I know it's been a while. Where have all these good "new academic year resolutions" gone of living healthier and having more balance? I'm taking dance classes on a regular basis, but while it's a lot of fun and I wouldn't give it up for the world, it's also adding a lot of stress to my life because it's time that I need to find in my schedule. Not surprising (but still a little disappointing), this semester has started off more stressful than ever.
It's also become harder and harder to write this blog because this whole "anonymous" things just isn't working. More and more people have "found" the blog and have figured out who writes it (granted, it's not that complicated to figure it out if you know me) and while I don't really care whether or not other peple read my blog (it's not like I write anything on here that I wouldn't tell them to their face...maybe in a bit of a nicer way though), it does make me question what to write and "how honest" I should be. I don't want to offend people; I don't want to negatively portray our department - I'm just trying to tell "my story" - but I guess it's not that easy.
I haven't really made up my mind yet and if I decide to stop posting, I'll let you all know.
For now, just a brief personal update: With the new academic year having started, the date when my visa will expire seems a lot closer. I still have a little less than 2 years left, but a green card application would have to be submitted at least one year prior to when my visa expires - so that gives me less than a year. All this immigration stuff is causing so much worrying and stress in my life; it's ridiculous! I try coming up with back-up plans (in case I don't get a green card) and I hate planning ahead for more than a year because I just don't know what will happen afterwards. I also can't help but feel stuck here. It's not about whether or not I like working here; it's just the feeling that if I wanted to pick up and leave, I couldn't.
But on a happier note: I am working with some awesome student leaders this year - from my RA staff to the Learning Community Leaders to the conference staff, RHA and other student organizations. Spending time with them has become one of the best parts of my week - other than dancing ;) - even though it's tough to find the time to do all that. I really need a time turner - like the one Hermione Granger had in the 3rd harry Potter book. Wouldn't that be amazing?
Saturday, September 3, 2011
Sunday, August 7, 2011
Getting ready
Our RAs are coming back in one week; one week after that the RHA Executive Board will move in, three days after that my Learning Community Leaders will be there and then just two days later is First-Year Move-in and the next day, everyone else will be able to move back in.
The summer went by way too fast - as always. It's tough to believe that students will be back so soon. And yes, I still stand by what I said - I can't wait for them to get back. That doesn't mean though that I'd love to have a couple more weeks to get everything ready. ;) I'm just not ready; there's too much to do and not enough time. How does that always happen? We know students come back on a certain day and we have all summer to get ready - but then the last couple weeks are stressful and crazy. I tried to be better about it this year and did some things early, but there are so many things that I couldn't do yet because I was waiting for things from other people. Waiting to get the RA Training schedule, so I could start thinking about In-Area Times and figure out how to squeeze in my Learning Community Leaders training. Waiting for others to review things, so I could finish them. Waiting for my students to send me information, so I can plan more things for them. Waiting for our new Faculty Director to get here, so I can finalize lesson plans for my first-year student class and figure out details for our Learning Community Leaders course/experience.
Sometimes, when I let myself think about all the things I need to do this Fall, I get totally freaked out. I definitely feel like I've taken on too much and when I tried to get rid of a few things, that didn't go over so well and I'm still stuck with almost everything. The problem is that I don't think anyone realizes how much I actually have on my plate. I tried to figure out the hours that I'll be spending in meetings and one-on-one's this summer and I ended up with about 33-34 hours a week; that's just not feasible. Where will I find time to get any work done? Or be visible in the building (since that's supposedly one of our focus areas)?
But I need to stop talking about this or I'm going to get stressed out again. I guess I'll just have to take it one day at a time.
Yesterday, I spent quite a bit of time painting our office. Three walls of the outer office are now done; we just need to do the accent wall and door frames, etc. That shouldn't take too long. Painting has been kinda frustrating though. First it took a while to get the paint; then I couldn't get help to move furniture in the office and take down the bulletin boards. The walls looks horrible - but getting those wholes and scratches fixed was just not in the cards...so we painted over them. :) It doesn't look great but it looks better than before. And now, I'm almost out of light blue paint but I still have three walls in my office to do. I've asked for more but didn't get a response. Big surprise! Maybe I'll just go out and buy paint on my own. I know I shouldn't have to and it's slightly ridiculous, but I think it may be worth spending a couple bucks to save me from the stress and frustration of trying to get paint. And I want this office to be done before the RAs get here next weekend.
