What were your parents doing at your age? No, I’m not retreading an old topic. (Tread….get it? Re-tire?) I’m responding to the prompt, actually. I think by this time my mother had shown me my father’s obituary that she had clipped from the newspaper.* I never knew him, and quite frankly, seeing the article, IContinue reading “Retire…Now!”
Tag Archives: academia
Can Retirement Be a Dream Job?
What’s your dream job? People often asked me why I was retiring from my position as a college professor in Theatre when I clearly enjoyed it so much. And my constant refrain was always: “I love my work but I hate my job.” I liked working with students, I enjoyed some aspects of teaching, andContinue reading “Can Retirement Be a Dream Job?”
Hard Choices
What’s the hardest decision you’ve ever had to make? Why? Sometimes, you’re asked a question, and you have to replay your entire life in your mind—rewind, fast-forward, stop, play, then more rewinding… Did you miss any details, and did you see enough of the highlights? Rewind again…. Or maybe it’s more like checking your analytics.Continue reading “Hard Choices”
Deconstructing the Year
What’s your favorite month of the year? Why? One of the things I focused on when teaching postmodernism and deconstruction was looking at the negative space, at what isn’t there. This is not to be confused with liminal space, or the space in between things. A google search suggests a door may be considered aContinue reading “Deconstructing the Year”
Adulting?!
When was the first time you really felt like a grown up (if ever)? I’m not sure when I first encountered the word “adulting” but I find it to be both apt and an odd concoction that’s arisen from the English language. I’m still not sure I like it, but it seems my approval isContinue reading “Adulting?!”
Speaking of Motivation
What motivates you? There’s the old joke about the actor who constantly asks, “What’s my motivation?” It’s part of the actor’s job to figure that out, not to be spoon-fed the answers by the director. In one instance, when an actor was told to cross from one side of the stage to the other, heContinue reading “Speaking of Motivation”
Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes
What change, big or small, would you like your blog to make in the world? Once again, the prompt kicks in an earworm that will be with me the rest of the day. As for the prompt itself: I’ve become a bit cynical over the years about effecting change in the world. I spent 31Continue reading “Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes”
Summer Better Than Others
What is your favorite season of year? Why? Of the seasons, I prefer summer for a variety of reasons. We’ll get to those reasons in a moment, but let’s look at the cons of the others. Winter has cold and often snow. Although I did some sledding as a child, this was not as fulfillingContinue reading “Summer Better Than Others”
Legacy
What is the legacy you want to leave behind? Before my retirement, several people got together to throw me a surprise retirement party before the Saturday performance of my last show on campus. In attendance were students from my 17 years at the campus, representing a wide range of productions. Several of them had incredibleContinue reading “Legacy”
Job? What Job?
What’s a job you would like to do for just one day? I recently retired from academia after 31 years of teaching. I found my life as a university professor fulfilling overall, with minor exceptions for policy changes that entered into the equation over the years, and for a decline in both enrollments and studentContinue reading “Job? What Job?”
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