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!