Month: May 2005

Morning breaks in our backyard
Now that the hideous tree is gone, our garden is really thriving. Next weekend, I’ll be annual shopping. I’m thinking a lot of really bright red impatiens and begonias.

Step 1: Get into shower
Step 2: Wash face
Step 3: Shampoo hair
Step 4: Condition hair
Step 5: Turn off water
Step 6: Realize that you haven’t actually washed anything below the neck, turn water back on, wash body, and reflect on the fact that we all, sometimes, have our moments.

So far today I have:
~ said “hi” to Mira Sorvino;
~ eaten free beef bourgignon courtesy of the film crew;
~ drunk a couple of free cups of coffee, also thanks to the film crew;
~ shaken hands with Donald Sutherland, who looked deep into my eyes and said “hello.” He said “hello” to me, in that voice. I almost bought a Volvo.
Not your average Tuesday.

~ the marking is done!!! Final papers, final portfolios, final exams – all marked, recorded, and filed. Alphabetically, even.
~ the garden is much improved. We planted two new crabapples, and I found a beautiful gardenia that I’ve put in a big pot so I can bring it inside this fall. In the meantime it smells heavenly. Much else is afoot, gardenwise, but I’m keeping mum til things are really lush and I can post a picture.
~ Belinda Stronach has dumped Peter Mackay on the national news crossed the floor. In a nutshell, reactions have been occasionally catty and very often deliberately sexist, prompting many counterreactions and turning the whole thing into a national self-assessment of our gender equality; the political implications have by and large been lost in the shuffle.
Personally, I am not at all surprised by the defection, since Stronach has never really rung true as a Conservative. I am also impressed with her rather Machiavellian maneoverings – if she had started out in the Liberal party, chances are she would have spent a decade clawing her way up through the ranks. Instead, she bursts onto the scene as a candidate for the leadership of the last best threat to the Libs, making sure that everyone in the country knows exactly who she is; spends only a couple of years with the new Conservatives, then crosses the floor at the moment best suited for creating a really big splash, and walks into a Cabinet portfolio and national attention.
~ I had my annual checkup, albeit almost two years after my last one. My doctor is happy that I’ve stopped smoking, but is now clearly obsessed with my weight. I did finally get her to admit that the pain in my knees is arthritis – for ages she’s been saying that I am too young to have arthritis. Apparently I am no longer too young. She says that if I lose 20 pounds, my knees will feel better. As for the frequent indigestion, if I lose 20 pounds, that should clear up. And, if I lose 20 pounds, the itchy scalp should be fine.
~ in an effort to make my doctor happy, then, I’ve had my bike tuned up for the summer, and replaced my lost helmet, so I can take advantage of the myriad bike paths and get some exercise. Unfortunately, the only day that’s been bike-worthy was the day that Colin was home from school.
Today is another rainy, cold, generally miserable day, so we’re having a late brunch of strawberry and custard crepes, then we’re off to the McCord for the ‘Growing up in Montreal’ exhibit.

This is what I’ve been doing, instead of blogging, of late:
~ marking
~ finding new and inventive reasons not to mark
~ cleaning the home office
~ packing up the work office (see below)
~ watching my garden grow
~ making the guest room inhabitable (it’s currently inhabited by my good friend Heather, in town for the weekend. The world’s best mother-in-law will be inhabiting the room in July and August.)
~ laundry
~ despamming
The office saga
I’ve heard tales of teachers at other colleges sharing office space with up to five other people – and by ‘sharing office space’ I mean there’s one room, one phone, one computer, and six people. So for the past year and a half I’ve been remarkably lucky to have an office all to myself; furthermore, said office overlooks the football practice field, and does so from a large, sunny window.
I have this office because its actual ‘owner’ has been on leave, working for CIDA in Europe. The single-person office next to mine has been similarly occupied by a relative newbie (we were hired at the same time) because its occupant was on leave, teaching at Bishop’s in the Education department.
The rationale behind our occupation of these offices was that since the official occupants were expected to return, there was no point in installing a more senior teacher and then forcing that person to move if and when the office was reclaimed.
Now, my office has been a source of envy, not only because it’s a single, but also because I am, in the words of one of my colleagues, the “Martha Stewart of the English Department.” (Mum, I can hear you laughing. Stop that.) I have made my office comfortable and personal, true, but as I have explained to those who express their covetousness, if I leave the office, the contents are coming with me.
This spring, we lost a colleague after a horribly prolonged illness. The original occupant of my office was a close friend of this colleague, and has specifically requested his office when she returns to the college this fall. In the meantime, the original occupant of the neighbouring office is definitely not returning, preferring to stay at Bishop’s and chair the Education department. The upshot is that the two offices are now officially available. So my neighbour and I have been asked to move into a double office together, thus allowing the current doublers, who both outrank us, to have single offices. Now, this is only fair, and neither my neighbour nor I raised any protest whatsoever. However, my neighbour, whose very good friend is an archaeologist just down the hall, has asked if he can share with the bone guy.
So as it stands, I not only have an office to myself, now I have a double office to myself.
Yes, the office gods do indeed smile upon me.