I've been busy doing absolutely nothing for the last several weeks. I am tired, in debt, sick of mounting medical bills, and worried about the lack-of-job sitch. The cancer isn't responding to the treatment, my doctor thinks maybe I have something else, and BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH.
Really, everything kind of bites. And I have about 4000 papers to grade before grades are due. Plus, I have to clean out my office. There's a depressing thought.
Showing posts with label school. Show all posts
Showing posts with label school. Show all posts
Saturday, April 26, 2008
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
A Little of This, A Little of That
Calling the bank has only assured me that they will "examine" the situation. Calling Bellsouth was a waste of time. They handed me around to 4 different people, all of whom said since I don't have an account with them, there's no way they could have charged me $162.47. Thanks, that was so helpful. Hopefully, the bank will figure out what happened. Meanwhile, I need to alert the credit bureaus... I wish I knew how to do that.
The new semester is alright so far--only two weeks into it, it's hard to say. I do have two former students whom I liked before, so it's nice to see them again. I'm hoping good things will happen this semester. I can't stand any more badness...
...like the student who missed an A by 6 points because of her attendance (it was poor), who then went to my supervisor and demanded that I change the grade. And I had to change it, even though I objected being coerced. See, that's what I hate about teaching. If a student bitches enough to the right people, it doesn't matter that she earned a B--she can go above the professor's head and the professor has to change the grade. How fair is that? Not fair.
Oy.
The new semester is alright so far--only two weeks into it, it's hard to say. I do have two former students whom I liked before, so it's nice to see them again. I'm hoping good things will happen this semester. I can't stand any more badness...
...like the student who missed an A by 6 points because of her attendance (it was poor), who then went to my supervisor and demanded that I change the grade. And I had to change it, even though I objected being coerced. See, that's what I hate about teaching. If a student bitches enough to the right people, it doesn't matter that she earned a B--she can go above the professor's head and the professor has to change the grade. How fair is that? Not fair.
Oy.
Saturday, April 28, 2007
A Department Thing
Today, I stayed at school to grade, instead of hotfooting it home like I usually do. There was also a "Good Bye" party for the faculty Fellows who aren't returning next year (either because this was their Third Year or because they got a decently-paying job elsewhere) at a local pub, about a mile and a half from the school. Not only did I want to say goodbye to a couple of my friends, but hell, let's face it: free food. Sometimes I'm still in graduate school mode--I can be lured with food. Of course people could have wine or beer too, though I stuck to Cokes, being as I detest beer and wine detests me.
One of the Third Years, a dear, brilliant, man who is leaving, had applied earlier in the year for a tenure-track job at my school--and should have been a shoe-in, except that he got screwed. I won't go into the details--they steam my clams--but I was so angry for him today. I mean, he couldn't have been more cordial and friendly if he tried, and when the head of the department was talking to him, and saying how much the department will miss him, I wanted to beat the GD lying SOB with my shoe. It was so fricken phony. It's possible that the head of the department was NOT on the hiring committee, but I find that hard to believe. And moreover, how could he say all these nice things, full knowing how shitty the school had been to him? He was just so unbelievably phony--I do not like that man. I couldn't have been so gracious as my friend was. But I was seriously disgusted at the hypocrisy. I was totally channeling Holden Caulfield or something.
Anyway--despite the obnoxious phoniness of the whole shebang--"oh, we're going to miss you people so much" PUH-LEEZ--I did get to hang out with my Second Year friends and chat with them and eat good bar food and that was fun. And we were there till 8:30, and the thing started at 5:30. It was the most socializing I've done in a long time. Normally, I'm such a hermit.
One of the Third Years, a dear, brilliant, man who is leaving, had applied earlier in the year for a tenure-track job at my school--and should have been a shoe-in, except that he got screwed. I won't go into the details--they steam my clams--but I was so angry for him today. I mean, he couldn't have been more cordial and friendly if he tried, and when the head of the department was talking to him, and saying how much the department will miss him, I wanted to beat the GD lying SOB with my shoe. It was so fricken phony. It's possible that the head of the department was NOT on the hiring committee, but I find that hard to believe. And moreover, how could he say all these nice things, full knowing how shitty the school had been to him? He was just so unbelievably phony--I do not like that man. I couldn't have been so gracious as my friend was. But I was seriously disgusted at the hypocrisy. I was totally channeling Holden Caulfield or something.
Anyway--despite the obnoxious phoniness of the whole shebang--"oh, we're going to miss you people so much" PUH-LEEZ--I did get to hang out with my Second Year friends and chat with them and eat good bar food and that was fun. And we were there till 8:30, and the thing started at 5:30. It was the most socializing I've done in a long time. Normally, I'm such a hermit.
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