In Need of Kryptonite

The spring quarter at UC Riverside won’t start for another seven weeks, and yet I am already having anxiety dreams. Last night, I dreamed that I showed up to teach my Introduction to Creative Writing course and none of my lecture notes were in my bag. I ran back to the office to print one of the assigned stories from the online file-management system, but my laptop was missing. So I went to the assistant’s office, but neither of her computers seemed to be working, etc. You get the idea.

I suppose this early bout of anxiety is because of the course itself. Intro to Creative Writing is a general education course, open to all freshmen, with an enrollment of 180 students every quarter. In their infinite wisdom, the scheduling gods have me teaching this course while I’m also supposed to be on book tour for my new novel, Secret Son.