Today, I relaxed for a bit (shocker!), then spent some time making door tags for my RAs. I always have those "great" ideas for door tags that turn into way too complicated projects. Haha. This year, I bought them dry-erase boards (that's kind of a tradition for me) and am using foam to cut out their favorite animals and names - and all that gets glued to the dry-erase board. I also have 8 door tags to make for my Learning Community Leaders, plus 16+ door tags for conference chairs (for the regional conference we're hosting). I definitely won't get bored in the next few days.
Now I'm back in the office and will clean before moving some of the furniture back and trying to put up those bulletin boards again.
Good Luck to all the other ResLife staff members out there, who are going through trainnig and are getting ready for their RAs to return!
The summer went by way too fast - as always. It's tough to believe that students will be back so soon. And yes, I still stand by what I said - I can't wait for them to get back. That doesn't mean though that I'd love to have a couple more weeks to get everything ready. ;) I'm just not ready; there's too much to do and not enough time. How does that always happen? We know students come back on a certain day and we have all summer to get ready - but then the last couple weeks are stressful and crazy. I tried to be better about it this year and did some things early, but there are so many things that I couldn't do yet because I was waiting for things from other people. Waiting to get the RA Training schedule, so I could start thinking about In-Area Times and figure out how to squeeze in my Learning Community Leaders training. Waiting for others to review things, so I could finish them. Waiting for my students to send me information, so I can plan more things for them. Waiting for our new Faculty Director to get here, so I can finalize lesson plans for my first-year student class and figure out details for our Learning Community Leaders course/experience.
Sometimes, when I let myself think about all the things I need to do this Fall, I get totally freaked out. I definitely feel like I've taken on too much and when I tried to get rid of a few things, that didn't go over so well and I'm still stuck with almost everything. The problem is that I don't think anyone realizes how much I actually have on my plate. I tried to figure out the hours that I'll be spending in meetings and one-on-one's this summer and I ended up with about 33-34 hours a week; that's just not feasible. Where will I find time to get any work done? Or be visible in the building (since that's supposedly one of our focus areas)?
But I need to stop talking about this or I'm going to get stressed out again. I guess I'll just have to take it one day at a time.
Yesterday, I spent quite a bit of time painting our office. Three walls of the outer office are now done; we just need to do the accent wall and door frames, etc. That shouldn't take too long. Painting has been kinda frustrating though. First it took a while to get the paint; then I couldn't get help to move furniture in the office and take down the bulletin boards. The walls looks horrible - but getting those wholes and scratches fixed was just not in the cards...so we painted over them. :) It doesn't look great but it looks better than before. And now, I'm almost out of light blue paint but I still have three walls in my office to do. I've asked for more but didn't get a response. Big surprise! Maybe I'll just go out and buy paint on my own. I know I shouldn't have to and it's slightly ridiculous, but I think it may be worth spending a couple bucks to save me from the stress and frustration of trying to get paint. And I want this office to be done before the RAs get here next weekend.
Today, I relaxed for a bit (shocker!), then spent some time making door tags for my RAs. I always have those "great" ideas for door tags that turn into way too complicated projects. Haha. This year, I bought them dry-erase boards (that's kind of a tradition for me) and am using foam to cut out their favorite animals and names - and all that gets glued to the dry-erase board. I also have 8 door tags to make for my Learning Community Leaders, plus 16+ door tags for conference chairs (for the regional conference we're hosting). I definitely won't get bored in the next few days.
Now I'm back in the office and will clean before moving some of the furniture back and trying to put up those bulletin boards again.
Good Luck to all the other ResLife staff members out there, who are going through trainnig and are getting ready for their RAs to return!
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
The things people tell me....
...I am too impatient. Hmm, yeah, granted, that's probably true. But how can you be patient when you're passionate about a new idea or initiative and nothing is happening to make it come true? How can you be patient when all you're being told is that "we are not ready for that yet"? Okay, yes, maybe we are not but how will we ever get ready if we're not working to get ready? What's going to get better if we just sit around and do nothing? I'd rather have not enough patience - and get things done - than be too patient and never move forward.
