Spring Break for Grownups

Today was the official first day of spring break for Mr. A and myself. And it has been a much needed break.

For most, when they think of spring break, they think of beaches and sun and sand and overly intoxicated young people wearing little to no clothing.

And while that would have been fun a couple of years ago, Mr. A and I are far too mature for any of those shenanigans.

…

Really…we’re just too broke to go anywhere. We would totally be on a beach drinking right now if we could. And we would be laughing at all the obnoxious undergrads and taking bets on who lost their swimsuit first.

Also? I leave for my first conference in Orlando next week, which means I have a MILLION things to get done before leaving. Like writing two papers. And finalizing my thesis proposal. And reading two novels. And packing. And grading (because I am oh so behind on grading).

Spring break on a beach is definitely a thing of the past.

However, Mr. A and I were determined to make the most of it.

We spent Saturday and Sunday inSTL and enjoyed time with family. We did a little shopping. I FINALLY found a black blazer after looking everywhere. Ann Taylor LOFT was having a big sale and found some super cute tops, in a size smaller than I thought I would need, which is always great.

But the best part of break so far has been today.

When we woke up, it was cloudy and gloomy and looked like it was going to rain all day, but, much to our surprise, it turned in to an absolutely gorgeous day. It was windy, but around 77 degrees today, which is ridiculous for early March, but  definitely enjoyed. (This summer is going to be miserable…)

I worked out and discovered that some of the treadmills at the gym have tvs built in and you can watch any of the cable channels at your own station. So much  better than having to watch ESPN or CNN in the cardio room.

We then ran some errands. Discovered that my drapes project was going to be far too expensive since we have two massive windows in our bedroom and trying to buy enough fabric when we have no clue what the windows might be like once we move isn’t feasible. I was sad, but means more money for something else.

Because I couldn’t stand wasting such a gorgeous day, we went to the brand new frozen yogurt place in town and enjoyed some delicious treats in the sun. To top it all off, we are going to grill out tonight for dinner and probably go on a walk. (Can it be summer yet? But stay in the 70s-80s range? Please??)

So while our break won’t be filled with drunken debauchery and stories we only know about because our friends remind us what happened the night before, we’re enjoying our adult spring break. We get to spend time together, and while I have some serious work to get done, it can happen in sweat pants on my couch which catching up on episodes of tv shows.

I’ll let the youngsters enjoy their beaches. I have cheaper drinks and and less of a hangover. I think I win.

Strik Update

I wanted to give you all a quick update on what’s going on.

The TA uni@n, along with 2 others set tentative agreements at 4 am this morning. Which means the union that represents me, would not be on strik.

However, the tenure f@culty uni@n did not settle. These people are fighting for tenure, and while I don’t always agree with tenure, in this position, I do.

Our faculty are irreplaceable and THEY are what makes or breaks a university.

So this afternoon, a few of my friends and I stood on the picket lines, alongside our professors and showed our support and let them know that most of the people in the university are behind them.

I’m not completely out of the woods since the agreement is tentative, but hopefully it all gets resolved soon.

The Business of Blue and Gold

Want to know how to know when you’re a grown up?

Your alma mater starts asking for donations.

In short—HELL NO!

A little background for you lovely folks so I don’t look completely heartless.

I went to MSU (yeah, try and figure out which one of the 5 million of those I went to. My step sister and I both went to schools with those initials and that’s just two states.) It was in small town that I will call Kville. I’ve talked about how small this town is in all sorts of posts. I mean, my brother went to undergrad in a small town than mine, but much small and I may have suffocated.

But, my parents and I visited the school during my junior year because I was the student who was WAY ahead of the game and took my ACT SUPER early. (I needed a life. I know this now.)

And we fell in love. The campus was gorgeous and these southern people with their cute southern, but not deep south, accents were so nice and welcoming. I mean, they said ya’ll. How could I say no?

Also, I wanted to go to school to be a teacher. Two of my aunts went to the school for the same thing and they (supposedly) have a pretty good education program. (If you want to do elementary. Go secondary and you’re on your own.)

