Bleah

Today was not one of my finer days. It really can be described as a series of small "bleahs" that, combined, form one big bleah of a day. I got roped into doing something I really don't want to do (nor have time to do)---and I was blindsided with it, so I didn't even have the chance to say "no". Ugh. Then there was an entire afternoon of meetings---which, granted, were productive, but not my choice for how to spend a lovely summer afternoon. As a result of said meetings, I worked late at school AND had to work tonight at home, which I really try not to do, ever, in the summer since I do way too much of it during the year. To top it all off, I had a long phone conversation with my parents, which was mostly fine, except (a) my mom was super-chatty and I really just called to check in, and (b) my dad started getting on my case about the "when are you going to have kids" question (which he has NEVER done before, so it kind of caught me off guard), and wouldn't take the hint when I tried to change the subject/not give a direct answer. (When my mom brings this up, I just say "tenure" and she drops it. Dad, it seems, is not as savvy in these things.) Ugh, ugh, UGH was I not in the mood for that this evening. So now it's late and I'm in a bad mood....but at least the work for the evening is done (and it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be).

(There should be a special place in hell for people that ask "So when are you going to have kids?" Just a thought.)

In other news, I found it funny that a day after my fashion panic post, there is an article in the Chronicle of Higher Education about the differences between acceptable dress for female and male professors. I'm too tired to comment at length on this, but in a nutshell, she points out that there is no "neutral" dress for women, that everything we choose to wear is nuanced, and that none of it really conveys instant authority. Speaking as someone who has had students comment negatively on my style of dress on my teaching evaluations, I can only say "amen, sister". That, and I guess I won't be wearing my sparkly flip-flops to teach (hmmm, wonder what sort of message that would send to my students? well, I'm not about to find out!).