Friday, April 18, 2008

What happens when I spill a whole cup of tea on my desk

Some things get destroyed, including a note pad, some miscellaneous filing, and my desk calendar. Notes written in black ink remain legible, while those written with the gel pen dissolve into green soup, obscuring the name of the person with whom I have an appointment next Thursday at 1:00.

Some things, on the other hand, remain untouched, including a book I borrowed from a student, framed photos of my children, and a pile of ungraded quizzes.

Some things are damaged but salvageable, including a whole stack of papers I need to return today, some of which now feature illegible green blobs where comments used to be. The grades, fortunately, are still legible.

My desktop is now sparkly clean, thanks to my secretary's quick draw on the Windex trigger, but the absence of a desk calendar is a bit disturbing. I need those rows of little boxes to tell me what day it is, what I'm supposed to be doing, who needs me and why: without it, I feel lost, confused, untethered.

Come to think of it, that's not entirely a bad feeling. Toss of the tethers! It's Friday!

At least I think it is.

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