All in the Family

Borg, Oliphant, Doom, Laser - great last names.

I survived the first week of classes. Hectic, even more so than usual, but I survived. It helps to be surrounded by such supportive students - many ready to learn, many returning from other courses with me, many referrals. My long first day ended with a hug and kiss on the cheek from a former student, whose girlfriend is taking my class. He's referred cousins (including my padawan Carlos) and friends before. My classes have become quite the family affair, actually. There's a sister of a former student, a mother of a former student. One woman asked me if I remembered her husband and, recalling her last name, I shuddered. Remembering her husband, I knew she had to have a good sense of humor. :)

And then some classes just seem like family. For example, my physics course at the university. There are almost 150 people enrolled. Not a problem - I like big rowdy classes. It's just that the course was scheduled in a room with 120 seats. I had students sitting in the aisles! But they were all good-natured about it, and the close quarters facilitated the group exercises I had planned. I'm almost disappointed that they're looking for a larger lecture hall to put us in. This class has the strange feel of an overcrowded family gathering, not something normally associated with physics classes.

Anyways, that's what the first week brought me. All in all, not too shabby.