Take a weight of Granny
10:06 a.m.
1. My mother is in the hospital following a heart attack. I am here in L�ville, she is in TO. The two places are connected by a seven-hour automobile trip (no stops except for gas and pee breaks). The only family member there who could be of any use to her is my brother, whose wife openly hates her mother-in-law, and has poisoned her husband against many of his family members (including his loving sister).
2. I have my period (or something that passes for it) a mere two-and-a-half weeks after the last one (which was a mere three weeks after the one before) after spotting for several days. The upside to this is that at least my breasts have stopped aching. That was really starting to bug me.
3. The job search at the U is turning into a nightmare. I can�t really talk about this one, but suffice it to say that Vlad and I are terrified that the wrong candidate will be chosen because the committee is stacked in his favour.
4. My in-laws are arriving on Monday to �chaperone� our kids while we are at the CUMS conference in Lethbridge. Hubby�s mom is a neat/clean freak (which I am most definitely not) which means doing a thorough cleaning of the house. Yesterday I cleaned out the pantry, throwing a whole pile of stale croutons, rancid oil, questionable cereals into the composter. *Involuntary shudder* I still don�t know if my brother-in-law (the one severely allergic to nuts) is coming with them, which will determine how I set up the sleeping arrangements.
5. On Tuesday we go to Lethbridge for a week, and while I am looking forward to the conference, performing our mini-recital and seeing old friends and colleagues, I am also petrified that something will happen with my dear old ma while I am more than half-way across the country away from her. We�re talking two time-zones here.
6. And last and probably least, while driving Buddy Boy to his play last night (since I got back late from my meeting with my part-time music colleagues), the muffler fell out of the Volvo (I had the Subaru) and caused much noise and embarassment to the occupants. It is now being held in place by bungie cords.
And so, dear friends, I have many things on my mind. But last night I got a chance to dance away my anxieties at the APBU party where we officially celebrated a successful strike, signing an advantageous collective agreement, and welcomed BUSA into our midst. It was very nice seeing staff mingling with faculty. I for one have many friends among the staff, unlike a lot of profs who tend to keep to their own academic circles. We lived on campus for two years at the end of the 80s and became friends with the buildings and grounds employees. I have made it my business to get to know the cleaning staff, the secretaries, and the security officers. United we stand and all that.
<~~~ * ~~~>
