Wednesday, March 11, 2009

E-mail of Resignation

Well, I finally did it: This evening I e-mailed my department chair and told him I would be retiring at the end of this semester. I have thought about leaving, but now I have put those thoughts into action.

I have been teaching at Cal State since August of 1987. Not every semester, but every semester for the last decade. With end-stage kidney disease and congestive heart failure, I can take a disability retirement. That works out to almost exactly the same amount of money that I take home when I teach two classes per semester. In other words, not much. Enough to pay the rent, buy groceries, and get a cup of coffee now and then. But not enough for gas, truck repairs, Internet service, the phone bill, and Netflix. So I'll have to do something to make ends meet.

But more importantly, I have a sense of urgency. It's now or never. If I ever want to finish writing the books I've started about Shizeng and Mike, I better get to it. It isn't often that the universe drops such true-life events in someone's lap. A qi gong master from Beijing who could heal the sick but who sucked their souls in the process. A tale of sleeping with the devil. And with Mike, it's the Greek tragedy of a soul surfer with dissociative personality disorder. Internal hell amidst exquisite coastal beauty.

Of course, I also have a collection of short stories and several children's books I've already written that I want to see published. And I've written several chapters in each of two nonfiction works. Upon retiring I would finally be able to devote large chunks of time to all of these projects. That is, between doctor appointments!

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

And I thought that my brush with cancer was bad. I had surgery last Fall and am pretty much feeling ok, pending a follow up on March 23rd. I am hoping that you do get a reprieve on the kidney issue. We will keep praying for your sucess on this end. I was reading down in your blogs and ran across the one about traveling in your truck and writing, it kind of reminded me of John Stienbeck's " Travels With Charley". I read it years ago so it must have made an impression if I can still remember it today. I remember seeing your Mom once a few years ago and she had on a shirt that said "so many books so little time". I hope that we all have lots of time for the books and the roads. Take care. Your cousin Pete K.

Heather Clisby said...

Ooooh! I can't wait to read your books! Glad you are retiring from CSULB. You have always been too good for that place.

Followers

About Me

Southern California, United States
Perhaps my friend Mark summed me up best when he called me "a mystical grammarian." I am quite a mix--otherworldly, ethereal and in touch with "the beyond," yet prone to being very precise and logical, when need be. Romantic in the big-canvas meaning of the word, I see the world as an adventure, as a love poem, as a realm of beauty and wonder.

Blog Archive