Monday...uh....'muck'-off?

Yeah, I know this is usually done on Friday. And Emily is the one who came up with it and I'm stealing her idea.

But I have a moment that contains both "WTF???" and "F-off!" in one.

I had a meeting 'cross campus this afternoon. As parking on my campus is best described as "nightmare" (every student has their own car. And every student drives their car to class and parks in the campus lots, even if they live in a dormitory 500 feet from their classroom building), I walked to it.

and it's about eleventy million degrees out there. I will be all glow-y for my late afternoon class now.

But anyway: I was walking back, cursing the heat, and getting ready to cross the street. I saw a pickup approaching. He began to slow down as he approached the crosswalk and I thought, "Oh, he's being nice, he's going to let me cross."

So I got ready to step out into the crosswalk. And he sped up. And raced through. And he was LAUGHING as I had to jump back.

WTF, tool? Is that how you get your sick jollies? Scaring fat nearly-middle-aged professors out of a year or two of their lives by nearly running them over? Freakin' idiot. I hope he does that close to a schoolyard when a cop happens to be watching. I'd love to see that big-ass truck confiscated and sold at auction...

It was not anyone I knew. Not a former student or anything. So it was just some random tool out being a jerk.

Oh, and as for my committee - I emailed them saying basically, tell me when we can meet or I appoint a new chair. And one of the committee members is a coach. And his email? "My season is in full swing right now. So just pick a time. If I can't come, I'll send one of my assistants or a student worker."

Ummmm...WTF? Seriously, dude. I guess this is just emblematic of the academic vs. athletic attitude in universities today but I've never been offered the option of sending an assistant (as if I even had one) or a student worker to take my place in a meeting. There have been times I have let classes out early or had to get a "guest lecturer" or there was even once when I had to reschedule a DENTAL APPOINTMENT because of some time-suck meeting I was "required" to go to.

And "just set a time" is not helpful because I know if I set a time, it will be the ONE SINGLE TIME he or his assistants cannot possibly meet, so they will either complain about being excluded, or demand I move the meeting, or some damn thing.

Personally, karmically, I'd like to see him wind up as chair. But for the good of the university where I teach, I really don't think that would be the right thing.

So many freaks, so few sideshows...