It looks like I’m graduating in December after all. Yay!
I finally did manage to get two classes in the summer, but only by doing an independent study version of one of the classes I’d registered for for the fall, that had been cancelled (I really need to finish that… we did this whole reorganization thing at work this summer, and I fell behind). Over the course of the summer, I registered for two other classes, and both of those got cancelled too. I finally ended up registering for a management class, which, after last spring, I swore I would never, ever do again. I should know better by now than to say I’ll never, ever do something, because I always end up having to do it. Anyway, I don’t care, it’s my final elective, and after this, I’m done! I’ve already started applying for jobs in my new field. Fingers crossed.
So far, this summer has been pretty awful. We’ll start with classes.
So, I’m three classes away from graduating, and I was hoping I’d be able to take two classes in the summer (one each session), and just one in the fall, mainly because tuition is cheaper in the summer, so I’d have less tax to pay on it. Well, come registration time, I find that the IS department wasn’t offering any graduate level classes second summer session. Well, fine! So I registered for one class in the summer (one that I wasn’t particularly interested in, but I didn’t have much choice), and two in the fall. A few weeks later, I went in to print out a copy of my schedule, and I noticed that it was only showing one class for the fall. What the heck!? I went looked for the missing class in registration and it was gone! Poof! They’d cancelled it and not even had the decency to send out an email letting people know! So I’m looking around for a class to replace that one and in the meantime I email the professor who was teaching my summer class to see if he’d send me the reading list so I could start trying to get the books. He emails me back and tells me that he doesn’t think the class is going to make, because I’m the only person registered for it. *scream* So I’m down two classes, and it’s looking like I might not graduate in December. Well, I finally decided that I would switch my one remaining fall class to the summer (it was being offered both times) so I’d at least have a summer class and could give myself a bit of time to try to figure out what to do about the two other classes I needed. I finally found another class in the fall that I hadn’t already taken, and then I decided to email the professor of the fall class that got cancelled (happened to be Java), to see if he’d be willing to teach it as an independent study. I still haven’t heard back from the man. So instead, I asked the professor who’s teaching my summer class if he’d be willing to do it, and he agreed, so I’m finally back to my three classes, and I’m actually doing what I’d originally planned; two classes in the summer, and one in the fall! But good grief, the stress involved in getting to that point!
Next stresser? Well, the powers that be at the library decided that it would be a good idea to consolidate the three reference points (and the reference collections) into one central location. Ok, fine, that would probably be a good idea, if we actually had an area in the library big enough to house all three reference collections. But since we don’t, and parts of the reference collections are still going to be scattered around the library, it makes no sense to me. But they didn’t ask my opinion, so I guess it doesn’t count. (Can you tell I’m vaguely annoyed by this whole thing?) Anyway, as soon as I got back from vacation, I was told to pack up all my stuff and bring all the departmental supplies to the supply person downstairs. We then sat in our offices for over a week, waiting for the IT people to get around to moving our computers (why we weren’t allowed to move them ourselves, I’ll never know). The move itself was stressful enough, but having to sit in clutter for a week while we waited to move was worse! So last Friday we finally got to move, and I’ve lost my lovely windows (I had two walls made of windows in my last office) and now I have to share one window with three other people and I’m not even the one closest to it and I’ve no privacy and… well, I keep telling myself I’m graduating in December. I still have no idea what’s going to happen to my student workers. At one point they said they were going to be shifted to the departments that are taking over responsibility for the journals and reference collection that were left upstairs; then on Friday I was told to email them and tell them to check in downstairs from now on. I wish they’d make up their minds so I can tell them something definite. My students who aren’t working this summer know absolutely nothing about what’s going on. Grr! Ok, enough ranting for now.
On a more pleasant note, I’m going to be directing the melodrama (The Drunkard) at the theatre this summer. Auditions are this weekend and the show goes up July 21st – 23rd. It’s my directorial debut, and it should be a fun show. It’s a small cast of only five people, which is generally lots of fun. I’ll keep posting on how it goes!
I’m feeling old… and dead… and Jewish.
D’you reckon it’s because I’ve been cast as Grandma Tzeitel in Fiddler on the Roof? Nah, that couldn’t be it! Not a chance! 😀
Honestly, after call backs, I wasn’t expecting to be cast at all, because the director just had me read and sing for Golde, and there was no chance in heck I was getting that role. Imagine my pleasant surprise when I got the call the next day.
I have one question though. Why do I always get cast as old ladies??? Not that I’m complaining, but I wish I knew what goes through directors’ heads when they cast me in these roles.
In addition to Grandma Tzeitel, I’m also to be in the chorus of villagers, so I have lots of stage time. On the minus side, I’ve already got the music spinning through my head pretty much non-stop, and we’re only one week into rehearsals. I’m going to be hating it by the time we’re through, I fear.
Anyway, apart from the theatre, it’s spring break this coming week! Yay! Not that I get much of a break, as I still have to work full time… though this year I did ask for Thursday and Friday off. I’m in need of a break that’s longer than a weekend.
Yeah, I’ve been watching Eddie Izzard again lately (“I’ve got legs. D’you like… bread? I’ve got a french loaf! WHACK Bye! I love you!”). I can’t help myself, the man’s a comic genius! I’m very proud of the fact that I’ve converted several of my friends to the Izzard… let’s call it cult, shall we?
