Since the bar job fell away, I'm down to my library job and teaching at the art school and my home university.
Both of those teaching jobs just tire me out.
I actually think that at the art school, all 3 people who hired me in have committed legal violations, and 2 Faculty Senate members cover up for them, as well as 1 dean.
That's just an awful work environment, and I'm on the short end of the stick.
At my own university, it's been a policy of increasing wage suppression for years, where 1-time raises years apart with no COLA increases are eroded through skyrocketing student life fees.
I just want out of these environments already. I'm pretty done with academia, though I'll probably apply to post-docs once I can move forward enough with my dissertation.
Sigh.
Saturday, March 12, 2016
Friday, March 11, 2016
Dream of a (Swiss) Academic.
The night I in actual reality sent a friend request to a (Swiss) academic that I know from years ago, who had popped up in my Facebook request area, I dreamt -
I get my friend request to the (Swiss) academic denied, and she somehow sends a message on my wall that she can't associate with me or my one friend who I got to know her with, since neither of us are tenure-track and it'd put her career at risk.
I get my friend request to the (Swiss) academic denied, and she somehow sends a message on my wall that she can't associate with me or my one friend who I got to know her with, since neither of us are tenure-track and it'd put her career at risk.
Thursday, March 10, 2016
Two supermarket interactions:
1) As I go to park my cart and head to grab a carton of eggs, a (small) (Chinese) grandmother darts around and I find myself sidestepping her.
"We are dancing," I try to joke as I smile at her, but she can't understand me.
As I look at eggs and she looks at eggs, she picks up a pricey carton of free range eggs and holds out to me and taps it.
"Ninety-nine," she was like, "Ninety-nine."
Though the listed price was like three-fifty, I think there was some sale or accidental markdown that she was trying to clue me in to, which I found just lovely, since she had to overcome communications barriers and she really didn't have to do that at all.
2) As I go into the checkout line, a (later middle-aged) (black) man is standing there, waiting there at the end past the register by the bagging area, and he catches my eye and nods at me edgily.
After a bit, the (older) (short) (white) supermarket manager comes up to check him out with his alcohol, and this change spread out below the register isn't enough, and the guy takes a ton of time to rustle around in his clothes and pull out two more dollars, this time in bills, and I notice that the McDonald's plastic cup in his hand jingles a bit from change sliding around in it.
"Next time, no sale," the older guy tells him. "You're drunk, those are the rules."
After he leaves, a (hispanic) bagboy is like, "I don't know why we even sell to him, we should just stop that," to which the (hispanic) (female) cashier in my line seemed agnostic.
"We are dancing," I try to joke as I smile at her, but she can't understand me.
As I look at eggs and she looks at eggs, she picks up a pricey carton of free range eggs and holds out to me and taps it.
"Ninety-nine," she was like, "Ninety-nine."
Though the listed price was like three-fifty, I think there was some sale or accidental markdown that she was trying to clue me in to, which I found just lovely, since she had to overcome communications barriers and she really didn't have to do that at all.
2) As I go into the checkout line, a (later middle-aged) (black) man is standing there, waiting there at the end past the register by the bagging area, and he catches my eye and nods at me edgily.
After a bit, the (older) (short) (white) supermarket manager comes up to check him out with his alcohol, and this change spread out below the register isn't enough, and the guy takes a ton of time to rustle around in his clothes and pull out two more dollars, this time in bills, and I notice that the McDonald's plastic cup in his hand jingles a bit from change sliding around in it.
"Next time, no sale," the older guy tells him. "You're drunk, those are the rules."
After he leaves, a (hispanic) bagboy is like, "I don't know why we even sell to him, we should just stop that," to which the (hispanic) (female) cashier in my line seemed agnostic.
Wednesday, March 9, 2016
Two people at a basement bar: former dining services worker, former police officer.
The other week after working and talking with art school colleagues about unionization downtown, I met my one modern Czech literature professor friend for a drink in this basement bar, where she was with this one (white) (Irish-American) (townie) guy who's a high school teacher and who I know from the student bar.
