Death of A Stapler

Well, I still have my sanity. For now. Honestly, teaching 15 credit hours is not as bad as I expected it to be. 

Having one thing as my primary focus is very liberating, and it still allows me time to continue searching for a full-time job, work on novel#2, edit short and short short stories and send them out to publications, and do stuff with my wife. I can even mostly enjoy my weekends, even though I teach a Saturday class. It's not a good long-term plan, but it will work until I find something better. 

I do like the fact that I am gaining confidence and becoming a more articulate public speaker--two things that I needed to work on anyways. If it didn't require more schooling, I would consider doing it long term, but I have enough debt to pay back.

Another benefit, I think, is that I am becoming a better editor and proofreader. It tends to happen when you have to read and comment on 100 papers every other week, or so. Well, you either become better at it, or your head explodes. Mine is still attached, so far, but, it is only about a third of the way through the semester (how time flies!), so there is still time for that to happen.

The biggest crisis to happen so far this semester--aside from having to wait until the end of the month for my first paychecks, anyhow--has been the death of my stapler. It was a good stapler, which I bought at some point during my last few semesters as an undergrad, and, although I had to fix it a couple of times, it worked well. Unfortunately, it was made from plastic. Next time I buy a stapler, I will be spending the extra and buying a metal one. One meant for high-capacity stapling. One that will last.

Nothing lasts forever, though, I suppose. Of course, that phrase is often used negatively--such as when my stapler first died, and I was particularly distraught about it and cursing the fine people of Office Max--but it can also have a positive meaning, as when you are struggling to make ends meet  and looking for a better opportunity, and you just can't wait for change.

In that case, the fact that nothing lasts forever is a philosophy that gets you through to the next opportunity, the next phase of your life, and hopefully you have learned enough that it is better than where you were before.

Eventually, you will be able able to look back on the times that you struggled and appreciate what you have and realize that, even though things might have been a struggle, it could have been worse. It can always be worse.