stoutfellow

I just got back from the university, where I collected two course textbooks, a supplementary text, a two-volume encyclopedia of the history and philosophy of mathematics, a biography of David Hilbert, and a book on the history of Euler's Formula (V - E + F = 2). I've got some more references at home as well.

When I got to the office, I realized that I'd forgotten my office key. Fortunately, the secretary was there (God bless secretaries!) and she had access to the master key. ("Fortunately" is putting it lightly; this morning was the only time this week she was on campus, and she won't be in for the rest of the semester!)

So, I'm hunkering down. Work from home, order food from Dierbergs (apparently Schnucks is still wiped out) and doggie stuff from Chewy, and wait for the next bombshell to drop.

Yay.

The university, in its wisdom, has added another annual mandatory training session. Every faculty member (and a fair number of the support staff) must now undergo training in the export control laws.

Most of us will be able to do this online. A few select departments will have to undergo in-person training, at one of five one-hour sessions on campus.

The Department of Mathematics and Statistics is one of them.

What, am I going to illicitly export the secret of the multiple characterizations of centrodiagonal hexagons?

[The song is perhaps apropos.]

A follow-up to the summer contract/CMS story: although it's not the 31st yet, my pay statement for that day has now been posted. As promised, it's payment in full, two pay-periods' worth, and the insurance premium deductions are not there. So that's that. I am pleased.

Well, I've survived the first week of class.

The class meets at 8:25 AM, and continues until 10:50. Thanks to the vagaries of the bus schedule, I have to leave the house at about 7:00 AM. This summer, I've gotten into the habit of getting up around 3 AM, having a bite to eat, websurfing for a while, and then going back to bed, before getting up for good around 6 AM or so. That's not good enough, not if I'm going to shower, shave, dress, and otherwise prepare for the day's labor. I have to adjust my habits, and I'm slowly doing so, but until I get it right there's a danger of falling asleep on the bus, either of two, which would screw things up royally.

There are other nuisances with this schedule, as well, and prep problems - I haven't taught the course in quite a while, there's a new textbook, and preparing enough material for a 2.5 hour lecture is troublesome.

Also, the food shop inside the University Center isn't currently stocking the submarine sandwiches I like to buy for lunch - they won't have them again until next month. I'm making do with other, less tasty substitutes. (Yes, I could make myself sandwiches of my own, if not for the time warp I mentioned above. I'm lucky to be able to fix a bowl of cereal and a cup of coffee.)

Foo. But I will survive.

Today was another morning meeting. This one, for some reason, I had to chair. (Well, I know why; although it began as a general meeting, it turned into a meeting of the Tenure Advisory Committee, which I'm chairing this year.)

It went pretty well. Having been briefed by the Chair, I laid out the questions that needed to be decided; options were presented, discussion ensued, and consensus was reached on all counts. Best of all, since consensus was achieved, I didn't have to put out a ballot. I walked out of the room free of any further responsibilities. (Well, as far as that set of issues is concerned; there's quite a bit I still need to do as regards a different set.)

If only every meeting went so well...

I am sixty-one years old. I'm the seniormost member of my department. And yet, it still boggles me when people ask my opinion on a department matter, listen to me, and take action on the basis of my comments.

When did I become an adult?

Today, I will undergo the annual, state-mandated, ethics training. It's done by computer, in my own office, at my leisure. Almost all of it consists of stuff that I have nothing to do with, and all of it is pretty obvious. It's a tiresome necessity, and I tend to put it off until the last minute. (The deadline this year is this Friday.)

I will have to do this five more times. Counting down...

Today I began preparing for the move next Monday. I cleaned up the top of my desk, the drawers, and the file cabinets, dumping a bunch of papers and such into recycling (and handing some others in to be shredded). Tomorrow, I'll start packing up my books, journals, and files. After that, there's some personal stuff that I'll probably take home, and bring back in once we're settled into the new offices.

Or... some of it, maybe I won't take back. There's a tennis racket, and a pair of sneakers. There's a bicycle pump. There's a go set, board and stones. There are several years of WWF calendars. There's a spare toothbrush and a tube of toothpaste; those will probably come back, along with the spare house key.

Lots to do, not a lot of time to do it.

One more week of the semester, then finals, then I'm off for the summer. I was on the committee for a Master's presentation last Wednesday, and I'll be on one for a Senior Project, plus my own Master's student, presenting on Tuesday.

I have various projects planned for summer. Getting Taxonomy II written; putting together the new version of my finances database; moving further on the library db; getting the dogs taken care of. (They haven't had their annual checkup yet, between my schedule and the errant weather. They're more than a month overdue.)

Sigh. I've been tired most of the time, all semester. Maybe the summer will revive me....

After the burst of activity that finally got the LaTeX files for Taxonomy I out the door, I seem to have fallen back into a low-energy state. Even in my reading, I'm doing little but comfort rereading - "The Goblin Emperor", "To Say Nothing of the Dog", "Ancillary Justice". And we're just moving into the busy part of the semester; I gave a midterm yesterday, another is scheduled for tomorrow, and a third - a take-home - will be due next Tuesday.

Bleah.