Thoughts of a Cynical Professor

How to lose your readership in one fell swoop

2005-11-17T07:45:00.000-08:00

Just delete your blog. Then start writing about trite things. ;-)
It's okay. I am through blogging here. It seems like all I ever wrote about here at Cynical Professor were the bad parts of my job. And, quite honestly, my job has a lot of good aspects also. Plus, it's hard to be anonymous, esp. when you'd like to talk about your research in more explicit terms. So, for those of you who actually know who I am (GB, ChrisC and IUMike), I have gone back to my old, very public blog.

Finis.

Why I'm Not Blogging

2005-11-16T06:26:00.000-08:00

Fingers frozen together so I can't use my keyboard?
Freaky windstorms kept me from venturing upstairs in my rattly old house?
Too busy revising article for submission? (This is now done.)
Paralyzing fear of pissing off the conservative wing of academia? (see Bitch, Ph.D.'s recent issues with the Purdue student.)
Too boring to have much of a life?
Too busy watching old TV shows on DVD?
Holiday freakout?
All of the above?

What to do? What to do?

2005-11-14T15:03:00.000-08:00

Am doing my revise and resubmit and just realized that ... the two reviewers do not agree on my conclusion. One person wrote that the conclusion was GREAT! The other person hated it. Blah. How in the hell do you deal with something like that? I basically went with the original conclusion, but added in a bone for the second person. I hope that works because I really need this publication! Now ... I need a break.

I have descended into bitter beer mode

2005-11-14T06:23:00.000-08:00

I don't know what made me think of that stupid commercial about "bitter beer taste." I can tell you though, if someone was to drink my blood right now, I'd probably taste pretty damned bitter. LOL. For some reason, I am feeling especially whiney right now. Maybe it's just part of the cycle of the semester? At the beginning of the semester, you are full of hope and excitement. By the end of the semester, you're just releaved that it's over. But that month before the holiday break -- well, you're as tart as a Granny Smith apple. You're pissed that you're buried under grading; you are disappointed that you didn't make it through your semester's to-do list; and you know which students are going to flunk out miserably -- and don't understand why they didn't drop the class earlier in the semester (when they still could). Added to that is the cloudy weather and sudden shift from Indian Summer to f***ing cold and you've got a bitter crabby professor.

The weekend in review

2005-11-13T11:18:00.000-08:00

Okay, here it is -- 1:19 p.m. on a Sunday afternoon -- and I am woefully behind. Again. This is so typical, I don't know why I am surprised. Here we are, having beautiful Indian Summer weather, and I am holed up in my office at school. I am resentful and pissy about this, but then, it's my own damned fault. After all, I didn't really need to leave early on Friday to have drinks with a co-worker. I didn't need to watch a Roswell marathon on Saturday. I didn't need to read the New York Times this morning.

But those are all things I wanted to do. My life is not my job. My job is not my life. When will Thanksgiving break get here again?

For those of you interested in my European holiday ... I am still working on the details with G.B. I am torn between (1) seeing a lot in a few countries, or (2) seeing a little in a lot of countries. Plus, I will have 5 days at the end of this vacation where I will be running around Europe on my own. I am fairly certain those days will be spent in Ireland, Wales, and England. Mr. C. owes me a trip to Ireland, but can never take off from his Sporting Events to take me. So, fuck him. I'm going alone and I'm going to have a good time in the process. Blah.

I have become my stepmother

2005-11-11T06:39:00.000-08:00

I realized this on the way into work this morning. What gave me this brilliant insight? Well, I pulled my clothes out of the clean basket today -- typical of my s.m. who often bought new socks and underwear for us because she didn't like to fold clothes or match socks. My hair was still wet -- because I didn't get up on time. I was hauling in coffee and smokes.

Good grief. We really do become our parents. In this case, it must have been environmental influences, rather than heredity. LOL!