...I need to work on having balance in my life. Yeah, easier said than done. So you tell me I should have balance in my life but at the same time you give me more stuff to do than what's feasible to get done in even an extra-long work week? Take this semester for example: I'm teaching a 3-credit learning community course, I'm co-teaching a 1-credit learning community class, I'm supervising a grad assistant (which used to be equal to having a committee assignment...we need to have two committees or taskforces total...but apparently that may be changing...who knows), I'm one of the RHA advisors, I'm the main advisor for the regional conference our RHA is hosting (which could really be a full-time job on its own), I'm doing all the work of the faculty-director of not just one but TWO learning communities right now (we have very MIA faculty for one of the communities I work and the second one is getting a visiting faculty member as the director for this year...just a one-year thing though...but that faculty member hasn't started yet and will need some time to learn about the community and her role; which doesn't give us time to plan things for Opening and the First Five Weeks...or doesn't help me when faculty members from other communities are contacting me now to ask about collaborations and ideas of what we're doing for our community or when grad assistants have questions about their job related to the learning community), I've started a new Learning Community Leader (LCL) program (the one I'm teaching the 3-credit course for) which means I will also have to find the time to meet with all my LCLs for one-on-one's, oh and then the Assessment Taskforce I was trying to quit...yeah, didn't work out so well and I guess I'm still going to have to help with various things for the taskforce. And yes, those all sound like AWESOME opportunities - and they are - but sometimes I just want to curl up in bed and sleep...and sometimes, just thinking about everything I need to get done makes me want to cry. I have no idea how I'll keep a semblance of sanity in my life this semester. And it's not for lack of trying on my part. I started taking ballroom dancing lessons again - I used to ballroom dance when I was in high school and I really miss it, but I never knew how to start again because I don't have a partner to dance with. Well, I figured, screw it - I'll just join a studio and dance on my own. And it's been awesome so far! 1) Because I'm getting away from campus and 2) because I've been dancing a bit with the dance instructors during private lessons and practice sessions - and it's freakin' amazing to dance with a partner who can actually dance. But while that helps me get away from campus, it also adds to my stress like tonight when I had to go back to the office at 11 pm because I hadn't gotten everything done before leaving for dance class. :(
...I suck at saying no. Yes, I do. But you know what, people suck at taking "no" for an answer. Because I will try to say no and then they'll talk me into still doing something. Couldn't they - knowing that I'm not good at saying no - be a little nicer on me and just stop bugging me after I said no once? Is that too much to ask for?
...I need to work on having balance in my life. Yeah, easier said than done. So you tell me I should have balance in my life but at the same time you give me more stuff to do than what's feasible to get done in even an extra-long work week? Take this semester for example: I'm teaching a 3-credit learning community course, I'm co-teaching a 1-credit learning community class, I'm supervising a grad assistant (which used to be equal to having a committee assignment...we need to have two committees or taskforces total...but apparently that may be changing...who knows), I'm one of the RHA advisors, I'm the main advisor for the regional conference our RHA is hosting (which could really be a full-time job on its own), I'm doing all the work of the faculty-director of not just one but TWO learning communities right now (we have very MIA faculty for one of the communities I work and the second one is getting a visiting faculty member as the director for this year...just a one-year thing though...but that faculty member hasn't started yet and will need some time to learn about the community and her role; which doesn't give us time to plan things for Opening and the First Five Weeks...or doesn't help me when faculty members from other communities are contacting me now to ask about collaborations and ideas of what we're doing for our community or when grad assistants have questions about their job related to the learning community), I've started a new Learning Community Leader (LCL) program (the one I'm teaching the 3-credit course for) which means I will also have to find the time to meet with all my LCLs for one-on-one's, oh and then the Assessment Taskforce I was trying to quit...yeah, didn't work out so well and I guess I'm still going to have to help with various things for the taskforce. And yes, those all sound like AWESOME opportunities - and they are - but sometimes I just want to curl up in bed and sleep...and sometimes, just thinking about everything I need to get done makes me want to cry. I have no idea how I'll keep a semblance of sanity in my life this semester. And it's not for lack of trying on my part. I started taking ballroom dancing lessons again - I used to ballroom dance when I was in high school and I really miss it, but I never knew how to start again because I don't have a partner to dance with. Well, I figured, screw it - I'll just join a studio and dance on my own. And it's been awesome so far! 1) Because I'm getting away from campus and 2) because I've been dancing a bit with the dance instructors during private lessons and practice sessions - and it's freakin' amazing to dance with a partner who can actually dance. But while that helps me get away from campus, it also adds to my stress like tonight when I had to go back to the office at 11 pm because I hadn't gotten everything done before leaving for dance class. :(
...I suck at saying no. Yes, I do. But you know what, people suck at taking "no" for an answer. Because I will try to say no and then they'll talk me into still doing something. Couldn't they - knowing that I'm not good at saying no - be a little nicer on me and just stop bugging me after I said no once? Is that too much to ask for?
