And I wonder, what possible catastrophe came crashing down from heaven and brought this dashing stranger to tears?

Drusilla ,'Conversations with Dead People'


Natter 76: Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Foaminess  

Off-topic discussion. Wanna talk about corsets, duct tape, butt kicking, or physics? This is the place. Detailed discussion of any current-season TV must be whitefonted.


Sophia Brooks - Jun 25, 2020 2:57:18 pm PDT #22806 of 30019
Cats to become a rabbit should gather immediately now here

Yay flea! You might also want to look into online instructional design. There is definately a need and it matches librarianship skills pretty well. In another life I would have been a librarian, but it would be futile and a huge paycut for me to go into it now. My class on instructional design was full of librarians

Sheryl, I am sorry about the equipment. I hate screwing up at work, but people screw up, especially when things are stressful right now. If you are lucky enough to be in a non-toxic environment, people forgive you.

I did a small gathering for my godson's graduation. It was literally just me, Maria and her two kids. I think we have basically decided to be a pod. We are both going almost nowhere (her school year is over, I am working from home, and we both do limited grocery runs, but mostly get delivery). If we do our grocery runs together, we are sort of in the same boat, and I am not taking Uber. And I can have Aidan come back and change my lightbulbs I can't reach. I will quarantine after the one day I have to go in to help run a lab, but we will be wearing full PPE (face shields, masks, gloves, gown). I think there was a limited time I could be alone.

I also got my Mac from work delivered to my home, so now my working from home experience will be so much better! I have a giant screen! It sounds like we are basically working at home for the foreseeable future unless we need to be in for student facing reasons, like the lab in late July. If we come back in we will basically all be in our separate offices zooming with each other, so it just seems silly! I still have my whole PC set up at work if I have to go in.

My instructional design team (composed of both faculty and staff) just got notified we won an $18,000 innovation award! Unfortunately, it does not mean we get bonuses, but we have this money to decide how to spend for the student's to get the best online expeience they can, But that was a great vote of confidence from our Dean


Calli - Jun 25, 2020 3:12:33 pm PDT #22807 of 30019
I must obey the inscrutable exhortations of my soul—Calvin and Hobbs

Congrats, Sophia!

And congrats, flea. I'm also working in instructional design these days, and it's enjoyable work.


Jesse - Jun 25, 2020 3:31:59 pm PDT #22808 of 30019
Sometimes I trip on how happy we could be.

That all sounds really good, Sophia!


askye - Jun 25, 2020 3:41:01 pm PDT #22809 of 30019
Thrive to spite them

flea I think you did the right thing.

Man, talk about mixed signals. We've been told we have to use or lose or leave by Nov 1. Cool. But we are also told we can't use anything but what we have , even though we will earn PTO. Cool. BUT we were also told to schedule all our vacation now.

Except I can't schedule my PTO time because I don't have enough right now, but I will have more, but I can't schedule it until I've earned it. So now I have to ask tomorrow if I should schedule it off as unpaid time and then try to convert it to PTO later.

I'll be able to take a week in Aug, Sept and Oct if I can use the PTO and personal like the manager has explained it.

Congrats Sophia!


Sophia Brooks - Jun 25, 2020 3:41:06 pm PDT #22810 of 30019
Cats to become a rabbit should gather immediately now here

Of course I said student's and not students :(


meara - Jun 25, 2020 7:50:02 pm PDT #22811 of 30019

Aaaargh. Friend drama. Two friends were supposed to get married this weekend but had to cancel. Another close friend has been saying she's lonely and it was the first anniversary of her buying her house, and the not-marrying friends wanted a distraction, so we agreed to go down for the weekend. In part due to Covid and part due to doggo issues, we are staying at a hotel, not at our friend's house. Apparently we had been anticipating being outside all weekend (we had been talking about grilling and an outdoor movie with a projector) and she had...not, I guess? We found out she made out with someone new last night and the not-marrying friends were concerned because they are seeing parents next weekend and worry about transmission. So they put down a "no really, outside". And she flipped out and said we are slut shaming her. And we were like no, just being cautious but also this is basically what we thought was happening anyway? And now she's crying and saying don't come this weekend. Ugh.


Consuela - Jun 25, 2020 8:35:24 pm PDT #22812 of 30019
We are Buffistas. This isn't our first apocalypse. -- Pix

...argh, meara.


Matt the Bruins fan - Jun 25, 2020 9:59:22 pm PDT #22813 of 30019
"I remember when they eventually introduced that drug kingpin who murdered people and smuggled drugs inside snakes and I was like 'Finally. A normal person.'” —RahvinDragand

I recommend everyone else go to the hotel as planned and have a fun weekend outdoors grilling at a park or somesuch, with Drama Queen allowed to come if she gets over herself in time and stays on best behavior. At this point I advocate a zero tolerance policy with "How can you choose keeping your elderly loved ones safe over MEEEEE?!?" theatrics.


flea - Jun 26, 2020 12:35:00 am PDT #22814 of 30019
information libertarian

One of my coworkers messaged me on the way home from another state last night to tell me that someone she played scrabble with on Tuesday started having symptoms today and got tested and is positive so she's going to isolate instead of coming to work tomorrow but is it sick time or what?

This is why we don't go to other states and play scrabble, people.


Laura - Jun 26, 2020 12:48:08 am PDT #22815 of 30019
Our wings are not tired.

flea, I think you did the right thing for yourself: life is too short to be miserable at work.

100% this.

My instructional design team (composed of both faculty and staff) just got notified we won an $18,000 innovation award!

That's awesome. Congrats!

At this point I advocate a zero tolerance policy with "How can you choose keeping your elderly loved ones safe over MEEEEE?!?" theatrics.

That sounds about right.

We are in Otter Lake, and pretty much staying away from people for a couple weeks. Yes, we went grocery shopping. I sat on the outside deck of my sister's house to visit. Her dog was the only one who has no concept of social distance. My nephew came over to replace my toilet that blew out a section of porcelain in the winter freeze. Really thought we had all the water out! We have plenty to do for a couple weeks just cleaning and unpacking.

Cats are very happy with new life.