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?