From around the office

Subject line of an email this morning:

[uaac-all] FW: list of deceased students

....

And then this posted on one of our bulletin boards...

MI-5

Craig and watched the last episode of MI-5 available on Netflix last night. What will we do now? I now there is one last season coming out in March, but then....? suggestions for a series we might get hooked on?

Valentine's Day - blech

Not my favorite holiday but Catherine, Craig and I had a nice dinner at our local Mexican hole in the wall. I outdid Craig because I actually got him a gift. Usually he is much better at this sort of thing, but this year he came up with nothing which I said was actually a good gift because I could look good by contrast.

Today was also Sam's first filling - a rite of passage. He did just fine and got to experience that fat lip feeling for the rest of the afternoon.

Work continues to be entertaining.

We are down to the final stages of our search for a new chair. Three candidates were brought in and each regaled us with a scholarly talk and a 'vision' talk. On Thursday we meet to discuss their relative pros and cons and from the hallway buzz it is clear that people are feeling passionately, but not necessarily in a unified way (what a surprise). I am tempted to do a secret recording because I suspect serious gems will be uttered....

The search committee met with the staff yesterday and the staff were completely traumatized. The dominant committee members revealed their true hierarchical nature--we've invited you to share your opinion, but, actually, your opinion is irrelevant, because you are mere staff...

Our wonderful Administrative Officer remarked this morning that she hadn't realized she worked at Downtown Abbey and wondered if a basement would be excavated to which she and the rest of the staff could be relegated.

good times.

Where is everyone?

Where are my commentators? And what happened to Alison's daily blogging pledge? And mum, what have you been up to lately?

Sam and I are reviewing the horrors of the French Revolution. Catherine and I have to finish the horrors of the FAFSA; for which Craig had to plumb the horrors of our 2011 taxes. We are all suitably horrified.

ha ha

http://www.smbc-comics.com/?id=2502

Oh, so I am not the only one

Recall cryptic reference to difficult colleague demanding unearned perks.... Here's a gem from said colleague's fall course evals:

1. strongly suggest new line of work. prison guard? 2. the. worst. ever. why is this "perfessor" teaching university, esp. req. course? not enough space here to say how unprofessional. ugly cloud over classroom for 14 wks. why bother with survey like this? she said in class that she's tenured and could not care less what anybody says thinks or does. disrespectful, dishonest, deliberately hurtful,screams insults at students,students crying during class, mandatory unscheduled saturday 8 hr. class to make up for the wasting time during semester, classes went pass deadline, slutty attire. perhaps needs professional help? issues with father, mother? god only knows. pathetic.

Saturday

Happy Saturday! I survived the end of the week. Meeting on department future Thursday afternoon was pretty awful. Some of my colleagues really have no institutional memory, suggesting solutions which they rejected just a few years ago. Their plan for curricular reform merits a metaphor someone used at a summer seminar a couple of years back: "its the equivalent of a bad combover." My friends, the head is still bald.

By contrast yesterday's meeting to talk explicitly about the Language Center rocked. We had excellent presentations from people outside the department and there was a level of energy and excitement that I have found missing within the department for a long time.

It is a rainy, weirdly mild day today. We seem to have England's weather and we would like ours back whoever has taken it. There has been a dearth of snow. I have yet to ski this year.