Ye gods, but it’s been a hellish morning. I ran around replacing arrows directing Freshers to places for the second day of multiple registration, discovered that the big chocolate tin in the office was empty when I came back (oh God, empty – how can such things happen???), panicked because we seem to have missed a talk and left students waiting for someone who never turned up, and was given a hugely patronising bollocking (in an irritatingly smarmy way which of course made it ten thousand times worse) by one of my (thank God) more geographically distant colleagues who then decided he hadn’t browbeaten me enough and rang back to make more criticisms. Plus a request to go and get him something from the Health Centre. Which is next door to where he works, and I am near neither of them. Harrumph. I ended up simply putting the phone down on the smarmy bugger and felt a lot better for having done so. Last time I do something nice for him then … And thank the Lord I don't have to speak to the mealy-mouthed b*****d very often.
I then found out that the reason we’d missed the talk is that the department in question had changed all their induction programme plus all their staff and hadn’t told us – which means I’ve been frantically reorganising the talks still to come this week whilst maintaining a plastic professional smile on my face (and mentally stabbing aforementioned so-called "colleague" in places he probably didn’t even know he had …). Oh, and we’re equally frantically trying to find out if we have a stall at tomorrow’s Freshers’ Fayre or not. Anyone we can ask appears to be unobtainable and the porter is supposed to be collecting our stuff this afternoon, but can’t if there’s nowhere to deliver it to. Arrrggghhh!!!
On top of all that, the really lovely man who cleans the computers and phones has turned up so we’re all having to jump around between computers to ensure he gets the chance to clean it all. Poor chap though – he probably hasn’t heard this much swearing and cursing for a long time. The joys of Freshers’ Week, eh … Ooh, update on this: I officially have the cleanest computer & phone equipment in the office. Hurrah! I’ve never had the cleanest anything before – so this is a definite first. And just proves that my obsessive weekly cleaning of my phone & keyboard which everyone laughs at has finally paid off …
And I’ve also found out that Jools from Mighty Erudite hasn’t ever received my mini-edit of Mark Wagstaff’s novel, so I’ll have to try to resend that tonight sometime. I’m also supposed to be going to Guildford Writers tonight, but Lord alone knows whether I’ll have the energy or not. Not is the current feeling on that really. I don’t think I can face any more people, however pleasant. It's just way too demanding.
Still, I did manage to get out for a walk at lunchtime, thank God, and rang Lord H from the bench by the lake to sob for a while. Poor chap – he should be used to that by now.
Oh Lordy, when oh when can I go home???
Today’s nice things:
1. Um. Surviving the day? Possibly.
2. Having the cleanest computer, aha!
3. Ringing Lord H.
Anne Brooke
Anne's website
4 comments:
Oh Anne, pooh you! Sounds like a nightmare day - hope today is better for you.
It's a shock having the students back here too - the amount of disiplinary action that has been required on some of them already is amazing!
I hope so too, Sue - hope your starting weeks are okay!!
They're wild this year for sure!!
A
xxx
If it makes you feel any better, i found out today that my induction is tomorrow. Why things are being done a week early, i don't know.
I hate speed-packing.
Oh no! Hope it goes well for you, Kevin!
:))
A
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