Who's on third?

I'm not in charge yet but that doesn't stop people from turning to me. "I have a student who failed second semester Latin and is begging for a passing grade so he can continue. Should I give it to him? He's very keen on all things Roman". Oh, and "all the women in the class complained that he gave them the creeps, and one told me he's on the sex offender registry". Thank god we can leave aside this issue, because he can't decline a latin noun to save his life, let alone pass third semester. Incidentally, he is on the registry -- a source of information that certainly wasn't around in my student days. Weird.

office space

My co-chair has moved his stuff into the administrative suite. He managed a sweet swap with someone eager to move to the quiet corner of the department that we currently occupy. For those of you who haven't seen our digs, we inhabit a building which challenges even the best sense of direction. Our offices extend along labyrinthian hallways. Someone explained to me when I arrived here that the zigs and zags were designed to maximize windows to the outside and indeed, unlike my previous place of employ, I do have a lovely view of the foothills. My former job had us housed in what was to have been a parking garage and as one friend wryly observed, the offices were the size of parking spaces. I too will move to the centre of the office labyrinth, but must wait until an office is vacated. This will probably be on the last possible day preceding my official appointment so I expect to be rolling dolly loads of books on June 30th.
I won't be teaching a class again until January and some part of me must be clinging to my last grading. I still have stacks to get through by Monday. We have a new online system for posting grades which gives an ominous countdown when you log in: "you have 5 days, 4 hours and 37 minutes left to post your grades". I fear I shall be down to just minutes by the time I get it all done. In the meantime I have planted some herbs given to me by the children for my birthday. I have only looked at the handheld GPS device from Craig - it promises to involve a steep learning curve, but I am very excited to have it. We can start geo-caching on weekends --- or I can use it to find my way from my new office to the bathroom.

parenting in the breach

"Mom, for school tomorrow I need a dark blue tablecloth and a centerpiece featuring a moose." I felt the rest of my day taking a turn for the "not an evening with a glass of red wine and the latest New Yorker." But, really it wouldn't be parenthood without these random last minute requests. So we hunkered down with Google Images, construction paper and dried out glue sticks. Oh and a glass of red wine for me... A week ago it was the other child with such a request. 7:30am. Me at table with mug of coffee and newspaper. Small voice says: "today is colonial celebration day, and, um, I need a costume." What? (Small inner voice wondering why any curriculum is celebrating colonialism...) Fortunately request was accompanied by illustration of man in long waistcoat, britches, and ruffle at shirt neck. Out came the sewing machine, fabric remnants, and a couple of linen dinner napkins. See results below. Too early in the morning for an accompanying glass of red wine.

rah rah

So, one of the challenges of department leadership is publicity. You have to let people know who you are, what you have to offer, and hope that some of them will want to partake. We haven't been terribly good at this, but there has been some movement. The college has encouraged us all to have a professional portrait done. This so that we are "press ready". You know, something eventful happens, faculty member X steps up as talking head, and said portrait can be dispatched. These pictures now hang in a glass case outside our deparment where they don't do much to inspire. First, we are rather decimated in ranks -- many people just didn't acquiesce to the studio session ---; second, those of us that did, look not so appealing. We also have a departmental brochure which sends a curious message. At some point, someone chose the slogan "gateway to the world" as our mantra and in keeping with that the front of the brochure features a black and white photograph of gates to a cemetery. What message are we sending? We are "gateway to the underworld"? "Studying with us is like being dead"? We have our work cut out for us.

Moab!

So, we went to Moab this weekend because Craig had a "gig" - two nights playing in a tavern that was frequented by the sort of clientele that Europeans secretly believe America is full of. Let's just say there were more patrons than sets of teeth. The town was also host this weekend to an antique car show so there was no room at the inn. Fortunately Craig had booked early and managed to get us lodging at the Lazy Lizard... Blast from the past -- or someone's past. Anyway the place is a bonafide hostel - we paid $26 for a private room. Bathroom across the hall complete with mold and an astonishing array of shampoo left by travelers. The room was surprisingly comfortable, or perhaps tomb like. It was warm already (high 80s) and the Lazy Lizard doesn't do air conditioning. We slept like logs. Saturday we did an amazing hike up a gully - still some pools of water.

и вот началась новая жизнь

Department seeking chair

"Do you feel a rising sense of nausea, or are you at all intrigued?" asked my Dean. And so began a tenure as Department Chair - actually Co-Chair, since a colleague and I are going down in the annals of academe as one of the rare experiments in shared governance. The official takeover isn't until July 1st, a date by which we will have both managed to be conveniently out of the country. The current Chair seems to manage largely in absentia so we thought we'd give it a go... Until then, there is an endless round of meetings to "get up to speed." This is useful since as everyone knows, academics largely self-select for absence of administrative skills. Indeed I believe an interest in things beyond Slavic linguistics probably marks me as a lost cause researchwise. Upon general announcement of our appointment at least one of my senior colleagues mitigated congratulations with the comment that "I knew you wanted to Department Chair" -- read: I saw something unseemly about you and lo and behold it has come to pass. Nonetheless, I am -- to mimic my undergrads -- psyched! Which reminds me that one of my junior colleagues, viewing such enthusiasm, asked if I was planning to have an MRI. I don't know why embracing departmental leadership is viewed as such a bizarre act, but it seems a prevalent reaction so stay tuned. There may be mental breakdown in my future.
For now, I am excited to be learning how things really work and thrilled to have the chance to work with my colleagues to fashion a 21st century department we can be proud of and excited to work in.