I hate Mondays

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DrT999

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So, I get to campus this morning, ready to give my last final and hoping there weren't too many emails from students claiming 'special' circumstances. I walk into the ground floor of the three story building....and there is a 1/2 inch of water on the floor, water running down the walls, etc. The first two floors are flooded from a leak on the third. -sigh-
 
Goodness, Doc.
I’m new to the forums, so I wanted to ask you:

What subjects do you teach?
What university do you teach at?

I presume the university has a no smoking policy but I remember when professors used to smoke in their offices all the time.
 
History at WSSU. They banned smoking outside a few years ago -- I used to walk on campus while smoking. Now when I was a grad student and at my first two temp positions, I smoked in my offices.
 
Thanks Doc for answering my question. It's good to hear from a professor that smokes pipes! I spent a lot of time in college and most of the professors smoked cigs.

When smoking was allowed, I use to walk around campus smoking my churchwarden (a.k.a. My Gandalf pipe). As you can imagine, I got a lot of interesting looks.
 
Dr.T.,

I feel your pain. My first office was on the top floor of our building. There was an interesting crack running from the fluorescent light fixture, down the slanted ceiling, to the wall above my window. At one point, I noticed that there was water in the light fixture. I moved when plaster started falling on my desk.


My second office was great: it was right next door to the first. There was plenty of fresh air because of the wind that howled through the panes of the window.

Now, I have the department chair's office. Sadly, I had to take the job to get the office.

Oh, well. The water has to get through three floors before it hits my books. (That's what they call progress!)

In the words of Kurt Vonnegut, "So it goes."

Also, there is no smoking on our campus. It is strictly verboten. So, the courteous professors cross the street to smoke away from the buildings. The less courteous hide behind dumpsters.

It hardly matters: they are all smoking cigarettes.

I dare not bring a pipe to campus: it might give our insurance company hives. Also, I never have time to smoke when I am on campus. There's a lesson for you: never leave the classroom. Administration is not what (little) it is made out to be.

Best,
Book (a bit bitter at the end of the semester, but, still, Book)
 
Well, at least the official part of the semester is over (all grades submitted, etc.). Trying not think about moving the 1000 or so books, plus paraphernalia, dvds, etc. out so they can remove the carpet, furniture, etc. before they clean. (Hope they give us time to do it!) I don't think I'll lose more than a few dozen books, still better than the 100s I lost in Katrina when the whole office was destroyed. As for administration, turned that down a few times over the decades!
 
Smart man. Avoid admin at all costs.

I am genuinely sorry to hear about the books. I just changed my avatar to a picture of half of one of my bookshelves at home. They are important to me. The thought of losing hundreds of books is profoundly painful. I hope that insurance covered your losses and that you have been able to replace the ones that are still in print.

I also hope your custodial services disturb everything as little as possible and that you return to a spring semester with the knowledge that there is a smooth, downhill run to the summer. (Spring semester is always, in my opinion, the easier of the two. Hope for summer springs eternal, as it were.)

I have anecdotes to share about custodial services, disappearing office materials, mysteriously emptied rooms, etc. if it ever seems to be appropriate to share them.

In the meanwhile, just think about the winter break and the summer. There shall be time to smoke whenever you should care to do so.

Best,
Book
 
Alas, books are very rarely covered by insurance (except individually covered valuable ones, of course). One thing I did lose back then was a box of 25 remaindered copies of my first monograph :rolleyes: At least all my lecture notes, etc. are on-line or thumb drives
 
As frustrating as it is (any lost book is a tragedy IMHO), I’m glad that your lecture notes are backed up online and on thumb drivers. Can you imagine having to retype all of that?!?
 
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