Thursday, July 28, 2011
One of those days
Today was just one of those days....
I woke up and felt exhausted (maybe I shouldn't have gone to sleep at all - I was a lot more awake on those days...haha...j/k).
I went over to our central office in hopes of catching one of our associate directors because I wanted to talk to him about an initiative I've been thinking about - that already got shot down once but I think there may be a way of resurrecting it or at least making it something we can work on next year during the year (one suggestion was to make a committee and the best way to kill any good idea at this institution is to form a committee because you know then nothing will ever happen; so I've been trying to think of a different approach I can suggest) - but he wasn't there anyway. I also wanted to talk to him about the assessment taskforce that I was co-chairing last year because I really don't want to do it anymore this year...for so many reasons. I like assessment (yes, I'm weird) but this taskforce was not what I thought it would be. But you were the co-chair, you may think, why didn't you change it. Ha...co-chair here just means secretary. ;)
Well, he wasn't there anyway - so much for that plan. I went to pick up the paint for my office. I decided to paint my office. The only problem: there are a ton of holes and cracks in the wall. I've asked to have maintenance stop by and plaster the holes and cracks weeks ago but never got a response. Ugh. That's so one of my pet peeves - if you can't do something or it'll take a long time, just tell me but don't ignore my e-mails/voicemails.
I got back to my office and tried to go online. Our University is rolling out a new security software. It prompted me to log in, which I did. Then it asked for me to download the new software - but of course I don't have administrative privileges on my office computer, so I couldn't. I called our Tech Support Office and of course didn't hear back all day. At least I could go on through a temporary access thing; so annoying though!!!
The next few hours were spent looking at the Hall Director Manual. Yeah, surprise, we may actually have a manual this year. Last year, we didn't get one. What did I do when I didn't know what to do, you ask...oh, let me tell you - I just made it up. There were so many things that we didn't really get trained on; and there's only so much you can cover in one-on-one's with your supervisor or so many questions you can ask...so eventually you just start to wing it. Good thing, I've been a Hall Director for a while and at least know how things were done at other schools.
But yeah, working on this manual isn't the most thrilling thing in the world - but then again, it has to get done.
Things just kept going downhill for the rest of the day. I made one more attempt to call about my walls being plastered - the answer was a "we're not sure" and when I asked if they could at least let me know whether or not it'll happen I got a "yes" that sounded more like a "no" (and I didn't hear anything for the rest of the day). How long do they think I'll wait until I start painting? This office needs more than one coat of paint and training starts on Monday, so I won't really have time after that. Ugh!
I spent some time looking up YouTube videos on how to plaster holes and then wandered around the building trying to find some supplies (they were painting in here earlier) but no luck. I guess I'll just have to paint over it all. It'll look like crap - but it can't look worse than it looks right now.
Oh and then to top it all of, I got an e-mail regarding the new faculty member moving into my building. Apparently they shampooed the carpets for her and are putting new furniture in the apartment and getting linens and all that stuff. Did anyone shampoo my carpet before I came here? If they did, you couldn't tell. The apartment was filthy - the office worse. I feel dirty just walking around the office and if I ever take off my shoes, my feet are black within minutes (no joke!). I was told when I moved in that I'd get new furniture in my apartment because it's pretty crappy - a few weeks later, I was told that the new furniture would be coming here in December - it's July now and I still don't have new furniture. I was sent to help a colleague pick out some new furniture a couple weeks ago but haven't heard anything since; so we'll see if that actually happens.
I'm just so tired of all this. I need my students back!!!
