Whirlwind

Today I finished orientation. It was an informative but arduous process of learning how complex it is to be a new faculty member in one of the largest schools in California. The institutional research people even said that CSUF will likely surpass UCLA in enrollment (including part-time students) and all other CSU schools this term. So, an update is in order.

Move -> fast, furious, mostly painless, time consuming
New House -> clean, painted, full of boxes, and organized according to our desires. It is not finished, but the major projects (excepting the kitchen) are nearly completed.
New Courses -> nearly ready, but still no syllabi (that is next on my list)
New Commute -> about 1 hour 45 minutes on average. That entails around 11 bike miles and 40 train miles. I could likely do it fast in the car, but I can exercise before my commute (bike), work on the train, exercise before school, work all day, exercise after school, work on the train, and exercise before I get home. I should be fit, right?
New Colleagues -> unbelievably welcoming and warm. From what it appears on the surface, they are interested in retention in tenure, not expulsion.
New Office -> still no furniture, no computer, but a nice clean floor and a good view from the window. I think that if I stayed late enough, I could watch the fireworks at Disneyland from here.