I survived
That's mainly how I feel about yesterday, my first day back this semester at LSU. I was absolutely pooped by the end of the day, but I survived and made it home in one piece.
The building my department (and several others) has been in is now closed for renovation. We all have moved across campus to a different building. Yesterday felt like the first day at a New School, not sure where to go, parking in a new parking lot, getting keys, trying to find my way around, having to do a grand wander just to find a ladies' room (when you're pregnant, that's an important bit of information). I kept bumping into other students who looked like how I felt.
And nobody seemed to be around! A few professors had hours in the afternoon, but it felt strangely empty. By the end of the day I was the last one there, sitting in room full of empty shelves and piled boxes, staring out at my view of the next building, into other offices. It felt weird and a little lonely. The floor where all our offices is dark and close feeling. Low ceilings and concrete walls lend the oppressive feel of Communist architecture. Once inside offices, though, it's not so bad. My professor next door has two cozy rugs and a potted plant--his office feels quite pleasant.
I think once things are a bit more settled and when I've gotten used to my surroundings it won't feel quite so strange any more. It will be nice when the seminar room is unpacked, and we can start to have Packed-Lunch Club again. And I'll definitely need to bring more food than I brought yesterday. I brought a good lunch, but not enough snacks.
My classes will be good. I'm taking a seminar in medieval notation, which should be great fun and is my only music class. Then I'm taking a lecture class on the Renaissance. It's a 4000-level class, so there's mostly undergrads. It's straightforward, and I really like the prof (who I've had before), so I'm sure the class will be just fine. Then I'm also up to take another history seminar of readings in medieval history, but I think a schedule conflict that I hoped would be resolved won't be able to be resolved, so I probably won't be able to take it. Bummer. So now I have to think of what to do. There's no other class in the university that I could take, so I'll probably do an independent study, because I need those 3 more hours of graduate credit. I think I need them in history, too, for my minor. We'll see.
I also have papers to finish :P and a dissertation to start. Should be a good semester.