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I had my first meeting yesterday at my new university, where I will be working- for the next year at least- as a part time faculty member. I have an 18 credit load, which in my case translates into 3 lab classes. I have found an old syllabus online, but that is as far as my preparation has gone. I haven't received an official offer, I haven't been authorized in the school's intranet, blackboard, email… I feel like I am still floating in a cloud and I was looking forward to going to this meeting and being pulled back down to earth.

Yeaaahhhhh… still floating.

They are still doing a background check so I didn't get to sign any paperwork. I was given a quick tour of the labs and lecture halls- I had seen this before but this time, knowing what I would be teaching, I looked for specific equipment. I met my TA. I have a TA! Two, in fact! (what do I do with my TA? I've never had a TA before, and I am perfectly happy to delegate, but how much are these particular people capable of handling?) And they told me I should start ordering supplies now, because sometimes it takes a while for them to come in. Then they paused, looking expectant, and I thought: am I supposed to come up with a list right now?

The general sense of confusion that is apparent in that conversion pretty well sums up the whole afternoon. I went in with a large number of questions, but not only did I not get a chance to ask most of them, I also walked out with two hundred or so more.

However, I did get a CD from the previous course instructor with all of his notes and lectures, and I arranged to meet with him next week. I do feel that I am now prepared to start preparing; I know the workspace and expectations, I have the syllabus and old course documents. I need to look it all over and figure out what I am doing, and once I get the all clear from HR I will begin the work. Phew. How exciting!