Oh and I totally forgot: We got our key envelope labels. So at the end of last year, I had my student workers prep labels for all my keys and the RAs then put the keys straight into those envelopes. I then double-checked the keys and since then they have been sitting in a drawer ready for Opening. Well, a week ago, we were told that we are centrally printing labels and that we need to use these new labels. What the...? Am I seriously supposed to put these new labels on new envelopes and then move all the keys from one envelope to another; or stick the labels over the old ones, which will look crappy but would probably be less work. As if I have nothing better to do?
You know, the main thing I've learned at this school is to never do anything early - because they'll change their mind ten times and then in the end you have to re-do everything again. But then when you wait, you'll have to do it last minute and be stressed - or sometimes nothing happens and than you have to come up with your own system anyway (and will be mad at yourself for waiting so long). So I guess what I truly learned is that no matter what you do, you'll always be screwed.
Can students be back now PLEASE??? I need them to keep me sane!!!
(And yes, you can remind me of that when my students start driving me crazy in the Fall. Haha.)
I woke up and felt exhausted (maybe I shouldn't have gone to sleep at all - I was a lot more awake on those days...haha...j/k).
I went over to our central office in hopes of catching one of our associate directors because I wanted to talk to him about an initiative I've been thinking about - that already got shot down once but I think there may be a way of resurrecting it or at least making it something we can work on next year during the year (one suggestion was to make a committee and the best way to kill any good idea at this institution is to form a committee because you know then nothing will ever happen; so I've been trying to think of a different approach I can suggest) - but he wasn't there anyway. I also wanted to talk to him about the assessment taskforce that I was co-chairing last year because I really don't want to do it anymore this year...for so many reasons. I like assessment (yes, I'm weird) but this taskforce was not what I thought it would be. But you were the co-chair, you may think, why didn't you change it. Ha...co-chair here just means secretary. ;)
Well, he wasn't there anyway - so much for that plan. I went to pick up the paint for my office. I decided to paint my office. The only problem: there are a ton of holes and cracks in the wall. I've asked to have maintenance stop by and plaster the holes and cracks weeks ago but never got a response. Ugh. That's so one of my pet peeves - if you can't do something or it'll take a long time, just tell me but don't ignore my e-mails/voicemails.
I got back to my office and tried to go online. Our University is rolling out a new security software. It prompted me to log in, which I did. Then it asked for me to download the new software - but of course I don't have administrative privileges on my office computer, so I couldn't. I called our Tech Support Office and of course didn't hear back all day. At least I could go on through a temporary access thing; so annoying though!!!
The next few hours were spent looking at the Hall Director Manual. Yeah, surprise, we may actually have a manual this year. Last year, we didn't get one. What did I do when I didn't know what to do, you ask...oh, let me tell you - I just made it up. There were so many things that we didn't really get trained on; and there's only so much you can cover in one-on-one's with your supervisor or so many questions you can ask...so eventually you just start to wing it. Good thing, I've been a Hall Director for a while and at least know how things were done at other schools.
But yeah, working on this manual isn't the most thrilling thing in the world - but then again, it has to get done.
Things just kept going downhill for the rest of the day. I made one more attempt to call about my walls being plastered - the answer was a "we're not sure" and when I asked if they could at least let me know whether or not it'll happen I got a "yes" that sounded more like a "no" (and I didn't hear anything for the rest of the day). How long do they think I'll wait until I start painting? This office needs more than one coat of paint and training starts on Monday, so I won't really have time after that. Ugh!
I spent some time looking up YouTube videos on how to plaster holes and then wandered around the building trying to find some supplies (they were painting in here earlier) but no luck. I guess I'll just have to paint over it all. It'll look like crap - but it can't look worse than it looks right now.
Oh and then to top it all of, I got an e-mail regarding the new faculty member moving into my building. Apparently they shampooed the carpets for her and are putting new furniture in the apartment and getting linens and all that stuff. Did anyone shampoo my carpet before I came here? If they did, you couldn't tell. The apartment was filthy - the office worse. I feel dirty just walking around the office and if I ever take off my shoes, my feet are black within minutes (no joke!). I was told when I moved in that I'd get new furniture in my apartment because it's pretty crappy - a few weeks later, I was told that the new furniture would be coming here in December - it's July now and I still don't have new furniture. I was sent to help a colleague pick out some new furniture a couple weeks ago but haven't heard anything since; so we'll see if that actually happens.
I'm just so tired of all this. I need my students back!!!
