Ira's Interdimensional Push On Taking The Plunge Back Into Routine #6

Good day/afternoon/evening/wherever you are/whatever time it is in this inter-connected/globalized planet, Tonight is the night (is the night) before school starts. School is relative in the sense that I am teaching at a fully remote international school this year and starts is relative in the sense that orientation was last week and I’ve already met a bunch of kids. Realistically, however, tomorrow is the first day that I teach so for me that’s the first day of school. Every year is like this - no matter how old I get, whether I’m a student or a teacher, how familiar I am with the material or not, etc…; slightly expectant because of all the possibly that comes with the long list of things I will absolutely not be doing again, slightly uneasy because you know it’s still school and it can only be so inter-cosmic. Nevertheless, my last two weeks have largely been a descent into routine, albeit a 21st century routine that only involves commuting to (what will soon be!!!) Dolphy’s room. Here are all the ways I took the plunge back into routine from the sweet sweet freedom of summer these last two weeks: 1. [School of Humanity](https://sofhumanity.com/): I took a job (although by some measures volunteering gig depending on what your salary requirements for job are) teaching (although they call it facilitating) math (and they also call this quant so do what you will with that…) at this school called School of Humanity. The school is interesting in that they do not believe in tests, are super portfolio-based, leadership is really trying to make an engaging curriculum (if you can even call it curriculum because it is so different from the regular craperoni), etc… The school is also new which brings with it all of the regular chaos of trying to build something from scratch, spans 12 or more timezones which is just bonkers, and is striving to prepare students for both top-tier universities or to go right into the workforce which are super duper different goals. For me, this all means checking my Google calendar for “sessions” that I’m supposed to be in that I know why they are important but at their core make me empathize with students more than anything who also have to sit through "sessions" that they too know are important but still don’t care about. It also means meetings which I need to prepare for which largely means looking for what I bolded from the last meeting that was had and spinning how I spent whatever “free time” I had into some kind of update. It also means predictability and consistency which in theory are fertile grounds for building something great but are also, more often than not, code for something that’s just lame. 2. Errands: These days, my biggest rushes come from when I can scoot into town and check a few items off my unending list before I slide back into my chair for that 2pm meeting. Also super lame, and a true hallmark of adulthood, errands are indispensable but also unspeakable. I'll never forget shopping with my mom after school, or Hebrew School, or whatever it was and I kept running the cart into some poor guy's heels. He played it cool the first time but then laid down the law with me after the second time in a way that I would never speak to a six year old, but perhaps he was a good 20-30 years deeper into his routines than I am now and I have no place to judge. 3. Squeezing in the social like it’s a gratuitous gift card at K-mart: The highlights of these weeks has indubitably been catching up with people one on one, the Shabbat retreat last weekend, and the Rosh Hashanah student slammer last night in Utrecht. Each of these has been a chance to break the routine, observe the sanity or lack thereof, connect, and fill the cup back up enough to get back to it. Having someone else by my side helps too, big time. I feel the flip from craving structure during my boundless summer vibes push to looking for the next connection to get the boot of routine of my throat, I'm grateful for the time I get to spend each week with other (kick-ass) people and look forward to a day where the structure and vibes are perfectly co-constructed and at peace. There’s also planning a wedding and (2.5 hour!!!!!) baby meetings and a seemingly never-ending discourse on whether to circumcise or not to circumcise, because of course that's the question. These are sprinkled on top and defintely great ways to blow up a routine. Only a couple-few (epic) [pics](https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1nlvNR-OhUSGoeTQ7eSevN2swglQ9Rwgr?usp=drive_link) to show for from these last two weeks, a true testament to the (destructive??) power of routine. It feels like the soul has been sucked dry and now I’m just producing - a duty-bound soldier on his way. I have the stories I tell myself about why but they contrast starkly with my observations from how this inter-connected/globalized planet is enveloping. For now I'll take solace in the understanding that a truly great routine is one that bears fruit in the long-run and should have nothing to show for short-term. I look forward this to reading this in 40 years knowing that I did what needed to be done to build a great marriage, family, a small influence on many people's love of math, and last, but not least, become a wise and honest man. Routinely, Ira