Author Archives: stephenschrum

Almost There…

I did some rearranging in the home office, and now have close to my professional mic set-up once again. This is in preparation for more Kid Again episodes as well as the last two episodes of Audio Chimera season 4. I’m currently editing episode 46: “Migration” (about immigration, but of course I range beyond that.)Continue reading “Almost There…”

Cleaning Up/Out

This weekend, I had two dreams about cleaning out my school/campus office. This comes right after I did in fact clean out my most recent campus office. Was it a bittersweet moment leaving it behind? Actually, no; it was just another step towards retirement. Although the actual process of cleaning out my office took severalContinue reading “Cleaning Up/Out”

Which of These Things Is Not Like the Other?

So I “unofficially” started my retirement yesterday—May 1! May Day! And yet it somehow doesn’t seem exactly real, for a few reasons. First of all, my official retirement date is August 31, the real 17-years-after-starting cut-off date. Also, I haven’t begun the whole medicare, social security, and pension dance yet. But finally, the real reasonContinue reading “Which of These Things Is Not Like the Other?”

Ever Nearer the End…

As we enter finals week of my last semester of teaching before retirement, I find myself frequently reflecting on the idea of my legacy. If you’ve listened to my podcast, you know my greatest fear is to be forgotten. And so, recalling ways that my memory lives on in my last position is important toContinue reading “Ever Nearer the End…”

Almost There…

There are 15 days until commencement: that’s my unofficial retirement date. The true date is at the end of the summer, 17 years from when I started. Meanwhile I head toward the end of the semester, waiting for overdue papers, papers that are still due, and a mountain of grading to get through before IContinue reading “Almost There…”

The Crush Is On

I am retiring at the end of this semester of teaching. People inevitably have two questions: 1) What will you do after retirement? and 2) Are you counting down the days? The first question is often asked with a slight negativity infused into it. I am a college professor; how could I possibly consider leavingContinue reading “The Crush Is On”

Multitracking

Maybe I should call this entry “multitasking” but a) I do that all day long, and b) I tend to think of my projects as different tracks, like in GarageBand: one starts, one stops, another starts, and then sometimes they run concurrently. A few months ago, Greensburg and Latrobe, PA installed new traffic and crosswalkContinue reading “Multitracking”

Watchers of the Dawn

A few years back, I had an idea for a novel. Using two NaNoWriMos (National Novel-Writing Months) and some meeting with students about some of my ideas, I fleshed out the narrative. I had originally hoped to create a graphic novel, but writing the actual novel made more sense at the time. I had thenContinue reading “Watchers of the Dawn”

Paperwork and Paperweights

The preparation for the show continues; I have created the beginnings of my prompt book, which I believe is a necessary part of pre-production for any director. I also created the rough rehearsal schedule, a character breakdown—which shows what characters are on which pages (it’s a small cast in a farce so by Act IIIContinue reading “Paperwork and Paperweights”