Oh and I totally forgot: We got our key envelope labels. So at the end of last year, I had my student workers prep labels for all my keys and the RAs then put the keys straight into those envelopes. I then double-checked the keys and since then they have been sitting in a drawer ready for Opening. Well, a week ago, we were told that we are centrally printing labels and that we need to use these new labels. What the...? Am I seriously supposed to put these new labels on new envelopes and then move all the keys from one envelope to another; or stick the labels over the old ones, which will look crappy but would probably be less work. As if I have nothing better to do?
You know, the main thing I've learned at this school is to never do anything early - because they'll change their mind ten times and then in the end you have to re-do everything again. But then when you wait, you'll have to do it last minute and be stressed - or sometimes nothing happens and than you have to come up with your own system anyway (and will be mad at yourself for waiting so long). So I guess what I truly learned is that no matter what you do, you'll always be screwed.
Can students be back now PLEASE??? I need them to keep me sane!!!
(And yes, you can remind me of that when my students start driving me crazy in the Fall. Haha.)
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Sleepless Nights
I don't know what's wrong with me lately but I just can't sleep. I had this awesome routine going. I'd try to go to bed around 10 or 11 pm and would then get up at 6 am (and it wasn't even that hard - and that even though I have never been a morning person). I'd go running for an hour, get back and watch "Boy Meets World" while doing some stretches, crunches, etc., take a shower, watch "Saved by the Bell" while getting ready and eating breakfast and then I'd be at work by 9 am, if not earlier. And every day, I felt awake, energized and ready to go. Even on weekends when I didn't set an alarm, I would wake up early (maybe not 6 but around 7 or 8) and would have the whole day to do fun stuff. It was amazing!!!
But since Friday my schedule has been completely messed up and I don't know what happened. When I got off work on Friday, I felt a little tired but didn't want to take a nap because then I wouldn't be able to fall asleep at night. I powered through and suddenly found new energy and then I couldn't fall asleep anymore - not at all. Eventually I gave up trying to sleep and went to my office and seriously worked on stuff all night. At 6 am, I decided to go for a 1 1/2 hour run and even then coming back I wasn't too tired. After taking a shower, eating breakfast and reading for a little while, I curled up on the couch, turned on the TV and eventually dosed off. But after just three hours, I woke again and even though I felt a little tired, I wasn't as exhausted as I should have been. I was up all day, got a little tired in the early evening (but again too early to go to bed for good) and when it was time for bed, I once again couldn't fall asleep. So freakin' annoying!!! And this has continued since then.
Monday night I only slept for three hours. Tuesday I was tired and so, when I got off work, I decided to take a brief nap - especially since it was raining and I couldn't really do anything fun anyway; I'm also on duty this week, so my options of "doing something" are somewhat limited as I have to stay within the duty area. Well, the "brief" aspect of the nap didn't work out. I didn't wake up until 10:30 pm, which then of course let to me not being tired at all around midnight when I tried to go to bed. So once again, I gave up on sleeping and have spent the past few hours working on our Hall Director Manual. (Yes, I lead an exciting life, don't I!?!)
Now it's about 3:30 am and I'm still not tired. I think I'll just continue working on this manual for another hour or so and then go running. If I get tired, I may take a nap in the morning - and let's keep our fingers crossed that I wake up in time for work. Naps are dangerous! ;)
The thing is, I'm so much more productive in the middle of the night right now. I've gotten more done in the past few hours than I did all day. And I'm so much more comfortable than instead of being all dressed up, I'm chillin' in the office in sweat pants, a sports bra and a t-shirt. But still, it'd be nice if I could get back to a normal routine one of these days.
But since Friday my schedule has been completely messed up and I don't know what happened. When I got off work on Friday, I felt a little tired but didn't want to take a nap because then I wouldn't be able to fall asleep at night. I powered through and suddenly found new energy and then I couldn't fall asleep anymore - not at all. Eventually I gave up trying to sleep and went to my office and seriously worked on stuff all night. At 6 am, I decided to go for a 1 1/2 hour run and even then coming back I wasn't too tired. After taking a shower, eating breakfast and reading for a little while, I curled up on the couch, turned on the TV and eventually dosed off. But after just three hours, I woke again and even though I felt a little tired, I wasn't as exhausted as I should have been. I was up all day, got a little tired in the early evening (but again too early to go to bed for good) and when it was time for bed, I once again couldn't fall asleep. So freakin' annoying!!! And this has continued since then.
