Tired (Yawn!)

Tired is what I am. Very, very tired. I'm already 12 hours up on what I should be on my timesheet this month, and there's another week to go!

It's the start of term. I've been teaching and lecturing and running workshops and facilitating tutorials.

I've been being happy and enthusiastic and cheerful and reassuring.

I've been showing people how to use databases and run effective searches and how to use the information that they find.

It's all very exhausting, all this enthusiasm and being nice to people!

Didn't help that the network collapsed spectacularly on Monday morning. Again! For the third time in a week. It took with it Library Management Services (including the catalogue and databases). It took with it the student record system, including enrolment (cute on the first day of the new academic year!). It took down financial services, accommodation services, well just about everything really. And the problem with shutting all these things down very abruptly (three times in a week!) is that they don't like it and get grumpy and unresponsive and it takes ages to sort it all out. Cue, in the library, lots of advisers rushing about trying to cobble together PowerPoint presentations from loads of old, not subject related, borrowed or stolen PowerPoint presentations from other people.

Fortunately, by the time I came in early on Tuesday, the catalogue and databases were there. I now have up-to-date, relevant, subject themed presentations Just In Case!

They took down everything on Tuesday evening between 4 and 4:30, to make repairs and back ups and things. Just as I was about to start a lecture. In the BIG lecture theatre. No worries. I have my carefully prepared presentation, Just In Case. Was a tiny bit disconcerting, however, just as I was about to start addressing two hundred or so bright eyed, enthusiastic first year Building Programme students, when a technician came in and whispered in my ear that there was the very slight possibility that we might lose all the power to the theatre as well as all the network connections. The thought of herding all these 18 year olds out of a large room lit with only emergency lighting was a tad daunting. Fortunately it didn’t come to that!

I was at Psalter Lane last weekend. I like doing weekends at Psalter Lane. It's reasonably quiet and relaxed, and the students are slightly fey and very arty and a touch hippy. Also, on Sunday you work from 1-8, so you get the morning off. We went into Chesterfield and bought a new printer which is also a fax machine and photocopier. Looks very fancy. Just have to get it installed and up and running now. Will do. Very soon!

IT was very, very quiet at Psalter, in the end. We usually open on weekends at that campus once term has actually started. This year we opened the weekend before (we have new managers in place, following the run or reorganisations and amalgamations that we’ve had over the past couple of years). Hardly worth it, really. I had FOUR questions on Sunday, and they all came between 7:05 and 7:15 and were asked by two people together who were just investigating the facilities. They paid me a very great deal of money to sit about and do nothing terribly useful.

So nothing really very interesting to report. Just wall to wall teaching sessions, interspersed with desk sessions. I *think* The Builder and Marlo recognise me when I drift into the house. At least, no one has yet challenged me about my presence there!

The house smelled beautifully autumnal this morning. I had an extra two hours at home before I needed to come in (working 10:00-21:00 today :( ), so I made some pea, ham and potato soup with some stock left over from boiling a ham last week. Then I stewed some plums and apples. And I lit a cinnamon scented candle. Was very hard to drag myself out at 09:00!

Hmm. I have some plums and apples in a pot in the office. I might wander in and have some surreptitious mouthfuls. It’s fairly quiet. No one will notice!

Things are likely to stay busy for the next little while. I shall send war reports from the bunker from time to time!