Falling down on the job

2005-11-10T12:17:00.000-08:00

Not literally falling down, just figuratively. I just realized that I haven't blogged since Tuesday and, quite honestly, I have nothing to say. What about that? Why am I brain blocked? ACK! It could be that I am dealing with three basketcases, two cheaters, and a partridge in a pear tree. ;-) The good news is that I just booked a European vacation! Let the countdown begin!

So, about that dog story ...

2005-11-08T15:23:00.000-08:00

I have a six minute window to blog. It's been that kind of day. Anyways, about the dog... I boarded my dog C1 for the first time in 10 years. Mr. C. and I had a weekend obligation and the dogs simply could not come with us. Yesterday, I picked up C1 and C2. C2 was fine -- happy to see me and all that doggie jazz. But C1 ... oh my goodness. He is a little drama queen. He came home and went to bed. Growled at C2 when he tried to play with him. Hid under all the covers and started snoring. But that's not all ...

C1 has lost his voice. That's right. He can't bark. WTF? He must have barked himself hoarse while we were gone. Today, he tried to bark at the neighbor's cat and it came out as a squeak. He then marched his tubby little body up the stairs into the house, up the stairs in the house to the bed, dug himself back in under the covers, and started to sigh over and over again.

I am a bad dog momma.

Honestly...

2005-11-08T11:15:00.000-08:00

... I have a really funny story about my dog, but no time to blog about it! I am still grading those M.F-ing midterms. I hate grading. HATE IT!

Maybe tomorrow I can write about the dog. I'd hate to lose my readers.

Nothing to report

2005-11-07T13:29:00.000-08:00

I am a boring person. At least, I am a boring person today. I am about to go home and grade papers. Two more assignments and I will be caught up. *Sigh.*

Vacations have scary morning wakeup times

2005-11-06T04:44:00.000-08:00

Mr. C. is turning into an early morning freak! I could use about two hours' more in the bed. Oh well. We still have a seven hour drive ahead of us to get home from our undergraduate Alma Mater. *Sigh.*

The Joy of Travel

2005-11-05T05:20:00.000-08:00

Here I am, sitting in a hotel playing on my computer at 7:22 a.m. on a Saturday morning. Mr. C. wanted to get up early so he could take advantage of the "free breakfast" that came with our room. Hopefully he will bring me back some grub. Blah.

Alma Mater Town has changed dramatically. The Greek Houses are ... gone. My old advisor's house is ... gone. The houses across the street from the college are ... gone and replaced with a Bank. The dance club outside of town is ... gone and replaced with a Meier Store. Good grief! Mr. C. is still wigging out about the changes to this little midwestern town. He forgets that he graduated from college 15 years ago. LOL!

Hell of a week.

2005-11-03T16:30:00.000-08:00

It's been a hell of a week. I'm so glad it over for me. Yippee!!! I will have to come back from my mini-vacation to deal with ... cheaters. I hate that crap. On the upside, I am down to two assignments to grade. I must remember NOT to put all of my grading due in the same week!!!

I might blog on the road. It depends on the internet access in my hotel and if I can get a few moments without Mr. C. looking over my shoulder. LOL!

Stupid Mistake. Not Dramatic.

2005-11-02T20:24:00.000-08:00

The blog deletion thing was not the result of a nefarious plot to out me as a blogger to my colleagues. No, it was just a stupid technical mistake on my part. You see, I made the IHE list this week. Unwanted fame ... which lead me to go back through my old entries. I wanted to get rid of any references that could nail my ass, such as my old blog entry entitled "A Man for Any Conversation." Deleting one by one was such a pain that I thought to myself: "Maybe there's a batch editor in Blogger." Not! I found the spot to delete a blog and that's when the Evil Finger of Fate pointed my way. Yes, I hit delete, not cancel. Yes, it was a stupid mistake. But, I'm still here, and still cynical. And now I have to rebuild the blog from scratch. Just another lovely moment in my ongoing week of Hell.

Bye Bye Old Blog

2005-11-02T09:46:00.000-08:00

Ah yes.
Deleted.