There is a new job.

It's rather good, so far. Of course, this is the time of the academic year with the absolute least stress - very soon all of fiery burning hell will break loose, and go on and on and on until about mid-May. Nonetheless, I am feeling very positive about this one. It's a big college, but with a small, friendly and ridiculously hard-working English department. They're in the middle of some major long-term changes, which makes it a very interesting time to be there. For some reason, they think I'm quite experienced (I'm not complaining) and there could be further opportunities if I feel like trying to take on the incredible mess of Key Skills that makes up most of the staple teaching diet of the department (although I'm not keen to rush into that just yet). In the meantime, it even pays quite well. So that's nice.

I am fall-asleep-on-my-feet tired, having given myself exactly one day between running home from Edinburgh and starting at the new place. The longer journey to work is a slight drawback, but it's not impossible. I'm getting a lot of reading done. Currently working through Irving's A Prayer for Owen Meaney. As with Garp, I find the writing completely gripping, yet I have no idea why. If only he'd write a slightly shorter novel, I could attempt to teach it and see if any students can work out the mystery. Meanwhile, recommendations for my next read are very welcome, although If Nobody Speaks of Remarkable Things has been looking accusingly at me from my bookshelf for a while now. After a couple of years of this, I could even be fairly well-read. Unless I give in and buy a Gameboy.