November 6, 2011
Last night I dreamed Sophia Loren charged me $600.00 to color my hair.
I didn't pay.
Saturday mornings are often, at least around here, scheduled for sleeping in.
Even if the kids have to work, there is no shift that starts so early that at 5.00 am wake up call is required.
Nor is Stephen ever required to consider the possibility of opening his eyes to greet the rising of the sun.
Until yesterday.
A never-before-experienced convergence of events occurred yesterday morning that required all of my children, including Mer, and Stephen to be awake and out of the house by 7.30 am and 8.30 am respectively.
I know.
I was shocked too!
As the one who had to facilitate getting Stephen up and mobile, I was more than shocked.
I was scared.
All three kids had to attend the oh-so-often Empire Theater staff meeting.
And since they are paid for their attendance, the meetings have to be a minimum of 3 hours long.
And since it was so early, breakfast was provided.
Thankfully, because there was food and getting paid involved, all three kids were actually up and ready to go when I managed to straggle out of bed in my zebra striped jammies to drive them to their meeting.
And even though it was early, early in the morning, Mer managed to insult Em within 15 seconds of her getting into the car, after we waited for her for several minutes because some co-worker called in crisis over pants.
I don't ask.
I just listen and record.
So the drive to the theater, a short drive to be sure, was nonetheless clouded with tension as Em's really good mood quickly shifted to feeling bad about herself.
Again.
All this and then I had to go home and see if Stephen was anywhere near ready for his morning.
And it wasn't even 8.00 am.
Luckily, when he walked outside into the early morning sunshine, he didn't experience any burning or tingling sensations.
He had to attend the St. Thomas University Open House, an annual event to introduce potential students to the campus, their professors, etc.
And the Faculty Fair was scheduled for between 9.00-10.00 am.
The opportunity for departments to set up their stalls and peddle their intellectual wares to the masses.
In the past, during my tenure as our department's Undergraduate Advisor, I attended several such events.
In a lovely room, with excited and nervous students milling about, unsure of what they want to do, parents with them telling them what they want to do.
Within 20 minutes of the convergence of bodies in room the temperature of the room skyrockets and while the November wind is blowing and blustering outside, people inside are wondering when to expect heat stroke and sun burn.
This year, however, I was not required to participate so I went over long enough to fill my travel mug with coffee, snag some of the smallest muffins I've ever seen, and head back to my office to get some work done.
I was most peeved at the bookstore as they had sent an email stating I hadn't sent in my book requests for the coming winter term.
Which, for once, wasn't true.
Nonetheless, it was Saturday, it was early, I wasn't anywhere near caffeinated enough to tackle any major issues, so I simply filled in the proper forms and prepared to fax them.
And as I was writing all the necessary info on the designated line, it occurred to me that this could be an opportunity to make some changes in what was becoming a rather tedious book line up.
Not that the books themselves were tedious.
I like all of them.
But teaching the same books over and over and over and over can become wearing after a while.
Some books I'd never change.
Like Laud Humphrey's Tearoom Trade or Rafter's Shots in the Mirror.
But in other instances, there are multiple choices I can make and if that's the case, then why not make some changes?
So I decided to take this opportunity to shake things up.
Just one thing.
Because new books mean preparation on my part.
Instead of reading The Rebels in my intro methods class next term, we'll be reading something different.
And I've already started reading it and let me tell you, so far, I know I have made the right decision.
If for nothing other than my sanity.
My intro crim class will also be treated to an interesting and critical book: Sex Workers in the Maritimes Talk Back.
A book that never disappoints in generating class discussions and misinformation and misperceptions crash faster than the Berlin Wall.
In the process of selecting a new book for my intro methods class, I realized I had piles of books stacked in "Keith's Korner" that may be of interest to my classes.
However, there were so many stacks it was impossible to make any informed decision.
So I started going through these stacks.
Organizing them.
Sorting them.
Shelving them!!!!!
OHMYGAWD I WAS CLEANING MY OFFICE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
At this point Stephen had returned from his heat inducing session at the Faculty Fair, and was more than ready to lend his love for cleaning and his six foot four frame to the efforts.
He's been looking forward to this for a looooooooooooooonnnnnnnnnnnngggggggggg time.
We tossed things in recycling.
Moved things off one shelf to another.
Put things I don't use often on higher shelves.
It was so productive.
And my office looks just a little bit better.
But I am soon going to need more bookshelves.
Where to put them is an entirely different matter.
I'll figure it out later on.
And for now, I'll bask in the knowledge that books are shelved, and some table space is, momentarily anyway, cleared.
There's more to do to be sure.
It is my office after all.
Finally. . . . .
Happy 46th Birthday Kathryn. I miss you so much every single day.
Title Lyric: Early in the Morning by Peter, Paul and Mary
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