Congrats to N. for finishing a whopping 6 years commuting to and from New Jersey! I thought about figuring out the number of miles and hours you put in slogging from Brooklyn to central NJ but I don't want to depress you or my 4.5 readers.
For those of you who don't know, N. had a really rough commute for a less than stellar teaching environment for a less than stellar salary. And you know what? He didn't complain about it. I know, it's crazy since I've been known to complain about the hair on my left pinky toe or the texture of a piece of cheese, but N. would get up at 5:30 AM to get to Jersey by 8:00, teach a 5 hour class, have office hours, maybe have 20 minutes to scarf down a mediocre Quik Check sandwich at his desk, and then teach another 5 hour class. After that, he'd finally drive the hour-if-you're-lucky home only to spend 20 minutes looking for a parking spot. He didn't have any of the heaps of time off that other academics get either since the terms began anew every eleven weeks. Despite all this, he never complained. I know, I'm a lucky woman.
He will have to drive to work in NH but it will be a simple 30 minutes down the comparatively empty highway to a beautiful school with a real art department, traditional students, and an actual cafeteria where he might get to eat some kind of human lunch. Plus, no night classes! And no more looking for parking since our new place comes with a driveway!
Here's to a job well done, N. And here's to better schedules, less traffic, and more satisfying classes in your NH future!
1 comment:
Thanks for waiting up for me.
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