Just got off the bus, where I ran into a student of mine from this summer.

And we talked, you know? Talked, person to person: no student/teacher role bullshit involved. About his job at the local ski area, about moving West, about this town. And he's probably my age, if not older. He's been in town for 13 years, and is tired of it. "The novelty has worn off," he said.

And it was nice, you know? Real. On the level. I do that with current students as well. Outside of class, I'm just me. No bullshit. But there's still a level of formality that seems inavoidable. But I love running into students after their class is over and done with. There's just this relaxed air, which is near incomparable to anything else. It's great.

As much as seeing former students and classmates everywhere is kind of creepy to me--it makes me feel too well known, like I'm back in my itty-bitty high school--there's an up side to it, too.