After a bit, joining us was this one (thin) (mid-20s) (black) woman with spottily hairy arms, and who had worked for our university in dining services through the outsourced dining services firm.
She said that the management always cut corners with food quality like this one time when they used these bags of onions that smelled funny even though she said that they shouldn't, b/c the management got bonuses if they came in under budget.
They'd also always underorder food, so that there'd always be shortages of advertised entrees.
"Spin the wheel today and find out what's not here," she'd tell students to keep them entertained and herself occupied, when she worked the food bar.
Later, the townie guy hit on her, and he was very drunk and said that he'd been a cop, but retired three years ago after killing someone.
He had a call to come and quiet down a party, and this 19 year-old came outside and drew a gun, and though the other officers told him to shoot, he didn't want to, and then the kid pulled a trigger and shot him through the right lung.
In return, he fired three times and killed him.
After that, he retired, and now teaches high school at a charter school.
He seems very broken up over what happened, and I wonder if he has post-traumatic stress disorder.
After he told his story, the (thin) (mid-20s) (black) woman just shook her head, and we all bemoaned how easily available guns were on the streets.
He also told about the time that this 11-year old cursed him out and told him about how he had all the newest gaming platforms (= from drug money from his brothers), and so that he didn't have to listen to a thing he said.
"They get those values at home," the woman was like, shaking her head some more.
After a bit, joining us was this one (thin) (mid-20s) (black) woman with spottily hairy arms, and who had worked for our university in dining services through the outsourced dining services firm.
She said that the management always cut corners with food quality like this one time when they used these bags of onions that smelled funny even though she said that they shouldn't, b/c the management got bonuses if they came in under budget.
They'd also always underorder food, so that there'd always be shortages of advertised entrees.
"Spin the wheel today and find out what's not here," she'd tell students to keep them entertained and herself occupied, when she worked the food bar.
Later, the townie guy hit on her, and he was very drunk and said that he'd been a cop, but retired three years ago after killing someone.
He had a call to come and quiet down a party, and this 19 year-old came outside and drew a gun, and though the other officers told him to shoot, he didn't want to, and then the kid pulled a trigger and shot him through the right lung.
In return, he fired three times and killed him.
After that, he retired, and now teaches high school at a charter school.
He seems very broken up over what happened, and I wonder if he has post-traumatic stress disorder.
After he told his story, the (thin) (mid-20s) (black) woman just shook her head, and we all bemoaned how easily available guns were on the streets.
He also told about the time that this 11-year old cursed him out and told him about how he had all the newest gaming platforms (= from drug money from his brothers), and so that he didn't have to listen to a thing he said.
"They get those values at home," the woman was like, shaking her head some more.
Tuesday, March 8, 2016
Great phrase from an art school colleague:
After we talked a bit about unionization when I cold-called her office, this one (older) (German heritage) (female) adult ed prof started talking about how much she loves Bernie Sanders.
"I like Obama," she was like, "But the way he let bankers tank the economy without any meaningful punishment is a great failing on his part. What this country needs is perp walks on Wall Street."
I then asked her where she got that phrase "perp walks on Wall Street," and she said it's her own.
"I like Obama," she was like, "But the way he let bankers tank the economy without any meaningful punishment is a great failing on his part. What this country needs is perp walks on Wall Street."
I then asked her where she got that phrase "perp walks on Wall Street," and she said it's her own.
Monday, March 7, 2016
Library Work Tidbits: Fun Day.
I had a fun day at my library job the other week.
As I got onto the staff elevator with my cart, an (older) (Chinese) woman and a (young) (Chinese) woman came out of it with a cart of books, mostly bound in bright red, and talking Chinese.
"Red books for luck in the New Year?", I was like, and both smiled genuinely and laughed.
For tasks, I had to shelve and then pull books, and for shelving, 1 of the books was the last book on the shelf and thus its number was noted on the aisle sign, and the next began high up on the next shelf on the opposite side and thus was noted on the opposite side of the aisle sign.
