.
Only academia can make you think that leaving the house at 7am and getting back home after 7pm is normal if you're not a business person, attorney, physician, business owner, etc. That not going to school at all is absurd. That if you sleep in on a weekday, you should be flogged.
I'm getting more music written regularly than I ever have before. I have a modest line of commissions set up for the year and have a wonderful and brilliant wife who supports me spending my time writing. (In her words, most non-academic, entry-level jobs might annoy me and she'd have to listen to me complain about it every day. VERY TRUE. :)
I do miss teaching. A lot. I'm itching to teach again, the daily interaction with undergrads or grad students. But I don't miss the grading. I HATED the grading (but who doesn't, no?).
I'm looking forward to applying to another round of faculty positions around the country and get back in the groove, but if the last 8 weeks are any sort of indicator, I'm going to enjoy this academic year, much more than I had anticipated.
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