Sorry for the radio silence, guys and girls, but I'm still only able to access the Internet and all its wonders when I'm on campus. And usually when I'm there I'm in homework mode.

All is well - very well, actually. The department, unlike some English departments elsewhere in academia, is very supportive, and the grad students are friendly and helpful to us newly-minted T.A.s. I got my assignment for the fall - I'll be teaching two freshman English courses in the computer classrooms! Monday-Wednesday-Friday at 9 and 10 a.m. Apparently word got out that I am not afraid of technology. Here I'm actually the techno-geek! Tuesdays and Thursdays I'll take my lit classes, American Lit to 1875 and British Romantic literature (and no, that does not mean Barbara Cartland novels!) Classes this summer are great, and yesterday I got to lead a writing exercise in my internship freshman comp class. They are so very sleepy at 8 a.m.

I do have a negative story to report. I was attacked in my new apartment the other night. There I was, doing homework at my computer, when I noticed movement out of corner of my eye. It was a palmetto bug the size of a canned ham. I hate those things! I screamed, which of course caught its attention. I think they sprayed the place before we moved in, so it was probably all spaced out on industrial strength Raid. The equivalent of a homeless person strung out on crack. It took off in a lazy arc of flight toward me, so I ran out of the room, figuring that I would just tell my professor that I have severe roachophobia and was unable to complete the assignment. I decided to call Godfrey. One of his chief household duties is to take care of this sort of thing. Get this - he refused to make the four-hour drive to kill the bug! While I was whining about the issue, the strung-out bug staggered into the bedroom! The bastard was stalking me! Fortunately, Fluffypuff the cat decided to do something about it. She played with it for several minutes. Eventually it was stunned enough for me to push it out the front door with a broom without it launching itself at me. The next day - the body was gone.