The Thoughts of a Frumpy Professor

............................................ ............................................ A blog devoted to the ramblings of a small town, middle aged college professor as he experiences life and all its strange variances.

Friday, December 08, 2006

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Razor's Edge

No, I am not going to shave my beard and moustache. Do not worry, my gnome-like visage remains intact.

Nothing is seriously wrong in the household at the moment, yet there are fluctuations that indicate the weekend may be more stressful and chaotic than calm and peaceful. I call this time, the Razor's Edge, for it could go either way... situations could fall of the edge towards greater tranquility, stability, and happiness, or life could fall off the edge in the other direction and spiral into chaos. I am working hard on keeping a calm, reasoned, optimistic attitude. I must fight to not beome enveloped in0 feelings of hopelessness, especially because if the fluctuations continue to turn for the worse, the hopelessness makes it ten times more difficult to work hard to serve my family and work responsibilities. Here is what is up:

1. My wife is having severe stress about work related issues that is making her feel inadequate and hopeless. I am trying to help out in ways that I can, but I have to be careful to not do too much, because then she feels disheartened that she is "burdening" me.

2. My mother's weight has fluctuated a pound in one day. While, technically this is a variation that can occur naturally for a whole host of reasons, it is not the typical pattern for her when things are going well. Instead, it is often an indication of the start of problems.

3. I have been having difficulties with my laboratory assistants all semester. One of them is a fairly low wattage bulb in terms of intellect and does assinine things. Earlier this week, he was set to proctor a lab exam which was set up in the lab... and he decided to pass out student evaluation forms for himself FIRST, and then left the room for 20 minutes to let them fill out the forms (IN THE ROOM WITH THE PRACTICAL DISTRIBUTED OVER ALL THE BENCHES!). The other is very intelligent but is a "head in the clouds" sort and apparently is not particularly observant. One of the students who took the lab practical in his section wrote to me last night, complaining about widespread cheating during the exam. It is frustrating to the nth degree and in both cases, there isn't a whole helluva lot I can do about it for this semester.

4. I have a huge, and rather unexciting report that I must complete prior to the end of the semester. This report will be roughly 30 pages, and my desire to write this evil document is less than zero (yes, I know, all you math profs, that is not a valid construct in this example... but it is dramatic liscense on my part).

So, while technically, nothing is horribly amiss at the moment, the building blocks are all around me to create a house of chaos the next several days. Add to this that next week is final exam week, and the kettle is definetly filled with a gruel-like brew of unpleasant possibilities.

Yet, after getting this out on paper, I will now strive with all my furry-faced might, to gear up for high-energy work and a positive attitude.

I know I have written about Man From La Mancha in the past, but it is indeed one of my very favorite musicals of all time. I know it may sound wretchedly simplistic, and perhaps a bit child-like, but sometimes I take comfort in envisioning myself a "Don Quixote-esque" sort of character, tilting at windmills, even when it is hopeless, but stiving for what is right and good and true. Since so many films today are based upon comic book characters, perhaps what I need to do is magine myself a "Don Quixote Superhero"?!? I could be a furry-faced caped crusader, with DQ (not for Dairy Queen, mind you) emblazened across my chest. I will have to think about what my tools and my superpowers could be. Mull it over and offer suggestions if possible.

PipeTobacco

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