I am skipping and skimming and tumbling over posts to let someone know that I had a really wonderful meeting with the Associate Dean for Academics and the Associate Dean for Finance at my job, and they were really wonderful and supportive, and listened to my ideas and comments on how to improve my department (which is currently just me!) I asked for the meeting and I prepared a challenges and opportunities statement and they treated me like a professional. I was very candid with them about the craziness that was happining with my Big!Boss and I have been SO reassured that my job is not on the line. This is the best I have felt in months about work related stuff-- because although I am an independant worker I was in way over my head-- I should not be deciding nursing curriculum as a person with a BA in theatre and english lit!

I also found out that fired Big!Boss knew for months that although credit bearing classes would be reporting to the Associate Dean for academics, there was no plan at all to change my role in supporting them, so I was crazy worried for nothing!

I am happy and proud of myself-- and I sort of feel that "Change that we can believe in" is a theme of my life right now-- inpolitics and in work (although the Prop 8 defeat just killed me). And, as someone in bandom, I do have to give a big shout out to Fall Out Boy who donated $50,000 to defeat Prop 8.

HMOG, the guy my brother is interviewing with out in Frederick soon? FREAKING GORGEOUS.

Even my brother is all "yeah, that jaw!"

Nice work, Sophia!

That's fantastic, Sophia! And good for you for making it happen.

Historically, the markets fall after an election.

Sophia, that is great news.

Sophia, go you!

Thanks so much guys! It is hard to remember in the middle of working with challenging people that those people sometimes inadvertently improve you-- my crazy boss at the Children's Theatre just out of school taught me that it wasn't just enough to do your job, people had to like you. My crazy boss at my last job gave me the opportunity to meet, work with and make a good impression on people all over the university, especially compared with her crazy impression. And losing my good direct Boss and having to work with crazy!big boss gave me some real confidence in making good and right decision on my own, because I so did not want big!boss to enter the arena and make things worse. nfortunately, my good direct boss could tell me 100 times that my decisions were good and I did not need to run them by her, but it took having no one to run them by to realize that I can make the right decision.

Rock on, Sophia. You deserve some peace.

You deserve some peace.

And a frakkin' medal. Let's not forget that.

And a raise!