Midweek medley

• Yesterday I spent the day in the second session of the teachers' seminar on modern Muslim women's memoirs -- you know, the one where the teacher simply wouldn't shut up? Fortunately, the second day went better than the first, so maybe part of the problem on the first day was simply her nerves, but she does still interrupt people right and left. Plus -- and I know I grumbled about this last time, but it's seriously annoying -- she misuses the phrase "as it were" all the damn time, as in, "I'm going to pass around a stack of handouts. Please take one and pass it on, as it were." Um, that doesn't make sense. But still, I'm getting some good info and good texts out of the workshop, so not a bad way to spend the day at all.

• Of course, I then walked into my morning class today somewhat underprepared (one of the costs of being off-campus yesterday), and as a result, talked way too much myself. So I do get why teachers do this and clearly do it myself at times. But I don't interrupt people, so that's something.

• Had my first meeting today in which I had to act department-chair-like. It went okay, although it was totally a softball of a meeting. I'm not really "on" in the role for a few months, but for the rest of the spring there will be moments when I have to step up to the plate.

• Sorry for all of baseball/softball metaphors there. Not sure what's up with that -- not my normal mode of communication.

• It's been a seriously hectic 2 1/2 weeks ... and then suddenly at 11:30 this morning I was caught up and had time on my hands! I mean, there's still a few things to do in the next couple of days, and I'll have grading to do next week, but it's a blessed sense of relief!

• I celebrated by going to the FGS archives and getting started on primary source research for the next chapter I'm writing for the FGS history. And here's the tasty tidbit that the archivist told me this afternoon: An FGS alumna was an American spy during World War II and was known for her Mata Hari techniques. Woohoo!

• Plus, I drove to school in the daylight, and there was still some daylight on my drive home after 5 p.m. Life is better now.

Comments

[Meansomething.wordpress.com]

I would just like to congratulate you on putting up with the weird teacher, as it were.

:-)

Isn't it weird STARTING to be chair? Most people are normal, but one or two are beginning to sidle up to me in search of information or whatever--I'm actually trying to have informal "how are you doing, what do you need" conversations so that I go into situations like the deployment meeting with pretty good info. Sometimes people think they've been very clear about what they want to Dr. Tea, but they haven't. Starting over with me is a good time to get them to articulate issues they may think are obvious. (For example, I thought Romola would want to do creative writing, but I wasn't so sure she would be willing to take it on as a third prep. Turns out she is.)