It was a 3 hour drive from home, so definitely far enough away that mom and dad couldn’t just pop in, but close enough that I could still go home without the need of a plane ticket.

I was so excited, that when I got the ACT scores I was happy with in the June before senior year, I applied online that night. I was accepted in August. BEFORE senior year even started.

And did I mention that I didn’t even LOOK at another school? No? Well, I didn’t. Might be one of the biggest mistakes of my life. (Except, had I chosen a different school, I wouldn’t have met my husband, so I guess it has it’s upside.)

So, I moved my happy ass down there. I cried in the stairwell after my parents left because I didn’t want anyone to see me, and then I was ready to go.

Well, college had it’s ups and downs. A devil of a roommate, first and only one night stand, fraternity parties, meeting some amazing people, skipping more classes than I should have, first hangover. All those things.

Now, my school doesn’t want me to donate money for all those experiences that pretty much only happen when you’re in college and don’t know any better. They want money for their excellent programs and accredited degrees.

Well MSU, you can suck it.

Since I wanted to teach high school English, I was basically an English major with an education major. And because I wasn’t a true education major in their minds, the education department treated me and the 6 other girls who were in the same program as me like shit. And while we took as many English classes as true English majors (minus poetic analysis, but really, who needs that? ), we still needed the education department because we had a test called the PRAXIS to take in order to get licensed and we had practicums and student teaching placements and all of that stuff to deal with. The English department couldn’t help.

Even better, the two departments openly hated each other. And put us in the middle. Oh, you need early British Lit in order to graduate but it’s at the same time as your Secondary Curriculum class? Tough shit because we’re not talking to the people across the street.

The above actually happened to another girl and me and it was an all out battle for them to work something out so we didn’t have to delay graduation a semester for ONE class. Also, I can be a huge bee-yotch when you are blatantly wrong and I am right and you will not keep me another semester. I learned some things from my dad.

Also, I wanted to go out of state to teach. Mind you, a state 40 minutes away. I wasn’t trying to go to Alaska. And the woman in the office, who I was referred to by a peer of hers since “she should be able to help you with that since it’s part of her job”, told me she didn’t know, she couldn’t help me and I should ask someone else. GAH! This is your job lady. Do it or retire. Those are your options.

I could seriously go on for DAYS about all the crap that happened. Like, saying I couldn’t get into a class because I wasn’t “officially” in the education program, even though my paperwork was in and they could have looked up my status, even though the bulletin of classes lists NO requirements for the class AND my advisor approved it. But they let another girl take it who was in my exact position.

Can you say cluster efff????

They didn’t even go to online scheduling until THIS year. So to schedule for classes, your classification (fresh, soph, etc) and alphabet day, you woke up at 5AM to CALL a computer-operated system to sign up for your classes. You could be on the phone for 2 hours waiting to get through only to find out your class ended up full while you were waiting so then you would have to go to hell on earth, the administrative building, and fill out 97 million forms just to say “let me into my classes!!!!”

I am also currently writing a letter to the dean of the department, provost, and president of the university about their lack of planning and acknowledging the crap-tastic economy and the fact that they are blatantly lying to the students about job prospects. (I had a professor tell me that if a teacher couldn’t find a job, it was because they must have messed up, failed a bunch of classes, or had no business being a teacher. Mention of budget cuts and no funding was never mentioned. Could have contributed to my funk over not getting a teaching job.) I will share this letter once it’s revised and being sent off.

My husband also had problems with his program. The school as a whole is terrible with administrative tasks and is so behind and unorganized that I can’t believe they are still functioning. They also spend money on completely ridiculous things. Thousands of dollars for a basketball promo to be played before ball games for a team who has NEVER made it into the Sweet 16???

Needless to say, we have no intention of giving them any money.

For those of you who went to bigger schools or schools with huge sports programs that you support or amazing academics, I understand donating. But I adamantly refuse to give money to a school who has yet to figure out that they work for the STUDENTS who go there and  pay tuition and that our football team, who in the past 6 years has won a TOTAL of 9 games, doesn’t deserve millions in funding. Sorry.

Do you donate? Will you? Why or why not? Or am I just heartless?