I never could get the hang of Tuesdays...
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Yesterday was a bit of a day.... (under cuts because it's all personal and probably not very interesting)
I went to a departmental tea/coffee and mince pie thing in the morning, and one of the non-academic staff behaved very strangely towards me - almost hostile. She was in charge of the drinks machine in the staff room which has to be paid for, usually, but the money bit had been disabled. There was a long queue of people behind me and I said something to the person behind me about the machine being slower than usual and that it was probably under stress. The staff member in question (SMIQ) seemed to take this personally and made extremely loud and unnecessary comments about me being ungrateful (can't remember the exact words). I moved on, got my mince pie, and went to sit with friends in the other room.
Later on I was talking to a senior lecturer and another member of staff, and a comment was made about how nice it was that this event had been organised (it's the first time all staff and students have got together at Christmas since I've been there - three years). The SMIQ happened to be walking past, stopped, pointed at me and said, "SOME people are complaining about the quality!" and walked on. I explained what I had said, and made a bit of a joke of it, but it was embarrassing.
Later on, as things were winding down, I went back in for another coffee (which I was going to pay for). Students are allowed to use the staff room to get tea/coffee, because the refectory is in a different building and it's easier. SMIQ happened to be standing by the machine again and when I said I was getting another coffee said very loudly, almost squealing, "Oh I don't think so! Only one coffee or tea, that's the deal! You can't complain and then try to get extras!" (again, paraphrased). I said, "Actually, I was going to pay for it." She stood down a bit then, but I'd had enough of being told off like a naughty child in public, so I left the room.
Her attitude may be because I have taken issue with some administrative things which she's been involved in, but it's rarely been personal criticism of her, herself. If it is, she's an adult. She needs to let it go.
I haven't described it well, but it felt a lot like an attempt to make me feel small. I'm 35; I've been patronised by people with far more power and far more talent than her. If I was 18, I would probably have been quite upset by being publicly told off by a staff member. I hope she doesn't treat the younger students like that.
Then
I drove round a not-very-sharp corner in a wood on the way home and found a stopped car in front of me, with a man standing in the open driver's door, trying to push it off the road. Slammed on the anchors, but there wasn't very much in the way of braking. The road was a bit slippery, what with rain and trees, and I really wasn't stopping in any meaningful way.
I managed to steer the car into the opposite lane (thank God, nothing was coming) and carried on sliding, brakes squealing, until I finally came to a stop about a foot from a tree. After taking a minute to hyperventilate, I pulled over and let the broken-down driver use my mobile to call for his breakdown service.
No one was hurt, no cars were damaged, but I was (we were) incredibly lucky. The road was very busy before and after it happened, and I'm extremely fortunate that no lorries came towards me while I was braking or after I'd stopped because there was really nowhere to go except down a bank, through trees, into a river.
The Husband, when I told him about it, had two comments. "You really shouldn't have stopped to help a lone male driver." and "Thank you for not dying." Awww....
Today, I'm staying by the fire, with dissertation reading and Hula Hoops. Very little chance of crashing the car here, I think...
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Yesterday was a bit of a day.... (under cuts because it's all personal and probably not very interesting)
I went to a departmental tea/coffee and mince pie thing in the morning, and one of the non-academic staff behaved very strangely towards me - almost hostile. She was in charge of the drinks machine in the staff room which has to be paid for, usually, but the money bit had been disabled. There was a long queue of people behind me and I said something to the person behind me about the machine being slower than usual and that it was probably under stress. The staff member in question (SMIQ) seemed to take this personally and made extremely loud and unnecessary comments about me being ungrateful (can't remember the exact words). I moved on, got my mince pie, and went to sit with friends in the other room.
Later on I was talking to a senior lecturer and another member of staff, and a comment was made about how nice it was that this event had been organised (it's the first time all staff and students have got together at Christmas since I've been there - three years). The SMIQ happened to be walking past, stopped, pointed at me and said, "SOME people are complaining about the quality!" and walked on. I explained what I had said, and made a bit of a joke of it, but it was embarrassing.
Later on, as things were winding down, I went back in for another coffee (which I was going to pay for). Students are allowed to use the staff room to get tea/coffee, because the refectory is in a different building and it's easier. SMIQ happened to be standing by the machine again and when I said I was getting another coffee said very loudly, almost squealing, "Oh I don't think so! Only one coffee or tea, that's the deal! You can't complain and then try to get extras!" (again, paraphrased). I said, "Actually, I was going to pay for it." She stood down a bit then, but I'd had enough of being told off like a naughty child in public, so I left the room.
Her attitude may be because I have taken issue with some administrative things which she's been involved in, but it's rarely been personal criticism of her, herself. If it is, she's an adult. She needs to let it go.
I haven't described it well, but it felt a lot like an attempt to make me feel small. I'm 35; I've been patronised by people with far more power and far more talent than her. If I was 18, I would probably have been quite upset by being publicly told off by a staff member. I hope she doesn't treat the younger students like that.
Then
I drove round a not-very-sharp corner in a wood on the way home and found a stopped car in front of me, with a man standing in the open driver's door, trying to push it off the road. Slammed on the anchors, but there wasn't very much in the way of braking. The road was a bit slippery, what with rain and trees, and I really wasn't stopping in any meaningful way.
I managed to steer the car into the opposite lane (thank God, nothing was coming) and carried on sliding, brakes squealing, until I finally came to a stop about a foot from a tree. After taking a minute to hyperventilate, I pulled over and let the broken-down driver use my mobile to call for his breakdown service.
No one was hurt, no cars were damaged, but I was (we were) incredibly lucky. The road was very busy before and after it happened, and I'm extremely fortunate that no lorries came towards me while I was braking or after I'd stopped because there was really nowhere to go except down a bank, through trees, into a river.
The Husband, when I told him about it, had two comments. "You really shouldn't have stopped to help a lone male driver." and "Thank you for not dying." Awww....
Today, I'm staying by the fire, with dissertation reading and Hula Hoops. Very little chance of crashing the car here, I think...
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