Grad School Diaries: Day 1

I'm trying something a little different stylistically. Let me know what you think.

Thursday, August 23, 2007

3:40am - Awaken to the sound of the alarm clock. Drag self out of bed and into shower. Question the wisdom of this whole "taking the train to school" thing.

4:15am - Drive to train station. Stop at 9 out of 10 traffic signals. Notice no other cars at intersections. Wonder whether signals are operated by disgruntled DMV employees.

4:45am - Spend almost $90 for 10-trip train ticket. Question the wisdom of this whole "taking the train to school" thing.

4:55am - Board train. Begin 1st homework assignment: Must read A Primer for Christian Doctrine by next Tuesday. Become lost in crisscrossing threads of competing doctrinal viewpoints.

6:45am - Arrive at final train destination. Board bus at 7am.

7:10am - Exit bus. Walk to campus. Wish it weren't so humid.

8:00am - First class: Theology I. Prof seems to know his stuff, has a sense of humor, and gives a very good impression overall. Heavy reading assignments, but actual workload not too bad.

9:15am - After class, sit in lounge and continue reading Primer. Sheer variety of doctrinal views is dizzying.

10:40am - Get lunch at Student Union. Marvel at the reasonable prices and good food. Wonder why LU couldn't make such food.

11:05am - Walk across campus for 11:30 class. Wish it weren't so hot.

11:15am - Arrive outside classroom. Notice that room is full of people. Assume there must be a class before yours.

11:28am - Wonder why no one has left the classroom. Begin to be nervous. Poke head in door. Learn that "11:30 class" actually starts at 10:30. Feel like an idiot. Feel grateful the only remaining seat is in a back corner of the room. Fail to become invisible while taking seat.

11:50am - While going through syllabus, gape at the absurd amount of reading required. Experience horrific flashbacks to "Freshman Honors Seminar." Attempt to shake them off.

12:20pm - After class, apologize profusely to Prof for tardiness. He commiserates, says not to worry about it. Feel a little better.

1:00pm - Meet Chair of MA-Philosophy department while wandering campus. Tell story of tardiness. Feel a little better when he says not to lose any sleep over it.

1:20pm - Head for first philosophy class (Epistemology I). Hope not to arrive late again.

1:30pm - Class begins at time predicted. Relief and giddiness collide.

1:45 - Already somewhat confused. Prof's intro a bit technical. Jot down numerous terms: knowledge, justified belief, epistemic normativity. The "First-Year Fog" begins to creep in. Take Prof at his word that we'll understand it all by end of semester.

2:50pm - Class over, walk back to bus stop from campus. Wish Biola were in Seattle. Or at least an area with some shade.

3:20pm - Board bus.

3:50pm - Board train. Resume reading Primer. Allow head to spin.

5:45pm - Arrive at home station. Drive home.

7:45pm - Discover sunburn on hands and arms. Curse pallid European heredity. Search for sunscreen.

9:45pm - Crash. Thank the Lord there are only two class days per week.

Down to the wire...

My first graduate class is one week from Thursday.

This simple, straightforward fact has carried with it some unforeseen consequences. To wit:

1) Continuing students got to register about a month and a half before new students did. This resulted in a rather shallower course-pool for me to choose from than I would have liked. In the end, I wound up with a Tuesday-Thursday-Saturday schedule of four classes (two on Tuesday and Thursday, one only on Thursday, and one on Saturday) totalling 11 units.

And the Saturday one's a doozy: 9am-4pm. It only meets 5 days, but it's still for 7 hours each time (minus breaks, of which I dearly hope there are several). I'm trying to reserve judgment on the format, but I don't expect it to be my favorite.

2) As I believe I've mentioned, I'm planning to take advantage of the train and bus systems to travel to and from campus. Well, since my first class on Tuesday/Thursday starts at 8am, the only way for me to get to campus on time is to take the train that departs at 4:50am. To reach the station in time, I need to leave home around 4:30am. Not since 8th grade has my bedtime been as early as it will be starting next week. I hope to avoid this in future semesters by registering before all the afternoon class sections are taken.

Being bound by the timetables could also pose some interesting limitations when it comes to getting home again. My primary concern in this regard is that such limitations will limit my ability to participate in outside-the-classroom activities (e.g. harassing professors, study groups, etc.). We'll see how it goes.

***
On top of all that, I've finally been able to get the ball rolling on my substitute-teaching application process. The paperwork is turned in and I have orientation tomorrow, but the whole mess still has to go to the district board for approval. If I'm lucky, I'll be able to start working sometime in September. (And thanks to the early-morning train schedules, the early-morning subbing calls will feel like sleeping in. Almost.)

I'm excited about returning to school, though I'm also a little apprehensive; I *have* been out for a year, and I'm sure the grad program will be more intense than my undergrad one was. I hope I'm cut out for it.

To be honest, though, I'm more anxious about subbing. It will be a completely new experience for me, and I hope I'll be good at it. Call me sentimental or idealistic, but I really want to do a good job with subbing. I'm not under any illusions that I can turn the educational system around, but I'd at least like to not make things worse.

I would appreciate your prayers for me (and all the rest of the students who are starting up in the coming weeks).