Well, I've made it through the first week of winter quarter. I'm back to 10 credits again, so that means I get off work at five, go to class at six and stay until 8:30 Monday through Thursday now.
I'm taking Pacific Northwest History Monday and Wednesday. This is my first 200 level class, and holy crap am I thankful that english is my first language. The first little reading assignment was a paper about 'sense of place', concerning the ways that human inhabitants think about their geology as part of their personal sense of place in relation to work and natural resources and way of life, and how the people who live in a place have to be considered as a part of the place history. It was one of those articles that uses the same word to mean 3 or 4 different things, and while I understood it, it was so jumbledypeg that I couldn't regurgitate the information without confusing the pants off of everyone with the word 'Place'.
TuesThur is World History 1500-1800. This is a 100 level, and it shows. Dude is all: "The reading assignments are mostly suggestions. Don't sweat it if you don't quite finish them, just come to class with enough information about them to be able to discuss."
There are a lot of Running Start (High School advance program) kids in the class which means, for the first time in my life, I'm on the lecherous end of the "Well aren't you the tasty jailbait niblet" spectrum. These inclinations would obviously be illegal and disasterous and are not to be flaunted or acted upon, but any class is more interesting when there are hot hot hotpants around. (This is Cake's favorite part about going to class in the daytime. More hot girls. Fewer old ladies who ask half hour long questions and send emails in all caps.)
The younguns, however, are the least of my worries. Both my current Profs tend to dodge around the classroom and pick up on every passing tangent with wild abandon. MW obviously loves/hates the Pacific Northwest with the same kind of passion I came home from NY with, and his family is old school PNWestern just like mine. TTH has a breakneck stream of consciousness monologue that is not so much random as 'not the direction you expected it to go." So far, history professors are turning out to be Extremely Enthusiastic Motherfuckers.
And I am damn hot for enthusiasm.
I don't even really care what the enthusiasm is about. You could come up to me and say "I'm CRAZY about identifying the makes and models of dump trucks! Did you know that while there are 3 major dump truck manufacturers in the United States, most state owned dump trucks are made by specialty truck companies other than the major 3?! WOW! Dumptrucks are awesome!", and I'd generally consider you quality makeout material.*
So I guess I'm experiencing 2 naughty and somewhat conflicting firsts at the same time. Hot for young and fresh faced students, Hot for balding, enthusiastic teachers.
Again, the situation is made ever more delightful by their total inaccessability. Both are husbands and dads and on staff at a school I attend. Besides all that, I've been going out with Cake all this time because he's the most insanely enthusiastic guy I've ever met. (But don't tell him that. He thinks we're going out because he's handsome.)
*this does not apply to know it alls, only excited learners.
Posted by Sonya at January 7, 2005 10:54 AM