"Often, of an evening, when he sat at the window, his desk and papers before him, he would cease reading or writing..." ~ Jane Eyre

There are swirls of excitement within me about starting my new job tomorrow. Some are huge swirls and others small swirls. The smallest swirl...practically incidental, really...is over my new desk. However, each swirl is significant.

I never had my own desk in the school I taught in. I shared it with other teachers who used the room. It was always a mess of paperclips, chalk dust, single staples, dried out pens, outdated memos, blue hall passes, and tests that teachers never graded. It was probably from the 1970's; sharp edges on the drawer corners that ripped many a pantyhose until I gave up and just wore dress pants to work. It was never really cleaned, and the computer took up most of the space.

Packed in my attache case tonight are items for my very own, new desk. The boyfriend gave me a pen from his workplace yesterday...its green with his company logo; I like knowing that part of his workday will be part of mine. I also have more pens for my new desk, pocket tissues in a floral pattern, a floral covered memo pad so I can write things down as I go along, floral patterned post-its, and my memo holders. My memo holders are ones I am excited about. They are small replicas of busts of Shakespeare, Dickens, and Austen. You can take the teacher out of English, but you can't take the English out of the teacher.

So tonight I feel like its Christmas Eve. I have been given a great gift to open tomorrow morning. My new work attire is out, I am having some tea, and I am ready to fall asleep and dream of my new desk until I wake up and it becomes reality.

*Thank you all for your kind wishes...those will be carried to work with me tomorrow, too.*

"Such a wealth of the power of communicating happiness..." ~ Jane Eyre

Yesterday at five o'clock in the evening I was offered an opportunity to enter the administrative world of Academia.

With feelings of absolute happiness, I accepted.

I shall now be working as an administrator in the Admissions Department at a prominent University here in New York.

With absolute joy, Eyre Affairs begins a new chapter...