Friday Fragments: A Collage from Administrator Life

Yesterday was a much better day than Tuesday was or Wednesday was.  But I'm still feeling too fragmented to write a cohesive blog post.  Let me collage some fragments together.

--I am happy to report that after an hour of going round and round, we finally got the various cross-listed classes separated and in the right classrooms at the right time.

--But after hours--literally--of working on this issue, I worry what else might be lurking in the computer system.  What surprises await next week as we begin our first week of the fall quarter?

--Yesterday I had a delightful time with my writer friend and colleague.  She loved my story about the gardener on Mars, but she wants more description of how the tomatoes taste.  I loved her latest installation of stories about a class of humans that have interesting powers.  She's got a cool idea that I won't say too much about--but I'm hoping she continues with the idea.

--Next time's word prompt:  grace.  Due date:  mid-December.

--This week I found myself with classes to staff because of the lay-offs.  I anticipated that finding a Physics teacher would be the hardest task.  So I called my counterpart at Brown Mackie College to see if he had some possibilities, and now I have a candidate coming for an interview at 2.  Hurrah!

--I think of myself as being a not-good networker, but maybe that's not really true.

--I'm interested in the stories we tell ourselves and how others actually see us.  I remember when a colleague friend in South Carolina told me I was so creative--it was the first time that someone said that, and I felt surprised that others saw me that way.  I find it interesting that I felt like a non-creative person, even though I wrote on a daily basis. 

--Last night, as we swam in the pool, I thought it must be about 8:30, but it was actually an hour earlier.  The light has shifted.  A month from now it will shift even more dramatically as we go back to Eastern Standard Time.

--I said, "Amazing that we can swim when there's a major hurricane just 90 miles that way."  And we may have beautiful weather this week-end because of that hurricane sucking all the moisture in the air towards it.  I will welcome the end to the oppressive humidity.

--Our friends further up the coast (the Carolinas and Virginia and up) will not escape the moisture, and because of a storm surge and wind due to an offshore hurricane, the rain swollen rivers will not be able to empty into the sea.  Residents may avoid having a major hurricane come ashore, but they may suffer major damage nonetheless.

--While those to our north deal with rain, I will have a week-end with a poolside picnic with good friends, a possible motorcycle trip with family and friends-to-be, and grading of rough drafts.