And then there is @AssDeans, the Twitter account that truly summarizes what life is like for the vast majority of us in higher education. Satires, comedy, cartoons, buffoonery. In the world of most writing mentors, some things are too crazy to make up.
So this is where I am on a Wednesday. Trust me, the animation above is much more joyful than the actual reality. Insert juggling music here.
Seriously, I started my day at 5 a.m. yesterday, because I had another meeting wedged into the already packed day. To prepare, I awoke early, and I knew my window for walking Karal was 8:00 to 9:00 a.m., so I did. Then I was on campus working until 9 p.m., only to stay up until 11 p.m. to get ready for my 8 a.m. this morning. It's all good. This is the part of the work I love: teaching, doing research, and working with educators and kids.
Yet, there's the rest of it...the performance of others creating an air of authority, competence, expertise, and administrative desires that, well, is nothing but meetings and blabber. At times it's hard for me not to burst out laughing. It's simply inane.
Years ago...27 years ago to be exact, I read Moo by Jane Smiley. I simply remember laughing and thinking, "Who are these insane people who are so self-indulgent in their campus life?" It was hilarious, a wee bit exaggerated, but almost 100% spot on. Of course, I read that as a graduate student starting out with a first Masters....and lots has happened since then. Now, I'm actually on the other side of the humor.
I'm going into today with more laughter than usual. How is this, exactly, my life? I've Moooooved into the very regionality of all that I've always spoofed (The Office does this....The Chair). And now I want to play with it more than ever before.
Yet, I'm in the land of utmost seriousness, where the clowns never see how clownish they are.
I will survive. Just get me through today. The impossible is possible because it has to be.