Guess who's back? The dating robot! After a week off, apparently he misses me. Remember we have never met and not even had a real conversation even over text.

Guess who's back? The dating robot! After a week off, apparently he misses me. Remember we have never met and not even had a real conversation even over text.

I bet the relationship he's having in his head is amazing. Pity he's attempting to project his fantasy world on a real human.

The dating robot has a very specific timeline.

It's possibly the weirdest thing I've ever experienced, online-dating-wise.

I wouldn't wait much longer before blocking him.

I feel like this might be how we get Skynet.

After work yesterday I walked back to the bus stop along the waterfront and saw a sea lion swimming. Day made. Very long day, but including sea lion.

Filled with not wanting to do anything at all today. Even the Wine and Chocolate Festival might be too much effort to get to. We'll see.

Tom's advice is wise

I know I haven't been around much, so I feel bad being needy when I do come to b.org, but I have a thing and I can't really post about it on FB because it is department politics. My boss is retiring and so the job of department director is opening up, and we are switching to a rotating faculty member in that position. (That's the norm btw but our dept has always had an administrator in that position because 'SC is a very top-down school.) Sooo... long story short, I was asked to run. And by some accounts I'm the frontrunner, except for the fact that the other person running for the job is closely tied into the administration and wants to jump ship at some point from our dept to some sort of deanlet position eventually. Basically I have the support of the faculty and the office staff, but he has the support of the deans.

I feel like I am being set up. I have felt this way from the get-go. I am trying not to get attached to the idea of running the department, but it is hard to play this part and actively "campaign" of sorts for why I should get the job while all the time thinking I'm just being set up to be the also-ran.

I guess I'm not really asking for advice. It's just hard to be investing so much work into this thing that is potentially a really big change, and to feel so uncertain, and to not be able to talk about those anxieties with most people.

That sounds like a difficult situation, Burrell. I wish you the best in getting through it ok.

Thanks -t

I think the trick at this point is to try and at least build social capital out of it, rather than end up losing social capital. Like if I don't get the appointment this time, maybe I can rotate in later.