Monday, December 14, 2015
Dec. 14th, 2015 08:31 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
bearshortyI'm pretty cranky by the end of this day, not from anything major but with the build up of minor annoyances. I'm trying to get myself into a better mood.
Tanya woke me up by 5:45 am and then went back to sleep with some soothing and slept until 7:30. Me, not so much. So I already got up not feeling my best.
Breakfast went ok but then I had a cooking disaster. I was making boiled veal meatballs for Tanya and I didn't want to make them too thick, so I didn't put enough bread crumbs in them. So instead of meatballs, I ended up with meat sauce. Which is fine and it's edible, I just strained the pot in the end of the cooking time and she had it for lunch with some rice, but it was disapointing. I did try to correct it but it didn't really work.
So not a major disaster but that took a lot of time and effort and didn't come out like I wanted too. And because it was taking longer with my useless corrective methods, Tanya got bored watching me cook and wanted my attention, so that pulled focus too.
After that the day got a bit better. We went to the bank and then to the playground for a bit. It was foggy and wet today, so we didn't stay long; still it was something to do. And she had a long nap in the afternoon. I actually napped for an hour too and started feeling better.
But then work stuff. First I get an email from department secretary that I still haven't submitted my paperwork for next semester. Well, I did. On November 23rd. I sent that email to two people and again to the secretary's personal address just in case. I have it in my Sent box. Ok, I just resent it today. I will call back tomorrow to make sure.
Then I get an email about the orientation this Spring semester. I teach two sections of a different class in the spring than in the fall, which means I usually have to do orientation for the spring to make sure I didn't forget how to teach it. The department likes everyone to be on the same page across all sections of the class. Fine. No problem. In the past that orientation was about 2-3 hours and mildly useful.
This year the orientation will be over two days in January from 10am to 4pm. And we got homework to do. Apparently we will be writing the first three assignments right there and will have to bring 4 weeks of class plans. I get how this would be useful for someone who hasn't taught this class before but I've been teaching for 10 years with good reviews from students and supervisors. It's a little insulting. And I usually adjust class plans as I go along, depending on what specific set of students need. This won't be hard to put together but I don't usually get this level of supervision.
And it's two days that we don't get paid extra for. My Mom will watch Tanya but if I had to get a sitter for two full days plus transportation, that would be expensive. We don't even get catered lunch. My co-worker and friend Rosemary will give me a ride (we spent almost half an hour on the phone shocked at this development) but it's the principle of the thing.
And Rosemary got an email that her schedule was on the same days as mine. We got all excited about carpooling again. But when I looked up the schedule online her times were different. She needs to sort it. So this day has been up and down but mostly cranky.
At least I could retreat to the bathroom once Bear got home at 6 and have a nice shower and some time to myself. I think I will go have a cookie now, go snuggle with Bear a little and watch some more Jessica Jones. I was going to work on a recommendation for a student but that can wait.
Tanya woke me up by 5:45 am and then went back to sleep with some soothing and slept until 7:30. Me, not so much. So I already got up not feeling my best.
Breakfast went ok but then I had a cooking disaster. I was making boiled veal meatballs for Tanya and I didn't want to make them too thick, so I didn't put enough bread crumbs in them. So instead of meatballs, I ended up with meat sauce. Which is fine and it's edible, I just strained the pot in the end of the cooking time and she had it for lunch with some rice, but it was disapointing. I did try to correct it but it didn't really work.
So not a major disaster but that took a lot of time and effort and didn't come out like I wanted too. And because it was taking longer with my useless corrective methods, Tanya got bored watching me cook and wanted my attention, so that pulled focus too.
After that the day got a bit better. We went to the bank and then to the playground for a bit. It was foggy and wet today, so we didn't stay long; still it was something to do. And she had a long nap in the afternoon. I actually napped for an hour too and started feeling better.
But then work stuff. First I get an email from department secretary that I still haven't submitted my paperwork for next semester. Well, I did. On November 23rd. I sent that email to two people and again to the secretary's personal address just in case. I have it in my Sent box. Ok, I just resent it today. I will call back tomorrow to make sure.
Then I get an email about the orientation this Spring semester. I teach two sections of a different class in the spring than in the fall, which means I usually have to do orientation for the spring to make sure I didn't forget how to teach it. The department likes everyone to be on the same page across all sections of the class. Fine. No problem. In the past that orientation was about 2-3 hours and mildly useful.
This year the orientation will be over two days in January from 10am to 4pm. And we got homework to do. Apparently we will be writing the first three assignments right there and will have to bring 4 weeks of class plans. I get how this would be useful for someone who hasn't taught this class before but I've been teaching for 10 years with good reviews from students and supervisors. It's a little insulting. And I usually adjust class plans as I go along, depending on what specific set of students need. This won't be hard to put together but I don't usually get this level of supervision.
And it's two days that we don't get paid extra for. My Mom will watch Tanya but if I had to get a sitter for two full days plus transportation, that would be expensive. We don't even get catered lunch. My co-worker and friend Rosemary will give me a ride (we spent almost half an hour on the phone shocked at this development) but it's the principle of the thing.
And Rosemary got an email that her schedule was on the same days as mine. We got all excited about carpooling again. But when I looked up the schedule online her times were different. She needs to sort it. So this day has been up and down but mostly cranky.
At least I could retreat to the bathroom once Bear got home at 6 and have a nice shower and some time to myself. I think I will go have a cookie now, go snuggle with Bear a little and watch some more Jessica Jones. I was going to work on a recommendation for a student but that can wait.