Juggling 101

By Kat Kiefer-Newman There's a funny line from the film "Pulp Fiction," when Esmeralda asks Butch what his name means. He answers, "I'm American, Honey, our names don't mean ." It's a family show, but you can use your imagination. But…

By Kat Kiefer-Newman I'm no Cupid. There are some things I am very good at, but I am seriously no Cupid. Nor am I a Yenta, a Mi-Ai, a Sensale, a Casamentera, a marriage broker, The Old Man Under the Moon, or The Millionaire Matchmaker.…

By Kat Kiefer-Newman Last weekend I was dog sitting. A dear friend was heading up the coast for 2 ½ days and needed someone to check in on his Dachshund, Buddy. I've met Buddy several times and think he's a very sweet little dog. I…

By Kat Kiefer-Newman I went to a job fair recently. The CCC Registry (California Community Colleges Registry) just had one in L.A. and my dear friend Emma and I optimistically packed up our curriculum vitae with the best of intentions.…

By Kat Kiefer-Newman Here we are. It’s a new year, and we’re returning to classes, after orientation meetings and hopefully contract signings. I have an orientation tonight and haven’t decided yet if I’ll go. These get togethers are peopled…

By Kat Kiefer-Newman Welcome back fellow adjuncts! I hope your holidays and break were full of fun and joy and happy times. I definitely had my share of those things, and more than a little luck to guide me as I finished my dissertation…

By Kat Kiefer-Newman Over the holidays I went to a department Christmas party with a friend and fellow adjunct professor. This was a party thrown by the Chair of the Department at one of the colleges my friend (not I) teaches at, and both…

By P.D. Lesko The new E-Zine content went up and there are a couple of pieces that deal directly with the question of whether higher education will be the next "bubble" to burst. In "A College Education of Diminishing Returns," the…

By Kat Kiefer-Newman One of my colleges is a quiet, little collection of buildings neatly tucked in among several large, pastorally lovely, and incredibly smelly dairies. A few days after the occasional rain we get here in the desert…

By Kat Kiefer-Newman It's finals week. My college-attending daughters are running around like coffee-addicted wind-up toys. My husband is beyond stressed. I am quivering in the corner, muttering over stacks of ungraded assignments.…