Also, one of the barcodes that I was looking for ended in "...666".
Overall, my shelving and then pulling just flew, and I was able to order almost an entire cart full of books, shelve it, and then pull an entire cart full of books, and return to the office, in like an hour.
I wish it was an hour exact and with a full cart of books shelved, but instead it was less than a full cart, and an hour and five minutes, saddly...
Then, b/c I had like 25 minutes left to work till I hit my hours cap for the week, I started ordering some book carts, and had like 12 books left when I hit my limit and had to leave, which left me with a mild sense of failure at not being quite quick enough for meeting some speed record in library work.
I was telling a coworker that it was almost like a library triathlon or quadrathlon, and I was rocking.
As I got onto the staff elevator with my cart, an (older) (Chinese) woman and a (young) (Chinese) woman came out of it with a cart of books, mostly bound in bright red, and talking Chinese.
"Red books for luck in the New Year?", I was like, and both smiled genuinely and laughed.
For tasks, I had to shelve and then pull books, and for shelving, 1 of the books was the last book on the shelf and thus its number was noted on the aisle sign, and the next began high up on the next shelf on the opposite side and thus was noted on the opposite side of the aisle sign.
Also, one of the barcodes that I was looking for ended in "...666".
Overall, my shelving and then pulling just flew, and I was able to order almost an entire cart full of books, shelve it, and then pull an entire cart full of books, and return to the office, in like an hour.
I wish it was an hour exact and with a full cart of books shelved, but instead it was less than a full cart, and an hour and five minutes, saddly...
Then, b/c I had like 25 minutes left to work till I hit my hours cap for the week, I started ordering some book carts, and had like 12 books left when I hit my limit and had to leave, which left me with a mild sense of failure at not being quite quick enough for meeting some speed record in library work.
I was telling a coworker that it was almost like a library triathlon or quadrathlon, and I was rocking.
Sunday, March 6, 2016
Info and Antics of the (half British) (half Sudanese) (2 of 2): Antics.
It's ridiculous how British the sense of humor my one (half British) (half Sudanese) friend can be.
After hanging out with his sister and her boyfriend and a lot of her friends at her apartment on the other side of the city for a birthday shindig she was having, we both took off at the same time and walked up to the subway together.
As we were walking and talking, he suddenly stopped but I didn't noticed and kept walking until I noticed he wasn't walking beside me anymore, and at that I turned and look back and there he was standing next to a signpost.
"[My first name], look at this," he was like, tapping this sign sticking out at head height into the sidewalk from the lamppost.
"This could be dangerous," he then added, still tapping the sign, and then all of a sudden he jerked up into it like he was walking into the sign accidentally, and at that he veered off to the side dramatically, pretending to fall away from being knocked down and mugging with exaggerated eyes great pain like in a Three Stooges skit.
Then, he just continued walking normally again and talking like nothing had happened.
Later, just right by the subway, he saw a "NO PEDDLING" sign.
"How do they expect you to ride a bike?", he was like, dryly.
After hanging out with his sister and her boyfriend and a lot of her friends at her apartment on the other side of the city for a birthday shindig she was having, we both took off at the same time and walked up to the subway together.
As we were walking and talking, he suddenly stopped but I didn't noticed and kept walking until I noticed he wasn't walking beside me anymore, and at that I turned and look back and there he was standing next to a signpost.
"[My first name], look at this," he was like, tapping this sign sticking out at head height into the sidewalk from the lamppost.
"This could be dangerous," he then added, still tapping the sign, and then all of a sudden he jerked up into it like he was walking into the sign accidentally, and at that he veered off to the side dramatically, pretending to fall away from being knocked down and mugging with exaggerated eyes great pain like in a Three Stooges skit.
Then, he just continued walking normally again and talking like nothing had happened.
Later, just right by the subway, he saw a "NO PEDDLING" sign.
"How do they expect you to ride a bike?", he was like, dryly.
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