Writing on Writing: More Writing!

I have been inspired by Hightouch to try to blog...at least a little bit.....
But, alas, what to say?
Firstly I have to say that this semester is a motherfucker. (Pardon my swearing! I like to swear!). What is the nature of this M-Fness? Hard to say.
Mother Fucker Nature, let me list you:

1. Teaching a New Class: This is not as hard as it sounds, but harder than it should be. For some reason, I have these little over achievers submitting writing to me constantly. CON-STANT-fucking-LY. Whose idea was this? Mine, apparently.
2. Working on Committees. If there is a BANE to any existence it is the creation and subsequent meeting of this and or that committee. One may actually love some of their compatriots on this committee but that does nothing to dull the mind-numbingness of just the sheer fucking actuality of BEING on a committee. Enough said.
3. Writing. Am I writing? Hells no. But I have forced myself to write for fifteen minutes each night for say the last week. So I have done _some_ writing. (If I could make the font of the word "writing" smaller so as to indicate how little I do, I would). 
4. Anxiety. This, friends, is the hobgoblin of little minds. Namely, mine. I worry the shit out of everything. This, however, does not prevent me from watching more TV than is perhaps advisable, and, somehow I manage NOT to worry while actually watching TV (and maybe drinking wine, I won't lie...) but watching TV does not make the anxiety go away. It just distracts it for a bit. What is this anxiety about? Not working on my novel. But, hey, whatever.
5. TV: I watch some/bit/a lot of TV. To wit: Brooklyn 99 (Andy Samberg, what what?); New Girl (not as good as it used to be, but Schmidt! He does Crossfit!); The Mindy Project (um, hello?? hilarious, also Morgan!); Modern Family (tight suit!); Parks and Rec (please don't talk to me about the small number of episodes before I have to wait until January....); Continuum (netflix). I think that's it....

And so, friends, my fifteen minutes comes to a close. If you want to know what else I am up to, re: thinking, I will just say sonnets, earthquakes, Pangaea. You're going to have to do the rest of the work yourself. 

(Did I mention my neck is fucked up? My neck is fucked up! Tomorrow: massage!!)

New World Order

Today a new world order is being instated (is that the right word?). We are all up early. We have all left the house early (except for Son, who is doing something on his computer that he claims is "educational."). Some of us have come back to the house early after working out, again, early.
This new regime has come about because Husband (aka Middlebrow) has started a New Job. The New Job is the same place as the Old Job, but the New Job has what We (in this house) would call "Banker's Hours" meaning he has to be there early and he has to stay just as long as everyone else (I'm assuming this is 4:30 or 5, but we'll see).
What will this New World Order mean for Son and Dr. Write? Well, so far it means I have to workout very early, or when Son is doing some of his Summer Son things. It means I have to figure out what to do with Son during the class I teach. It means I will have to figure out how to get Son to be docile for at least an hour a day while I write. It means it will be very hard for me to have coffee dates and movie dates, except when Son is in camp.
It also means, apparently, that I will be asking Middlebrow to "pick things up on the way home." It may also mean that I have to keep the fridge well stocked with cold beer and that maybe I should teach Gus (the GSP) how to bring him his slippers, pipe, and smoking jacket when he appears at the front door after five saying, "Honey! I'm home!"
I hope it doesn't mean that I have to cook dinner 7 days a week. Middlebrow has perfected quite a few recipes and I don't want him to forget!
I hope it doesn't mean that I have to do all the laundry. (Wait! I already do!)
I hope it doesn't mean that I will have to figure out how to do anything gross in the bathroom, because I tend to gag easily.
I also hope it doesn't mean that I forget what Middlebrow looks like because I never see him.
On the plus side, I'm already planning a fantastic vacation for next summer.

Happiness? Location? Money?

Middlebrow and I have been having our annual go-round about whether we can just choose to be happy, if where we live is more important than our salaries, and if we need more money. Oh yeah, and how our house is too small. We always agree on that.
Right now at our CC we are having the annual discussion about how we are woefully underpaid. It's stunning, however, to see exactly how underpaid we are, compared to CCs in other parts of the country. I could be making about $30,000 more a year if I lived in, say, California. Aye, as they say, there's the rub. We don't want to live in California. We do, however, want to make $30,000 more a year. I know, housing would cost more. But that much more per year?
In my mind, it's all about long-term benefits, meaning retirement, and earnings over the course of my career.
Of course, I have to remind myself that we love Son's school, and that, having lived here for almost nine years, we have an actual community, something we both value highly. But, are we allowing ourselves to be exploited?
Obviously I didn't go into teaching for the money. But it's apalling how little we are being paid for the same work (in some cases more work!) than teachers in other parts of the country!
So how do we decide what's more important? Lately I've been leaning towards being happy. But with the new information I've been receiving, I feel like maybe I'm selling myself short. I know the legislature in our fair state is not going to wake up and raise our salaries (at least not in my lifetime). I do love where we live, though I don't always love the politics or the liquor laws. I love our proximity to outdoor recreation. Did I mention that our house is too small?
Today I looked at job listings in other states. It looks like I could start for at least $10,000 more almost anywhere else.
Tell me, what's a girl to do?