And speaking of friends, we’re going to get together in a couple of weeks (as soon as we all have a free evening, all at the same time) and have a Jane Austen night. Considering the number of Jane Austen films that have come out lately, it’ll probably be the first in a series of Jane Austen nights. Yay!
I went to see Firewall yesterday… with one of my classes… and the professor paid. Now that’s what I call a field trip! The class is cyberwarfare, and basically, we went to see the movie so we could criticize… uh, critique it and the various technologies they use in it. It was fun, but it wasn’t really realistic… not that we expected it to be… it is a Harrison Ford movie, after all.
Hmm… looks like the new trend on my blog is one post per semester. Well, couldn’t be helped, it was a busy term. Still is, actually. I should be studying for my database final which is first thing tomorrow morning, but I thought I’d do my duty as an upstanding member of the Procrastinators’ Guild and avoid it for a little while. I did look over the study guide, and it’s really just the bits that are from the first half of the semester that I need to go over. Most of the rest of it we’ve been using fairly constantly in class and on assignments so I’m comfortable with it.
So, can’t wait to go shopping this weekend. Tomorrow’s payday, which means I can finally get my Christmas shopping done. I’m going to Mexico to spend the holiday with my brother and his family so I have to get stuff for both the kids. Apparently, they want football cleats (read soccer, Americans). Well, that’s easy enough, but I’d also like to get them something fun. That’s harder, because nobody can seem to give us an idea of what they like these days! It’s the problem with living so far away, you don’t get to know the little details of everyday life.
Well, that’s summer over. Two more classes under my belt, and just six to go before I finish my masters. Yay! If all goes well, I’ll just have to endure one more Texas summer! I really, really want to move somewhere cooler when I finish.
Just got back from vacation. Second day back at work, today. I spent a week in California with my mother. Among other things, we went to the Hollywood Bowl and saw their production of Camelot. I was very pleasantly surprised to find that they had Jeremy Irons in the role of Arthur. Very, very cool. Needless to say, there were a whole lot more people there that day than the time I went to see Regina Carter.
Now I’m just trying to get through Seussical. Hmm… that makes it sound like it’s a complete drag, but it’s not. I’m having a great time, it’s just that it’s very time consuming, and I’m always tired. I guess it doesn’t help that I’m both stage managing and acting in it. Still, just a week and a half more of rehearsals and then we open. Scary thought! Should be a really good show.
I saw the teaser for The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe this weekend. Before then I hadn’t known that they were making a new set of films based on the Chronicles of Narnia. The teaser really looked promising. I’m all excited now because the Chronicles of Narnia were some of my favourite books growing up. I can’t believe I have to wait till December to see it! I just hope that I’m not so wired by then that it ends up being disappointing.
In other news, the semester is officially over for me. I took my one and only final on Thursday. Woot. I’d definitely be more excited if I were still a teacher or a full time student and actually were getting any sort of a real break this summer… or even between this semester and the summer term. It’s at this time of year that I think most seriously of actually, really going back into teaching. Possibly at a community college, in a non-tenure track position so I could just get on with teaching and not have to spend half my time doing research or publishing papers. Yeah, that would be good.
Grr! I’m really pissed off at the people in payroll right now. Why? I’m glad you asked! See, because I work full-time at the university, I get tuition remission as one of my benefits (which means I don’t have to pay for my master’s degree). But at the graduate level, it’s taxable above a certain amount. Basically, come fall semester, they tell the IRS that instead of making, say, $1000 a week, I’m making, for example, $1500, and the IRS then takes out more taxes. Vell… with the amounts they were taking out, I quickly decided that I could only take three classes per year, which meant it was going to take me much longer than I’d expected to finish my degree (I went into it thinking I’d be able to take six classes per year – the maximum amount allowed under tuition remission).
Well as I was trying to figure out how much the tax amount would be this year (oh, because apart from everything else, they’ve totally messed up on taking it out both years I’ve done this, and instead of spreading it out over four months, have waited till the last two, so I still had no idea how much the amount was really supposed to be), the head of payroll very casually mentioned, “Well, you know, if you want, you can estimate the amount of the tuition remission and have the extra taxes spread out over the whole year.”
*blink* I- huh? I can?? Oh, this is nice! Thanks for waiting two and a half YEARS to tell me this!! If they’d told me from the start, I’d be finishing this year! *grumble mutter mumble*
I would just like to say, “IT’S FRIDAY! WOOHOO!” Dances around the library like a crazy person. At least there aren’t any patrons in right now.
Just needed to get that out of my system. For some reason, while this week has gone by fairly quickly and it hasn’t been a bad week, each day has seemed to drag on forever and I’m just glad it’s finally over.
Going to a conference tomorrow morning and while I am looking forward to it, and to spending time with the friend I’m going with, there’s just something… unholy? Yeah, that’s a good word for it, unholy about having to set the alarm to get up early on a Saturday.
Random quote of the day:
“When I see a spade I call it a spade.”
“I’m glad to say I have never seen a spade.”
From Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest
So, Spring Break’s over. Well, they call it Spring Break, but not all of us get to take a break. Hmpf! Still, even though I still had to work, at least I was able to go home earlier each afternoon because I didn’t have to make up the hours I was out for my classes. I’m trying to convince myself that this makes it aaaallll better. It hasn’t quite worked yet.
On the plus side, the library does join with the rest of the university in closing down for Easter, so at least I’ll get that long weekend. Yay!
Things are starting to get busier with The Little Prince. Fools runs through this weekend and then we’ll finally have access to the space. Huzzah!