thunderbolts

I have recently decided that it is quite likely that I will change careers as soon as I am done being department chair, or perhaps sooner. Perhaps this is a low moment (do 'moments' last for weeks?), but I will say that my faith in human nature is being sorely tried of late. I think god (hello, are you there? it's me, Jane) agrees. Today we had our final faculty meeting of the year. The main item on the agenda was a draft of by-laws for the department. We actually have some -- they date from 1976 and are bound in a folder that looks like faux wood paneling and has a label made with one of those old machines that made raised lettering on strips of sticky colored plastic. When we had to produce them for a legal matter (another long story) and someone above us therefore saw the date (not to mention the binding) of these governing principles, we were told to produce some new ones. Among other things, these need not include how much typing each faculty member can expect from the departmental secretary... So, the executive committee threw something together, circulated it and we met to discuss it today. We got through two items, that is part way down page one of four. At a certain point, a colleague remarked in response to someone else: "That wouldn't change anything" and the lights promptly went out plunging us into almost total darkness. With the dim illumination from the hallway emergency lighting we continued. I personally was grateful because I could no longer see people's facial expressions. I am sure this feeling was shared.