I just found out a meeting I thought was at 3 is at 3:30. So now I can waste this half an hour, I guess.

Turns out, my boss's assistant's grandfather just died, so she's been a little out of it for a while now, and is going to take some time for the funeral, etc. Which there's nothing you can do about, but it does make the rest of our lives a little bit harder. AND another coworker's husband died suddenly last night. Ugh. So sad.

My boss just gave me my 15th anniversary gift package and certificate a month early since she's had it for a few weeks and isn't always here at this office--today's the first time I've seen her in about a month!

The catalog has a decent selection of possible gifts, ranging from clocks and golf clubs to very nice jewelry and electronics, but I think I'll get the flatware, which is an acceptably attractive pattern and something I desperately need anyway (along with dishes, something I'll probably pick up next year after getting the rest of the things on my list of "Things To Replace ASAP").

I really like Dear Abby and read her everyday. She's being honored by PFLAG this week. [link]

Congrats, Kathy!

Ugh. So sad.

On the 'probably not so sad' side, we are in the midst of midterm exams, so we are experiencing the usual mysterious epidemic of grandparent deaths. Two pre-exam grandparent deaths in my one class of 80 students this week, so the students had to delay taking the exam. Students take thirty-five classes to graduate, so, statistically speaking, it's suprising that ANY grandparents survive their grandkids college education at all.

Buffistas, do you love your parents? Then for God's sake don't let your children go to college.

Rick, any other professors out there, do you think students have gotten worse about taking advantage of their professors? Bob Bob tells me stories that curl my hair, and I think, I've never heard of students trying this kind of bullying, manipulation, lying, grade-grubbing behavior back in a former decade. They're awful people and it wears him down.

You would think this would be obvious, yet it continually eludes my roommate. It takes about 30 seconds to check the arrangement of the silverware before you close up the dishwasher to turn it on....

I find that what is "obvious" about loading the dishwasher or washer/dryer is very different to different people. And people are very stubborn about their system.

I can't believe I've been here since November 1992! It's very strange.

My business statistics prof pissed me off, since he was the only teacher I had in college who took advantage of Marquette's policy of class cutting--if the prof reports you after five cuts, you got a warning from the dean, six and you get booted from the class. I hated the class and him anyway and so had cut it four times by late October, when my grandpa really did pass away. I told him earlier in the week that I'd be missing the Thursday class for the funeral, and he just scoffed and said, "Yeah? And how many grandfathers do you have?" I looked at him and calmly informed that I wasn't lying and could prove it with the prayer card the following week, and he tried to be all "Well, if he really did die, I'm sorry to hear that," but I didn't buy it (he was a real asshole). And then, he did report me to the dean for that fifth cut! Jerk.

On the 'probably not so sad' side, we are in the midst of midterm exams, so we are experiencing the usual mysterious epidemic of grandparent deaths.

My grandmother did die during my midterm exams my sophomore year of college. But I'm pretty sure my professors could tell I wasn't lying, and I came to my exams anyway because it took my mind off things and they didn't conflict with the funeral.

do you think students have gotten worse about taking advantage of their professors?

I think college/graduate school has come to be seen as a commercial transaction, i.e., students feel like they're paying lots of money and thus buying a degree rather than earning one. As if they feel they're paying my salary and thus the boss of me, more so than I felt 12 years ago when I started working for universities.