Monday night I only slept for three hours. Tuesday I was tired and so, when I got off work, I decided to take a brief nap - especially since it was raining and I couldn't really do anything fun anyway; I'm also on duty this week, so my options of "doing something" are somewhat limited as I have to stay within the duty area. Well, the "brief" aspect of the nap didn't work out. I didn't wake up until 10:30 pm, which then of course let to me not being tired at all around midnight when I tried to go to bed. So once again, I gave up on sleeping and have spent the past few hours working on our Hall Director Manual. (Yes, I lead an exciting life, don't I!?!)
Now it's about 3:30 am and I'm still not tired. I think I'll just continue working on this manual for another hour or so and then go running. If I get tired, I may take a nap in the morning - and let's keep our fingers crossed that I wake up in time for work. Naps are dangerous! ;)
The thing is, I'm so much more productive in the middle of the night right now. I've gotten more done in the past few hours than I did all day. And I'm so much more comfortable than instead of being all dressed up, I'm chillin' in the office in sweat pants, a sports bra and a t-shirt. But still, it'd be nice if I could get back to a normal routine one of these days.
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Things I miss...
I often get the question: "What do you miss about Austria the most?" My typical answer is, "My friends and family and Austrian chocolate." But there are a few other things I miss - and here are two that I've been thinking about lately:
1) Well-marked hiking trails. On my recent hiking adventures, I've followed trails that suddenly ended; I didn't know where I was heading when several trails were marked with the same color; and without a map, I wasn't sure if I'd find the way back to my car.
But check out the picture. This is what signage in Austria looks like. The signs tell you where every trail leads, how long it will take you to get there. Biking trails are marked differently than hiking trails. Sometimes they have winter-hiking trails noted as well (those that are good for snow-shoeing and those type of things). So who needs a map? Everything you need to know is noted on the signs. And I love the feeling of accomplishment when you climb a peak and you get there faster than the time listed on the sign.
2) I miss swimming WITHOUT a lifeguard on duty and outside a tiny, roped-off area.
Recently, I've been trying to find a place where you can go swimming around here. Driving to the ocean is just a little too far from here. That's something I can do on the weekend but not after work.
I managed to find a state park that had a tiny little pond where you could go swimming - surprisingly even without a lifeguard on duty - but the pond was so tiny that the water was way too warm and it also wasn't very kind and looked kinda dirty. Not exactly the swimming I'm used to from growing up at the Lake of Constance (see picture).
Today, I found a lake where you can go swimming. It's a decent size, the water was somewhat refreshing (I guess nothing other than the ocean is going to be truly refreshing on these hot summer days), but of course there is a lifeguard on duty and swimming is only allowed in this tiny, roped-off area. It was way better than the little pond, but you still feel so limited and fenced in.
*Sigh*
Yes, those are some of the things I miss.
1) Well-marked hiking trails. On my recent hiking adventures, I've followed trails that suddenly ended; I didn't know where I was heading when several trails were marked with the same color; and without a map, I wasn't sure if I'd find the way back to my car.
2) I miss swimming WITHOUT a lifeguard on duty and outside a tiny, roped-off area.
Recently, I've been trying to find a place where you can go swimming around here. Driving to the ocean is just a little too far from here. That's something I can do on the weekend but not after work.
I managed to find a state park that had a tiny little pond where you could go swimming - surprisingly even without a lifeguard on duty - but the pond was so tiny that the water was way too warm and it also wasn't very kind and looked kinda dirty. Not exactly the swimming I'm used to from growing up at the Lake of Constance (see picture).
*Sigh*
Yes, those are some of the things I miss.
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Working in the summer
What does a Hall Director do in the summer? Well, a few of us - the lucky ones - have 10 or 11 month contracts and actually get time off after students leave. But for most of us, this is a 12-month gig. So what is it that we do once students are gone? Well, at first there's all the closing follow-up like paperwork, damage charges, etc. And then summer assignments start. For some of us that means being the hall director for the summer residence halls (after all, there are always some students who take summer classes and want to stay in the residence halls over the summer). A few others work in conference services - which means we rent out our residence halls for different conferences, camps, etc. And the rest of us get "special assignments" such as working on training for the Fall, revising manuals, working on various projects and whatever else our leadership comes up.
