Its back

My wonderful, beautiful, restful, lazy days of summer have come to a screeching halt. Today as I took a breather at my desk (which suddenly I can no longer see) I realized that at some point between Monday and today I must have been shot out of a cannon and now I am clinging to the academic year roller coaster with a white knuckle grip. Today began with a grim meeting about staffing of middle east center language classes. Grim because the center was unsuccessful in its grant renewal bid and despite posturing and claims that a "reversal" at the federal level might still happen, there is no money. This is only indirectly our problem, but still having to participate in the triage is painful to watch especially when the lead "triager" is spectacularly inept.

Did then have the incredibly cool product demo with the palatometer people and we are going to buy the stuff and I am soooo excited.

Then more meetings and writing a sudden slew of recommendation letters for students and so on and so forth.

This evening spent a good hour reading aloud to Catherine from Robertson Davies' Fifth Business. The girl is not a lit chick. when I have the time and the requisite calmness I enjoy reading aloud from her assigned books. RB is such a masterful writer that I think even Catherine was captivated by some of his turns of phrase.