* Late getting home because I finished the last bit of what I guess you could call tech-editing that I was hired to do. Feels good to have this done; I had the time-points marked on my calendar and I really wanted to make every deadline even though I *suspect* if something had happened the publisher would have said, "Okay, take another week." But because of how I was raised, I never expect to be cut slack, I expect this to be the result if I ask for an extension on paid work:
Yeah. Part of the reason I am so uptight about things is that I NEVER expect to be cut slack, so I'd rather not risk having to ask.
* Mixed good and bad: the good, had a student acknowledge that he needed tutoring help. The bad: student is an athlete and his schedule is very tight. NONE of my office hours work for this student (I hold 10 hours a week). I also suggested roughly 10 other hours scattered during the week (mostly afternoons) when I could make appointments. None of those seemed to work. Student asked me: "What about Sunday afternoons?"
I immediately responded "I don't come up here on Sundays" (And yeah, the way I worded that, student has no way of knowing if "come up here" means driving the mile I actually do, or coming up from 40 miles away) and I confess immediately after saying that I began to doubt myself, and to say: wait, are you maybe not doing enough for "retention" of students. Maybe you need to give up a few Sunday afternoons.
(No, I didn't relent. Because I did suggest another on-campus option where student can get tutoring where the tutor will actually be paid for his or her time. I'm salaried so working on weekends means I'm giving free work away)
Also, said student is an athlete and there tend to be a few more supports in place for athletes; maybe his coach knows something.
But, wow....I would never have asked for such a thing as a student. (As a TA, I did - rarely - do Saturday review sessions before a big exam, but that wasn't one-on-one intensive tutoring, it was more "show up and I'll answer questions" and usually I was on campus on Saturdays anyway).
Sunday is, some weeks, my only day of rest, so I don't think it's *unreasonable* of me to refuse to work on it.
* I think I need to figure out what I'm not taking care of that needs it - I had a dream last night about the old cat my family had when I was growing up. There was something possibly wrong with him and I had to take him to the "animal wing" of the local big hospital/health institute and get him scanned. So I had this cat, protesting loudly as only Siamese cats can, wrapped in a towel and I was carrying him - no collar, no carrier, nothing, and if he got out of my arms he'd take off running and be gone, and here I am wandering all around this crazy hospital building with really *awful* signage (can't find anything) and somehow I wind up in area where the elevators are broken so I have to take the stairs and I wound up in the "human" wing and realized "There are sick people here I can't take a cat in here...." and then I woke up.
Usually when I have the "trying to take care of cats and failing" dreams it means there's something in my life not getting attended to and it's worrying me. It's probably ordering the supplies from my grant money....I got the paperwork yesterday showing everyone had signed off okaying acceptance of the grant so that probably means my purchase orders are ready. I was going to do that yesterday but I got involved with the chapter and when I looked up it was nearly 5 pm and was too late to do it.
* I really want to go antiquing some time but I have no time right now. (Tomorrow is going to be "big" grocery shopping but that is about all I will have time to do). It's woeful that the road construction almost doubles the time it takes me to get to Sherman and back.
I've also given up on getting the $20 back that I was overcharged at JoAnn's. I don't really have time to go tomorrow and anyway they don't seem to have anyone in authority in on Saturdays. So, like I said.....maybe I don't shop there any more because I'm ticked off at how poor the satisfaction I received was. (I wish we had a Michael's. They don't sell fabric, but they have nearly all the other craft supplies I like and their craft yarn selection is the best of the bigbox craft stores I've been in).
I also bought a dress from eShakti, based on the recommendations of people on ITFF....but it was a VERY fitted dress and also maybe they worked off a different type of sloper than what I'm used to, but even though I used my proper measurements, I couldn't quite zip it up over the bustline....so I had to send it back. I mailed it a week ago and apparently it still hasn't arrived/been processed there (an e-mail to the company got a "we'll let you know" reply). DANGIT. I don't want to wind up being out the $45 or whatever it was I paid for the dress and I SUPPOSE I could contest the charge with my credit card, but....
I decided to take it as a store credit which seemed easier and also right now they have a grey knit dress (I am going to get a knit dress this time, as knits are more forgiving than poplin) that (a) I like and (b) could be the basis of a Calming Manatee costume for Halloween....so I hope my return wasn't lost in transit but I fear it was.
* Maybe the theme of this post is that I need to learn to assert myself more. I don't know. I'm so firmly in "Guess Culture," where I don't want to put anyone out by asking for something unreasonable that it makes me sometimes think requests that objectively ARE unreasonable are things I should acquiesce to because the person wouldn't be asking otherwise....and I don't ask for stuff even when I kind of need it (like extensions on things) because I tend to expect the answer is "no".....and I probably don't make enough time for myself these days. And I hate being "pushy," which is what I suspect getting that darn $20 back from JoAnn's would take, and I'm not sure if the $20 is worth the emotional toll it will take on me...
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