JOURNAL: August 26, 2006

Yesterday was a very successful day. It began with a fine workout at the gym at around 6:00 am. On the stationary bike, I started slowly and gradually built up speed and resistance until I could feel my heart working vigorously. In my own small way, I felt like a victorious athlete when I got off the bike soaked with perspiration. I then spent a profitable few hours in my classroom, sorting things out and generally preparing for the first day of school. It wasn’t especially hard work and I didn’t come up with any particularly spectacular ideas for my teaching, but I nonetheless felt like a winning teacher when I shut off the lights and left. I felt like I had put in the kind of time that’s necessary if I want to be a teacher of any consequence. Then, in the evening I drove down to Chester with friends for a delightful dinner at one of our favorite cafes. It wasn’t as though I did anything exceptionally wonderful (the tab was picked up by one of my friends), nor was I particularly important to the conversation, but I nevertheless felt like a good friend at the end of the evening. It was great to see our old friendship thriving so well after all these years.