I've been getting really annoyed at students who seem to have no clue of how to knock on a door. I share my office with five other grad students, most of whom are TAs. Lots of times, when I'm the only one in the office, I'll close the door so that it's just open a crack, since it locks when you close it all the way, and I get sick of having to stand up to open the door when people knock. Inevitably, there will be students who come to the door, open it, walk in, then just stand there staring at me until I ask what they want. (Generally, it's a question like "Where's Mike?" to which the answer is "He's in room 104, as the note he left taped to the door says," or "Where's the main office?" Or, sometimes, "How do I do this calculus problem?" Those are my favorite. If it were, "I'm not in your class, but I'm having some trouble with this homework assignment, and the professor and TA for my class aren't here. Could you please help me?" then I might say yes, if I had time. But random students will just walk in, put a notebook down on my desk, and say "How do I do this problem?" Um, no.)

I also have people walk in and take my stapler off my desk.

All. The. Time.

If they'd stop stealing the staplers that we put out for them they wouldn't have to, but even then, they could ask and not just walk in and grab! Childrens, I am not the Office Depot!

My boss had a library patron get mad at her when she wouldn't unlock my office and let the student study in it this weekend.

What, the rest of the entire library wasn't good enough, or something?

It's good that we have Msbelle and Mac to distract us from how much the rest of humanity can suck.

Lead story from my community paper. I get it in print (no subscription).

The Election Was Good News For .... Who?
...
Islamic Fascists...
Slackards...
Illegal Aliens...
Those who want a weaker America...

[link]

I do not live in the most progressive community.

Hey, I'm a slackard and the election was good news for me.

But seriously, those people annoy me. There are quite a lot of unstated assumptions in those assertions, and they really ought to be defending those assumptions. Like, how can you argue that the war in Iraq is making us safer from terrorism, when every single US intelligence agency says the opposite? What info are you privy to that they don't have?

Slackards for the win!

Except for the part where the slackardly probably wouldn't have bothered to vote, so I guess this victory goes to the gay terrorists.

Like, how can you argue that the war in Iraq is making us safer from terrorism, when every single US intelligence agency says the opposite?

To be fair, the president has been backed up on this by many independent sources like the vice president, the secretary of defense (not former yet I think), and ... um... Tony Snow, and maybe Rush if he is still carrying water.

But tommy, America always wins and the President never lies. So if the President says that America is making the world safe from terrorism then it's true. Anyone who doesn't blindly believe America =winning and President = honesty is obviously a traitor and and wants Islamofacists to take over America (and it will be like Red Dawn, only with mosques and women wearing sheets and praying to a false god 5 times a day). All of those intelligence agencies are falling victim to the liberal media bias machine, they watch the news, which has liberal mind control rays that make them fill their reports with lies.

Or, sometimes, "How do I do this calculus problem?" Those are my favorite. If it were, "I'm not in your class, but I'm having some trouble with this homework assignment, and the professor and TA for my class aren't here. Could you please help me?" then I might say yes, if I had time.

I hope, in situations like those, you stand up, shriek, and ask, "Who the hell are you and what are you doing in my office???" "Police! Police!!"

I find a little bit of screaming is very useful on people who do not understand boundaries. They retreat even faster under volume than they do under the influence of the nastiest cold shoulder this side of Alaska.

Ick Day 3: I will not whine. I will not whine. I will not whine.

Hrm. Not really working. Oh, and I have a quarterly review this afternoon. Whee.