one other detail

PS - the time she actually came to my office two years ago and we arranged for her to visit a class, at a certain point during the conversation she whipped out a camera and took my picture. To my sputtering, "what are you doing" she responded brightly, "I am an artist, I collect pictures of people." FREAK.

creepy woman

So there is this Russian woman in the community who has been a presence for the last couple of years. She calls periodically to leave messages about her art shows -- really terrible drawings of Russian peasant woman and so on. When this first started she also bent my ear about her passionate interest in how Russian is taught in America (always understand this as code for "I want you to hire me to teach Russian in your department"). I (very generously I thought) told her that she was welcome to come and observe one class session of mine and we set it all up. She didn't show up. Since then just the occasional phone message about her 'exhibits'. There was such a call a couple of weeks ago - on a weekend to my office so I got a voice mail. It doesn't occur to me to call her back since the call seemed purely informative and I have no interest in getting friendly with her. Well, yesterday I come in to the office and there is another Saturday message from her. This time it is long, rambling and includes such choice phrases as "well, you are arrogant" but she goes on to say all Americans are. Then there is rambling about how she speaks two languages and while she knows that she has "heavy Russian accent" in English, "it is so funny that all Americans have accents, and they don't even know it." Clearly a nutcase. I saved the message and played it for a couple of colleagues who confirmed that it really was weird and inappropriate. Well, today she called again. In addition to all the previous content there is now extensive ranting about how she is a real Russian and I should not be duped by those Jews and Ukrainians who speak Russian but hate Russia. CREEPY. And I'm not even a Jew or a Ukrainian...Will call the woman on campus who deals with weird, disturbing people in the post Virgina Tech world that we live in.

addendum

Just talked to my brother who always has apt phraseology for administrative situations. I told him of our delightful staff exodus and he said, "Yes, when an albatross slinks off, the step is lighter and the world is brighter." Couldn't have said it better myself...

mass exodus

Some of you may have listened to my whine about some problem staff members; indeed managing administrative staff has been another steep learning curve in this whole chair job. Last year was spent positioning for one person's removal, but luckily, towards the end of the process, said person, got another job and gave notice. Oh happy day. We had also begun several weeks ago working on the ouster of someone else and shortly after the first announcement, this person too gave two weeks notice. Not a little rejoicing about that too. Over the summer our incredibly competent undergraduate advisor had left to go to law school and we had already replaced her with someone who is working out extremely well. Today, the second to last member of the original office team also gave notice. We're beginning to think we are either doing something very wrong (or very right). We are now left with 2 of 5, but 2 incredibly skilled people. Fernando and I will be answering phones and making photocopies as of Friday.... but with smiles on our faces.

work or being chair

we got a vote of confidence from our faculty last week - they would like us to continue. That felt good. What does continuing mean? Making difficult decisions. Today we had word to prepare for a potential 2% cut from base funding. Base funding is salaries... pretty much. So, we get to say "you got a raise, but now most of it has to be given back..." not a popular message I anticipate. As well today there was the meeting with Middle East Center which ended with a party at one of the faculty member's houses. Much drink and dancing both of which make you think that if there was more of that perhaps things would go more smoothly over all. It was fun.
Other choice chair moments - why should we approve hiring an assistant for someone? not because the class is overly large, but, as her colleague put it "She is wearing someone else's hair". that is, she is in cancer treatment, not that I know this first hand....and I do not doubt it, but it is a weird thing to have someone utter the above phrase with a straight face.

Junior High

Sam started junior high this week and it has been a dream. The first night he went to bed confiding "I don't know if I'll be able to handle junior high, it's really complicated" but he is pulling it off with aplomb. I don't know whether the heightened need for organization is responsible but yesterday I got home after work and the kitchen was gleaming. Sam had cleaned it from top to bottom. He was wiping off cupboards when I came in. Bring it on! He is using his planner, cheerily sitting down to do homework and getting off in the mornings without too many things forgotten. All in all a great success.

American healthcare

Just a short note -- -but I promise to be better about posting soon. So, I hear that people self ration trips to the doctor and what not in America because of the woeful state of health coverage, but get your mind around this conversation from the back seat of my car this evening. Sam's friend was talking about a recent visit to his dad in Idaho and he says "well, my dad looks kind of weird at the moment cuz of the ATV accident and he had to have all these stitches in his face and then when he was taking them out he didn't do it right so in some places he has little black threads sticking out of his face." I said "Why didn't the doctor take the out?" He replies, "Oh, we always take out our own stitches so we don't have to make another trip to the doctor; usually my dad is really good at it."