Saturday, September 24, 2005

 

Up in LA Way

I can't catch up on everything, but I'll hit a few of the highlights. This week has been "welcome week." From Monday to Thursday, all the new teachers were forced to sit through eight hour days of seminars and lectures about topic ranging from sexual harassment (who hasn't heard this speech?) and web sites and handicapped access and any tiny detail you could imagine, except of course, you know, what we were actually supposed to teach.

Friday was my first class. I came early, sat in a circle and then as the students starting filling in, I realized it had become too late for me to announce that I was in fact the teacher, and not one of the students.

"I hope the teacher's not a dick," one student on my right, Devon, says to me. "Yeah," I said, "me too."

They got a kick out of it when I told them I was really the instructor. After that, I had them talk about their music taste, which I sarcastically criticized. They seem to like Thrice. Thrice! Cheesy pop punk three chord crap. Well, that's what I thought when I listened to them two years ago. Perhaps they're better now.

Today we drove up to LA to Michel Latiolais' house. All the fiction students met there, had lunch, and picked up our first two submissions for workshop. It was a beautiful Spanish house, one story, low ceilings, lots of pastel colors and a carefully chosen, strange art collection. A massive CD collection (that belongs to her late husband Paul) and book collection as well.

From there, we went to one of the other fiction guy's place in LA off sunset boulevard. It was nice as well- he's a Bosnian refugee from the 90's. My other class mate was a marine in Iraq, and has already written a book about it. There's a third year guy who lives on a boat. I'm in interesting company.

Comments:
Nothing. She just smiled...
 
A+ for you, To fit in with your students. Clever!
 
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
 
Frank! I'm so jealous.
 
That's completely classic. Sounds like things are going swimmingly... perhaps.

Be well, dear!
 
Post a Comment



<< Home