A Day of Forms and Other Complaints

So there's all of this crap due for curriculum stuff, and lucky Crazy, the department's curriculum guru, has the totally unenviable task of spending HOURS today working with her chair and with the grad coordinator submitting stupid forms that are not - and I mean NOT - intuitive and that drive me crazy.

In other news, the Man-Kitty revealed a tiny rash on his tummy last night. He seems fine, other than that who likes having a rash, but I called the vet this morning, and they said to put neosporin on it and to keep an eye on it, and if it gets worse to bring him in but probably it's no big deal and it would just go away on its own. Let's note for the record that it's entirely possible he's had similar rashes before but I never saw them what with his very furry self and the fact that unlike Mr. Stripey he does not like me to touch him all over his body daily. He just happened to be stretching himself kittenishly last night and I could not resist petting the tummy. Perhaps it's just dry skin? Some sort of physical manifestation of anxiety from having been left over the weekend? Hard to know.

What else? Oh, yesterday I was filled with irritation for a reason I won't write about at length, but let me suffice it to say that I get very, very cranky when people waste my time because they have no clue how efficiently to present information and to move things along so that business can be taken care of in a way that doesn't drag things out. I mean, how hard is it? A handout summarizing the business at hand had been distributed (not by the person who was leading the discussion) and everybody'd had the chance to look over the fuller documents about what was to be decided prior to the meeting. And yet, nevertheless, things that could have been dispatched in 10 minutes took roughly a half an hour to dispatch, and this with me and a few other colleagues rudely making motions and seconding them in order to keep things moving. If we'd not taken matters into our own hands, we might still be there. It'd be one thing if any of what was being discussed was at all controversial or even interesting, but it was administrative nonsense. I know that it is important to bring things like this to the whole group to be ratified, but I do not see why anybody thinks that such matters should take forever and a day to handle. Note to inefficient people: when people start walking out of a meeting when it's not yet over, that's a big freaking clue that you suck when you're in the front of the room. You know, I feel like I've written a version of that last sentence before. Clearly, I will have a problem with this particular pet peeve until I retire.

The only thing that is not irritating to me at the moment is teaching, which is going well, actually. No complaints there. My one class that had seemed not to want to participate at all in the first few class meetings was very energized yesterday, and I'm excited to really get the semester going in my other class (we haven't really met because of my grandma last week). Oh, and another thing that causes no complaints: my cousin had her baby yesterday! New babies are nice. (And yay for her that she only had contractions that she described as "uncomfortable" for 7 hours and then only had to push for 5 minutes and voila - baby! Would that everybody had that kind of labor and delivery!)

Ok, I've rambled on enough this morning. Time to get in the shower and to head to campus for what i sincerely hope will be the longest day I'll have this semester (knock wood).