The word for the day is enthusiasm. Whatever I lacked in that department as we headed off to White Bear Lake this morning, Gracie made up for--in spades! From the moment I put on her vest and seat belt harness, Gracie was ready to go. Sometimes I wish I could get her to move a little more slowly and have even thought that her name is not really Gracie but actually Grrr-Racy because she always seems to be in a hurry. The drive was long--too long for me but not for Gracie who loves riding in the car. We parked in the library parking lot. Before we even reached the entrance, a young woman joined us and said, "She's cute, but I get you get that all the time." I nodded, and Gracie curled up her tail and stuck her chest out. Once inside, we put the copy of the campus common book I checked out at the beginning of the summer--Zeitoun by Dave Eggers--in the book drop. I decided against going into the library as there was nothing that I needed to pick up. Instead, Gracie and I walked around the building, noting all the landscaping that had been done over the summer, probably by the horticulture department. Then it was back inside to the IT Help Desk where I had made an appointment to have a program added to the school's computer that I am borrowing. This required a lot of standing around and waiting--an hour's worth, actually. Gracie was the model of good dog behavior; she sprawled out and quickly fell into a sound sleep. As usual the IT guys were very helpful. Once they go the program loaded, they suggested I leave the computer so they could install MS Office 2010 for me. Since we were going to have to come back to the east campus before leaving for the day, Gracie and I decided to walk over the bridge that spans Century Avenue North to the west campus. Our lunch and program wasn't set to start until noon, so Gracie and I went up to the office I share with other adjuncts on the third floor of the west campus. I was both surprised and pleased to discover that I had been sent additional copies of two of the books I'm using this fall AND a copy of the book from Viking that I've been so excited about: Now You See It: How the brain science of attention will transform the way we live, work, and learn by Cathy N. Davidson, an English professor at Duke University in N. Carolina. Viking has send me the galley last month, but I wasn't expecting a finished book too! Gracie tested the carpet for its nap worthiness while I tried less that 100% successfully to peel Starletta's name off the bottom drawer of the desk. (Starletta was hired full-time at St. Paul College this summer and, sadly, won't be back at Century to brighten up the halls with her passion and energy, great smile, and quick laugh. Our loss, though, is her gain. I know she's really pleased.) When we got down to lunch, I couldn't remember whether I had requested turkey or vegetarian. Since there were more boxes labeled turkey, I took one of those. I poured Gracie some water in her collapsible dog bowl. She drank that down and then lay down and went to sleep again. After lunch we got into pairs. Gracie had a little trouble settling down for that, so I ended up petting her under the table. If my partner noticed that I was less than fully attentive, she was too polite to say so. Needless to say, both Gracie and I were happy when I break was announced. We used the time to explored the outdoor, Shakespeare stage, something I've always wanted to do but never have. The last hour, Gracie was again her settled self. At the end of the session, the session leader asked me to introduce Gracie. She loved hearing everyone say her name. Thankfully, this exciting moment occurred as we were on our way out. We walked back over the bridge, picked up the computer, and headed home. I think about a few more days of this, this week, we will be ready to face the students. Piece of cake, or, as Gracie might say, dog biscuit!
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