I left my house this morning at 6:11 AM -- and that meant I was running late.  

The leather bag I hoisted over my shoulder as I carefully climbed down my front steps felt heavier than usual.  I could feel the weight pressing the straps against my skin and I knew deep grooves were forming on my shoulder beneath the non-protection of my chiffon dress.  Swirling around in that bag? My laptop, two bottles of water, four Pike Street k-cups from Starbucks, maybe the best banana that has ever fallen off of a tree in whatever nation the banana hails from – seriously, it was bright yellow and fucking delicious – and a few DVDs. I’m usually carting movies around; it makes me laugh that there are days when it makes perfect sense that I bring Boogie Nights, American Psycho, and American Beauty with me to work, and those are the times when I can’t fully believe that I managed to carve out a career for myself where teaching clips of those movies is completely and utterly relevant to my curriculum.