There are some things I like about working in the summer: I feel like I'm a "real" person in the summer, someone who a set number of hours. I leave the office at 5 (okay, occasionally, like today, at 7, but that's still a lot better than the usual 10 or 11), I come home and I don't do anything work related. It's like I'm getting this insight of what my life could be like if I had a 9-5 job. And you know what? I like it. I get up between 6 and 6:30 am every day (because I can go to bed early and get enough sleep), I go running, then I come home and do some stretches and finally take a shower. After a leisurely breakfast, I go down to the office, work on a few projects, go to some meetings. At noon, I come back to my apartment for a 1-hour lunch that I usually spend reading or - if I'm super ambitious - working out as well as grabbing something to eat. And then the afternoon is again filled with some projects and meetings and at 5 pm I leave the office, which leaves me with lots of time to do other things. Like Tuesday, when I went swimming for a couple hours. Or just grocery shopping, cooking and then relaxing in front of the TV (that was my Wednesday). And then the weekends!!! I actually get to do things on the weekends instead of either catching up on sleep or going to special events or doing all the things I couldn't get done during the week. Like last weekend, when I went hiking or next weekend when I'm going to visit friends.
Yeah, summer sounds pretty awesome, doesn't it?
Not so fast. There are a few things that I really really dislike about summer. Summer gets lonely. I spend a lot of time in my office, by myself. There are no student workers, no grad assistant, no RAs and students that will stop by. After a few hours of sitting in front of the computer, I just get bored - working on the same project for hours and hours.
And then there's the fact that I often don't agree with what our department does or how our leadership sees things. I try to change them, I come up with new ideas and initiatives - but that involves a lot of set-backs and is beyond frustrating! That happens all year long, but when it's during the year, I can go back to my building, to my little bubble with my students, and I remember why I do what I do and why it's all worth it. But in the summer, I don't have that. So I'm left with my frustration, left wondering why I even care...and sometimes I just don't know if it is all worth it. Maybe I should just stop caring so much - it's just a job, right? But I can't.
So yeah, because of that, summer isn't always all that great. As cheesy as it may sound, I miss my students!!!
There are some things I like about working in the summer: I feel like I'm a "real" person in the summer, someone who a set number of hours. I leave the office at 5 (okay, occasionally, like today, at 7, but that's still a lot better than the usual 10 or 11), I come home and I don't do anything work related. It's like I'm getting this insight of what my life could be like if I had a 9-5 job. And you know what? I like it. I get up between 6 and 6:30 am every day (because I can go to bed early and get enough sleep), I go running, then I come home and do some stretches and finally take a shower. After a leisurely breakfast, I go down to the office, work on a few projects, go to some meetings. At noon, I come back to my apartment for a 1-hour lunch that I usually spend reading or - if I'm super ambitious - working out as well as grabbing something to eat. And then the afternoon is again filled with some projects and meetings and at 5 pm I leave the office, which leaves me with lots of time to do other things. Like Tuesday, when I went swimming for a couple hours. Or just grocery shopping, cooking and then relaxing in front of the TV (that was my Wednesday). And then the weekends!!! I actually get to do things on the weekends instead of either catching up on sleep or going to special events or doing all the things I couldn't get done during the week. Like last weekend, when I went hiking or next weekend when I'm going to visit friends.
Yeah, summer sounds pretty awesome, doesn't it?
Not so fast. There are a few things that I really really dislike about summer. Summer gets lonely. I spend a lot of time in my office, by myself. There are no student workers, no grad assistant, no RAs and students that will stop by. After a few hours of sitting in front of the computer, I just get bored - working on the same project for hours and hours.
And then there's the fact that I often don't agree with what our department does or how our leadership sees things. I try to change them, I come up with new ideas and initiatives - but that involves a lot of set-backs and is beyond frustrating! That happens all year long, but when it's during the year, I can go back to my building, to my little bubble with my students, and I remember why I do what I do and why it's all worth it. But in the summer, I don't have that. So I'm left with my frustration, left wondering why I even care...and sometimes I just don't know if it is all worth it. Maybe I should just stop caring so much - it's just a job, right? But I can't.
So yeah, because of that, summer isn't always all that great. As cheesy as it may sound, I miss my students!!!
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