(Apologies to Eminem for the subject heading)
I spent two days last week going through files in my MUH office, doing some weeding and rearranging of papers, classroom handouts (some from as far back as my first year in graduate school: 1996), drafts of articles, drafts of diss chapters with Tilly Warnock's just-barely-legible questions scrawled in the margins of every single page (won't part with those), syllabi, seminar papers and notes from every single seminar and practicum I took at both Youngstown State and Arizona, student evaluations, yellowing print-outs of journal articles. Nine years worth of paper. Filled twelve boxes with books. Bubble-wrapped framed diplomas and Diego Rivera prints. Yesterday, I took all of it to a storage room in my building, where they'll sit for the next two weeks, awaiting the movers, awaiting the U of Michigan Dearborn, my new home.
Today's computer file day. Got to make some back-up discs of a boatload of files, save some back-up files to my hard disc space (which I'm told I can access 60 days after my departure), then delete all the personal files off of my (err, the state of Ohio's) computer. Today, I realize, is my last day at Miami University. And while for the most part, I can't wait to start fresh, I'm also a little blue. Three good years...my first academic job.
I'm thankful not to be leaving on a bad note of any sort. Miami's a great place in most respects, both the Oxford and Hamilton campuses, full of good people doing good work. Dearborn's a better fit for me--lighter teaching load, less toggling between what was becoming two jobs (one in Oxford, one in Hamilton), closer proximity to family and close friends, resources in working-class rhetorics for my writing and research, and a more pluralistic and diverse community. Glad to be making the move, but it's still a blue day.
Off to finish packing...
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