Cleaning

Today has been an interesting day. The third day of check-in was slow and I got around to cleaning my office - or at least starting to clean my office. It's been quite a project.
I remember cleaning out my office at a previous institution. I left a nicely typed up piece of paper with instructions where everything in the office was. There was a list of keys with key codes and explanations of what the keys went to and who should get what keys. Okay, maybe I was going a little overboard doing all that but I think it's better finding that than an office where you can't find anything and a pile of keys with a note attached that says, "not sure what those go to." And then I hear students telling me how great this previous staff member was - I can't judge; I don't know him but just as much as first impressions count, it also matters how you leave a place.... And yes, it's not all about administrative work - and it's definitely not my favorite part of the job, but it has its value and especially when you leave somewhere, shouldn't you think about trying to make the transition easier for the next person?

Argh, I guess I'm just tired. I'm not a big fan of cleaning. Haha.

Random thought of the day: It'd be worth being a rock star just because you'd be able to wear crazy but awesome looking outfits. Hehe.

Training craziness

AHHH, training craziness. The joy of sitting through sessions from 9 am until 5, grabbing a bite to eat before returning for in-area training and then spending the evenings/nights getting ready for the next day where it starts all over again. Never being "ahead" - barely getting things done by the deadline. Yes, that's training.

Being new during training just isn't fun. You kind of know what you're doing but there's all these little details you just aren't sure about. And then you wonder, did they mention it during one of our sessions or in an e-mail and I just missed it/forgot about it? Or has nobody explained it yet? Should I ask that question and who would be the best person to ask? You don't want to be that annoying new staff member that has ten million questions; you definitely don't want to appear incapable of doing this job; but you also don't want to do something wrong just because you didn't ask the question.

My apartment is still a mess. There are boxes that won't get unpacked until after training. My office isn't much better. I've cleared off the desk - somewhat - at least enough so I can work. The chairs are set up, so I can start meeting with people. But don't take a closer look at the cabinets or those boxes in the corner.

There's been a few fun and nostalgic moments - like when I attempted to start cleaning the RA closet (another project we'll need to work on next week) and I came across an Area Council Of The Year certificate with my signature on it. Oh, I miss the students who were in RHA back then. What a blast we always had!!! It was weird putting up my "usual" office pictures of past staff teams (student and professionals staff at institutions I've worked at) and realizing that some of those pictures have people in them that still work here; that are my colleagues again. It's like I've come full circle and I'm back at the start - but I'm a different person now - a little older (hopefully not looking much older...haha) and a little more experienced.

I've also realized in the past few weeks that I LOVE working with graduate students. It's not really a new discovery, but having a year without grads and now suddenly being surrounded by them again and supervising one, I know what I want to do - one day in the far far future. I want to teach in a graduate preparation program. There's just something about working with graduate students - students who are starting to feel committed to this field or at least have a significant interest in it but are still young and looking for guidance. Yes, that is the population I would LOVE to work with. :) I'm really going to try to use this year to hone my graduate student supervisory skills.

I've also realized that books are going to be the death of me. ;) When I start reading a good book, I just can't put it down - even if I have training early the next day. And as soon as I get back from the office - even if it's past midnight - I can't withstand the temptation of grabbing that book, lying so innocently on my table. Sigh, I've once again fallen victim to the power of good authors.

RAs are almost here..

One more day of training, a weekend of hectic preparation and Sunday throughout the day, my RAs will start arriving. AHHHH!!!
I'm excited and ready for a new semester to start, to really get into it again after training, to start not just making plans but implementing them, but I'm also nervous and anxious - am I ready? Do I know everything I need to know? Training here was short. A lot of it focused on the philosophy behind things - discussions about whether or not gender influences our decisions as hearing officers - deep/intellectual conversations; I loved it; but I'm also not sure if I really know how to do all the day-to-day things. Will I have the answers to all of my RAs' questions?

Working at a new institution always makes me nervous. Yes, I know how to be a Hall Director - after all, I've done for quite a while. But do I know how to be a Hall Director HERE?

Half of my staff are returners. Returners are great because they know how to do the job, they know the institution and can be a wonderful resource for you as a new staff member - but they can also be a challenge! They may not like the way I want to do things; they may not be open to some of the changes I'm hoping to make. They have a lot of influence on staff and may not even realize it. Will I be able to convince them that the way I like to do things works - or that it's at least worth a try? Or will they revolt, grumble about me behind my back and rile the staff up against the changes and things they see as "extra work"?

There's also so much more to do. Read through the training facilitator guide, figure out my own in-area training schedule, unpack the boxes labeled "office", decorate my office - ha, I'm not even done unpacking things in my apartment and decorating my home. When will I find the time to do that??? There's door tags to make, binders to put together and and and....

It doesn't help that I borrowed two books from the library yesterday, bought 15 children's books (I found out the Mysteries series by Enid Blyton is no longer being published; I just had to get the books before I missed my chance; I loved those books growing up; I still love them), and got a new movie from Netflix the other day. Oh and of course I'm going to a concert tomorrow. ;)
When did I think that doing all these things during one of the busiest times of the year was a good idea? Sigh. It's not easy when you try to have a life.

New beginnings...

I've made it through the first week of training. My apartment is still a mess. When I come home after a long day of training, I'm just tired and I don't feel like cleaning and unpacking. The last couple of days, I've also had some "great idea" related to work and spent my evening working on figuring out a plan to implement that idea.

It's weird being back at an institution that I've worked at before. There's still a lot of people here that I know. I know how some things are done, but obviously there's been a decent amount of changes. I'm worried that I won't realize that something is done differently now and do it the old way by mistake; I'm worried that I won't remember something that I should know. I'm worried that I won't be able to live up to the high expectations people have of me.

But in spite of all that, it's good to be back. We had a session talking about supervising grads; I LOVED talking about research on supervision, theories on how to supervise staff successfully. I've missed this! We had a session on Community Standards and instead of just talking about how to do an administrative conference and what paperwork to fill out, we talked about the philosophy and the history of hearing processes on college campuses.
Of course there has to be some conversation about how to do things, about administrative processes, etc. - but it's great to once again be at an institution that also spends some time on more educational topics, on philosophies and theories.

I've been really inspired lately. I have all these ideas. There are so many things I want to do with my staff and my students; there are so many ideas I have for the department. There are so many things I want to do or get involved in at this institution. I know I'm in great danger of throwing myself into work again and forgetting to have a personal life. ;) But I'm just soooooo excited....