Yikes.

Today was a Very Bad Commuting Day. On the way to work, I got stuck in a traffic jam just outside Williamston, on I-96 . . . and it took me 45 minutes to get to the Okemos exit, not even 10 miles down the road. There apparently had been an accident; by the time I reached the scene all that remained was a police car blocking one lane, and some debris in the road.

So I got to campus, and parked in the parking structure. The free lots are almost always full by 8 am, I'm told - and they were certainly full this week, even in the absence of students. So I decided yesterday that I would simply have to bite the bullet and buy a parking pass for the structure. It's $300 a year, but parking itself is 60 cents an hour in that structure, which, at 5 hours a pop, would reach $300 very quickly. I couldn't actually get the pass yesterday, because they wanted cash or a check, neither of which I had . . . not to mention, lacking the funds to begin with. So I filed that away for some time soon after I actually get a paycheck. (We're going on six weeks without one from me, which is starting to rag at my nerves.)

When I tried to get out of the parking structure, I discovered that they wanted me to pay the non-TCC-affiliated rate of $1.20 an hour, because I had not used my "Star" card (ID and money repository) when I entered the structure. The bill came to $8.40, which was more than I had in my wallet. So I got a "failure to pay" receipt, and tomorrow - the first day of classes, when the lines will stretch around the building - I have to go wait in the parking line and get this resolved. I hope they'll take the $4.20 I was counting on paying instead of the $8.40.

I asked various colleagues today about how they deal with parking, and discovered that the $300 pass does not ensure that you'll get a space - it's just a "hunting license," as my friend Jeffrey put it. People told stories of very long lines on the "in" ramps in the times just prior to classes. I also heard about instructors who circle the free lots waiting for spaces; they bring papers to grade while they wait. I was prepared for the hassles associated with the free lots; Louise had worked at TCC and she told me all about that, but I thought - and I think she did, too - that if I ponied up the dough for a permit for the structure, I'd be okay.

So parking is apparently going to be a hassle. I have to check with my sister-in-law to see what she did when she worked at LCC. I have this awful feeling that she just got there early, which is really not an option for me.

I've thought of stashing a folding bike in the trunk and parking some distance away, and riding in. That idea really appeals to me, actually - after an hour and a half in the car, I could use a bit of exercise to work out the kinks. But I can't figure out where I could park that would actually be safe after dark; LCC isn't in a terrific location.

So at the very least, this parking situation is going to take some serious investigation. And in the meantime, it looks to be expensive and inconvenient. Neither of those qualities are anything I care to deal with at the moment . . .

. . . because it is a solid hour and a half to get there, I fear. I was able to do it in much less time when I interviewed, and maybe I'll discover the times of day when the commute is less than that. But tonight I decided I'd come home down 96; I left at 4:30 (it was supposed to be 4, but the process of checking out of the ramp was lengthy), which will be the soonest I'll be able to go once classes start. The trip down 127 and across 96 was a nail-biter: It was bumper-to-bumper traffic going 70+ miles an hour. I noticed my legs getting all tense and thought, "I can't stand an hour and some of this." So I bailed when I hit M-52. Had a nice, leisurely drive down through Stockbridge and Chelsea, and even admired the scenery (I love that drive), but it was very clearly longer than 96 would have been. It was a solid hour to Chelsea, and a solid half hour home from there. (There is a very nice house for sale on Main St. But I couldn't do that to Emil, who would have to commute in the other direction - the traffic going to Chelsea from Ann Arbor was absolutely horrendous. At least I was going against the flow!)

So I knew the commute would be the bad part of this job. But I didn't think it would be nearly this bad, in all honesty.

On the bright side, there seem to be many things to like about the job. I have had more conversations about teaching in the past few days than I have had in my entire career so far. People seem genuinely eager to share ideas - and to listen to my ideas - and they really seem to want me to do well. I get a very strong sense that we're all in this together for the benefit of the students, which is definitely a first in my experience.

Tomorrow I meet my first class. I've got nearly everything prepared (I just thought of something else tonight that I want to do, but if I don't manage to get to it, that's ok). This, too, is a definite first in my experience; I think it will really be possible for me to be ahead of the curve in terms of preparation, as long as I do my work when I'm at work. Of course I'll end up bringing work home - it's at least a 40-hour job and I'll be there 36 at best - but still. I will get to bed at a decent hour tonight!! (And I have powerful incentive to make that always be the case - I don't want to drive when I'm tired!!)

And I had lunch with my brother-in-law Richard today, which was very nice; I got to see the slideshow of Steph's wedding (running on Kathy's Palm Pilot) and just generally catch up. We met at a restaurant on the Washington St. mall, which looks almost completely different than it used to. Except - former Lansing-ites will be pleased to know this - the Peanut Store is still there! Jacobsons has gone, Kositcheks has gone, the downtown Y has gone (sob!), but the Peanut Store lives on. Tomorrow, if it isn't raining, I'm going to wander down, take a picture, and buy some cashews.

So far this week I've seen Richard, Jeff, and Louise. It's completely, wonderfully bizarre connecting with people like this. But I must say, I feel like a Time Traveler.

Oh - speaking of which, I have a completely incredible Data Retention story, too: At the beginning of the semester I was supposed to get a memo mailed home, detailing this week's orientation and kickoff activities. It never arrived. When I checked my mailbox in the office the other day, I discovered the letter, which had been returned to sender. It had been returned because -- get this -- it had been delivered to my old address on Oakhill Drive in East Lansing. That was where we lived way Back In the Day, when I taught Tiny Tot swimming at TCC. Well, guess what?? Those Tiny Tots I taught back then can buy alcohol now . . . heck, they can probably rent cars, some of them. Certainly a fair few of them have Tiny Tots of their own.

And the most bizarre part: It was delivered to " ---- Bauman." Well, I wasn't Bauman then, I was Lassota. I didn't become Bauman until the next address. Ain't computers wonderful??

More after class tomorrow. Wish me luck!!