Me lately
I feel like I have not made a real post in a long time. I confess this is partly because nobody seems to really write in LJ anymore, but what the heck, can't I write for myself?
I woke up early this morning with to do lists racing through my head. I hate that. I finally got up and decided to write some of it down, thinking that might help, but now I'm too awake.
The weeks since the beach have been insane. I stared out the week after realizing that I really only had one full week left to get anything done, since the week before classes was full of training sessions, meetings, and retreats. I had an instruction librarian retreat, all day training for new advisors, and an all day faculty retreat (ending at 9 pm after a wine tasting and dinner). Saturday I had to come in and attend the new student and parent session with the administrators, then have a session with my four new advisees and their parents.
Yeah, you read that right. Their parents. Did you ever see your college advisor with your parents? I would have been mortified. But where I work, we have all these policies and offices to make sure no student slips through the cracks. I have seen it in action and it has prevented suicide attempts, etc... I guess the more you expect from students, when all of them are overachievers, you have to watch out for them. It was my job to tell the parents, "Hey, you've done a good job, and you can hand them over to us." Okay, so I get that, but it still feels like a bit much.
The week after, as I was covering the desk in the music library and interviewing for new student workers, I was also meeting with my advisees. It is such an interesting experience. Three of them are intending to be music majors, and one is pre-med. All of them are in music. One of them is struggling with homesickness, and his family is 20 minutes away.
On top of everything, I was asked to be the president of the campus womens club (formerly the faculty wives club, but then feminism happened and women became faculty too, hehe), and most of my duties are saturated right before school starts. So the evening after all day new advisor training, I spent four hours getting 1000 newsletters printed, labeled, etc. Not by myself, but just having to do it, yikes.
Oh yeah, and I'm playing for a voice recital on the 12th. MUST practice. I'm having a hard time making practice time, and because of that am newly obsessed about buying a piano for the house. I have the perfect spot...
So it has been turbo speed ahead. I hit about 3 pm and just want to lay down on my desk and sleep. At least this is a three day weekend, and yesterday I pretty much did nothing, and it felt great. Today I'm taking N- on a trip, he doesn't know where. It's no big deal, but it is fun to plan a surprise.
I have friends in Louisiana who are packing up and driving to a hotel. They keep saying "it's no big deal" but I hate hurricanes and their slow-moving terror. Bah!
I woke up early this morning with to do lists racing through my head. I hate that. I finally got up and decided to write some of it down, thinking that might help, but now I'm too awake.
The weeks since the beach have been insane. I stared out the week after realizing that I really only had one full week left to get anything done, since the week before classes was full of training sessions, meetings, and retreats. I had an instruction librarian retreat, all day training for new advisors, and an all day faculty retreat (ending at 9 pm after a wine tasting and dinner). Saturday I had to come in and attend the new student and parent session with the administrators, then have a session with my four new advisees and their parents.
Yeah, you read that right. Their parents. Did you ever see your college advisor with your parents? I would have been mortified. But where I work, we have all these policies and offices to make sure no student slips through the cracks. I have seen it in action and it has prevented suicide attempts, etc... I guess the more you expect from students, when all of them are overachievers, you have to watch out for them. It was my job to tell the parents, "Hey, you've done a good job, and you can hand them over to us." Okay, so I get that, but it still feels like a bit much.
The week after, as I was covering the desk in the music library and interviewing for new student workers, I was also meeting with my advisees. It is such an interesting experience. Three of them are intending to be music majors, and one is pre-med. All of them are in music. One of them is struggling with homesickness, and his family is 20 minutes away.
On top of everything, I was asked to be the president of the campus womens club (formerly the faculty wives club, but then feminism happened and women became faculty too, hehe), and most of my duties are saturated right before school starts. So the evening after all day new advisor training, I spent four hours getting 1000 newsletters printed, labeled, etc. Not by myself, but just having to do it, yikes.
Oh yeah, and I'm playing for a voice recital on the 12th. MUST practice. I'm having a hard time making practice time, and because of that am newly obsessed about buying a piano for the house. I have the perfect spot...
So it has been turbo speed ahead. I hit about 3 pm and just want to lay down on my desk and sleep. At least this is a three day weekend, and yesterday I pretty much did nothing, and it felt great. Today I'm taking N- on a trip, he doesn't know where. It's no big deal, but it is fun to plan a surprise.
I have friends in Louisiana who are packing up and driving to a hotel. They keep saying "it's no big deal" but I hate hurricanes and their slow-moving terror. Bah!