Three--count 'em, three. That's how many of my freshman students this fall are female. I have two freshman classes for a total of 29 students, only three of them female. Meanwhile, my two non-freshman classes have a total of 27 students, 19 of them female. Right: in my freshman classes, 10 percent of the students are female, while in the non-freshman classes, 70 percent are female. What's up with that?
Twelve months: that's how long I've been doing my best to love my basement office, and it's not working. I have plenty of space and everything I need to make my work space comfortable, but the more time I spend in here, the more glum I get. The problem, I think, is the dearth of natural light. Fluorescent lights plus a tiny dungeon window set near the ceiling = cavelike ambiance. What can I do about this? I suppose I can learn to love my office, but if a full year of trying won't do the trick, I'm not sure what will. Maybe I need to start holding office hours outdoors.
Three seconds: that's how long it took me to turn down an unexpected offer yesterday. Would I like to take a course release this fall in exchange for doing a bit of work for a particular program? No, I would not, partly because I've already completed my preparations for that class and partly for reasons I'd rather not reveal. The fact is that I've had my knees kicked out from under me too many times and I don't intend to take on any administrative work unless it's something I really want to do. (And yes, I do have in mind the "something" I'd really like to do, but the position does not actually exist at this time.)
Nine days until classes start! Three long required meetings/events next week plus several shorter auxiliary meetings. One more chance for Monday canoeing, and then 15 weeks until Christmas break. And the countdown begins....
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