Ugh. What a day.

Got a headache (borderline migraine but I think fresh air finally staved it off) while helping out with a scholarship function. Why? Because people who work in the building that I was set up in the lobby of, insist on smoking JUST OUTSIDE the front door. The law says you are supposed to be at least 25 feet from the building. (Disclaimer: it's an uncommonly nice day here, so it's not like they were huddling in freezing rain trying to satisfy their craving). So the smoke comes curling into the building every time the door opens.

(Incidentally, almost no one obeys the 25 foot rule. I don't normally make an issue of it but when I'm choking on smoke, I kind of do.)

It was miserable. It ticks me off when I'm giving my own time for something and people don't obey rules that have been made for the benefit of them and others (they ask that people go at least 25 feet away from a door). I'm not forward enough to get up from my post, walk up to them, and say "would you mind not smoking right here? I'm choking on the fumes back in the building."

I don't have too much of a problem with people smoking, but I do like (and need) to breathe smoke-free air. (One of my major migraine and allergy triggers is cigarette smoke. I got rid of the headache but now my throat is sore.)

Also, as this was a door through which a large number of school children, their parents, and their teachers were entering, I don't think it's all that cool for profs to stand and take their extended smoke-breaks there. I mean, we are trying to teach kids to avoid smoking?

at least now it should stop - I called campus safety and (framing it as a "would you do this as a personal favor to me?" question) told the guy about the people smoking too close to the building. He's going to ask them to move, at least for this week.

Then, in my class this morning, a girl pulled out a book and started to read while I was talking. I didn't say anything; I was too flabbergasted. I saw her, she knew I saw her. I suppose now she assumes I don't care. Well, I do. But as she has an F at this point, as she's missed like half the homework assignments and a third of the tests, I'm not going to use my tiny store of confrontation-energy up on her reading some fantasy tome in my class.

she had the audacity to come up after class and ask me if I could tell her what her grade was. I told her to go to the website where I post their exam grades, etc., and calculate it from there. Maybe that was the wrong thing to do, but frankly, it pushes my buttons when someone very clearly telegraphs "I don't want to be here" like that. (It's not like I give points for attendance...and anyway, if I did, she'd've lost them already). I TRY to make the class interesting. I TRY to have a lot of activities. Sometimes, though, I just have to lecture. That's the way it is.

And you know? it's just plain rude. I had a number of classes I found less than interesting in school. The worst I ever did was draw little clocks down the side of the page, each with hands five minutes later than the last, and cross out each little clock as its time elapsed until the end of the class. I don't THINK the prof could see me doing it (these were typically the "stuff-em-in" lecture sections) and anyway, I was taking notes between times.

(Which leads me to another question: do people not take notes any more? Or is it only in the scientific disciplines that it's necessary to take notes in class? Or was I just hopelessly uptight in my need to take notes? [although I will add that that hopeless uptightness got me a Ph.D., very nearly got me the "outstanding Ph.D. student" award, and got me a job in academia])