So it’s back to the office today, which means following up on emails, voicemails, and other To Do List stuff that’s accrued in my absence. You know, stuff that actually requires I use my brain. I skipped that yesterday, sticking mostly to the easy stuff like laundry, groceries, cooking, etc. I made a lovely Cock-A-Leekie soup and a loaf of European peasant bread from Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes A Day. New fave, I think. And OH MY GOD, where has the dough hook for my Kitchenaid been all my life? Well, in truth, it’s been hanging out next to the paddle and whisk…I just never knew how to use it. The awesome cannot be overstated.
I didn’t get any writing done, but I spent a while brainstorming with Pot on her anthology story and giving some thought to mine, which I plan to start today. When I’m working out a novel or novella plot, I focus very much on story structure, making sure I have all my plot points, etc. They have to accomplish a lot, those plot points. And focusing on them while planning Devil’s Eye is what turned it into a novella instead of the short story it was intended to be. Larry has done a few posts on short story structure that left me no clearer on how to apply the same ideas to short work, so I’m just going to write the story. Focus on the situation, the conflict, have a switch in the middle, and the resolution. I’m thinking a lot about how I can make things pull double duty, be implied rather than explicit, and cram in as much as humanly possible in as small a package as possible. It should hit somewhere between 5-10k. In theory.
Anyway, so as I said, I’m back at the office this morning, checking in with stuff. And I find a voicemail from the mother of the grad student I almost had to fire last week. That would be the WTF? portion of the day. Her mom happens to be my old high school principal, and I recognized that tone–I just never heard it applied to me. As it happens, she also called my boss and spoke with her, so there’s no need for me to call her back (I wasn’t inclined to anyway because, hello, this isn’t about her and parents have no place in the workplaces of their children once those children are no longer minors). Can we say helicopter?
Boss is gone until tomorrow afternoon, so the name of the game today is to CATCH UP!
5 thoughts on “Catching Up and WTF?”
It’s unreal how busy you are all the time. I don’t see how you pack all that you do in 24 hour days. Wow.
I can’t believe someone’s mother called about their grown child. I would have been so embarrassed if my mom had done that!
Seriously. My guess is that the student does not know and we opted not to embarrass her by mentioning it.
Just. So. Wrong.
I have students’ parents calling more often these days. They seemed shocked when I tell them I can’t discuss their child’s grades or efforts in my class.
On the flip side, each semester, one of my students will attempt to use a note prepared by his or her parent as a way of excusing an absence.
To whom it may concern,
Please excuse Amber as she was on a vacation with her family.
Signed,
The Parent
Really? Okay I haven’t had that one from my college students. Probably because a big chunk of online students are, themselves, parents. Wow…