Jobs for people with short employment attention spans

Week 4 of the semester, and I've decided that academia/education is the place for me. I really, really like the whole "new semester, clean slate" thing. I can't overstate this. The honeymoon feeling of the first day of classes has persisted all month, even as I took my show on the road and did a whopping 9 "what the library can do for you" class visit presentations (plus two very intimate library orientation sessions--despite their being mandatory for this semester's 13 new students, only one person showed up for each one). Tomorrow I'm taking the freshman comp students on a field trip to the real library. Wednesday is the book discussion group. Thursday I'm doing a "meet the new databases" workshop for the faculty. And I'm enjoying the hell out of it all.

I remember saying this in September or October, too. Then came midterm and the slow slide into bitterness. But I'm relieved to find out that it's a temporary condition that can be remedied with a new academic term, rather than that familiar "oh, God, what have I done" feeling that I seem to get after a certain period at a new job. Maybe this is like having a new job every four months--which is perfect for my attention span.

Of course, next week the higher education accreditation team is coming in, so I may be singing a very different tune after I have to be grilled on all things library. The official word from the administration is "don't lie." But I have a special meeting with my boss and the accreditation consultant (who knew there were such things?) tomorrow where we practice my responses, so I have a feeling I'm going to be walking a very fine line when it comes to the truth, especially for questions like "What is the library's budget?"

But then I'm doing a database workshop for the freshmen comp students. And one for the student body at large (we'll see if I get anyone to show up). And a session on finding images online and in our cool new art history database.

Hopefully my enthusiasm will keep me going until midterm, or even longer.

Hey, wait--the apocalypse has arrived

About the time I hit the Publish Post button, a commercial for this trainwreck of a TV show reached my consciousness from the other room. So many questions, so little time before I have to climb under the desk and huddle in the fetal position...

This week's signs of the impending apocalypse

Chess team member attacks teacher at our alma mater.

Heath Ledger--not just dead, naked and dead. (Okay, they seem to have edited the stories since yesterday, but did the news outlets all have to lead with the nudity? Give the man a break. And how the hell are his autopsy results already available? When my aunt died last year, we waited a month. A month.)

Montrose Avenue swallowed by giant sinkhole.

Hell (a.k.a. Chicago) to freeze over tonight.

And, most unbelievable of all, my mother apparently is telling her coworkers that she fully expects me to be pregnant by this summer. What the hell?

Putting the "spring" in spring semester

Day 1 of the spring semester, and it was something like 65 degrees outside. And kind of humid and threatening-looking--I'm still half-expecting a thunderstorm or a tornado or something. We're supposed to get one more day of this weird weather and then head back toward freezing. I'm torn between feeling like I have to get out and enjoy the temps while I can and wanting to hide from it so I won't feel so bad when things go back to cold, depressing January normal.

Between the weather and the new semester, plus the fact that I got almost no sleep last night (stupid screwed-up holiday sleep schedule!), the whole day was kind of surreal. So many reasonably content students who didn't want anything from me! The printer behaved, the copier ... well, we can't expect miracles. But almost everyone cleared their own paper jams.

It reminded me how much I used to like the first week of classes when I was a student. Not necessarily being back in class, but the lack of pressure. I loved going to class knowing that all I'd be responsible for was sitting and listening to the instructor review the syllabus. And I loved going to the bookstore and buying my textbooks. (I know. But it's true.)

My student workers are scheduled, and we're having a little meeting/pizza party on Thursday. The bulk of the new textbooks arrived during the break and are cataloged and on the shelf. I don't start class visits until next week. Other than posting some syllabi to the library website and working on some brochures touting the new databases, nothing is looming on my calendar. If only the whole semester were like the first week of classes!