of dissatisfaction and acronyms

We are all still awaiting the appearance of our FCP (Final Change Proposal) for the new SEP (Single Enabling Program). In the meantime CaC (Campus Coordinators) continue to interview prospective students for next year even though in reality the CaCs may not be the Access Coordinators (ACs) in the brave new world of the SEP. Some of them may be Discipline Coordinators (DCs), Course Coordinators (CoCs) or even a Head of Programs (HoP) or Head of Services (HoS). So while we wait for the Vice Chancellor (VC) and the Deputy Vice Chancellor (Industry and Vocational Education and Training) (DVC Industry and VET) to make the final approvals on the FCP we trundle through each day, growing increasingly impatient with the shifting deadlines. Yesterday was the first day where I really wanted to walk out the door at work and never come back. That's why I'm up and getting ready to go there today...I guess. Things are looking up though. On Thursday I will begin my annual Christmas Countdown in song on the Spiralling Shape. Hurrah!

dull powerpoint

I look forward to the Saturday that I don't spend it mainly inside sitting at my computer. Of course, this is made more pleasant now that I am using my shiny new Macbook with it's soft glowing keyboard and clear as crystal screen. Still, I would rather not be trying to whack together a presentation on Angry Boys at the last minute. It's an expectation of a my research allocation that I do a uni lunchtime seminar at least once a year. I blithely signed up for November 22 many months ago, thinking that by this time I would be free to spend all my working hours on writing and research with few other commitments over Term 3. HAHA on me. My kingdom for the crystal ball that would have foretold the endless upheaval and daily tasks associated with our area's restructure and change proposal. As a result, I am cobbling together something about mockumentaries, Chris Lilley and S.Mouse! with an accompanying dull powerpoint and hoping for the best on Tuesday lunchtime.

music, fruit and veges

My working life is an endless whirl of meetings at the moment. Meetings in person. Meetings on the phone. Skype and videoconferencing meetings. Why so many meetings? We are coming to the tail end of a VERY long restructure process that has been going on for years. At least, I hope we are getting to the tail end. Because, seriously, I cannot take much more. Merging three programs into one is a complicated business, and while my work is only a part of the entire restructure it is truly enough to keep me busy until Christmas at the least. What is keeping me sane? Well, as usual my beautiful piano students keep me entertained. This afternoon saw an impromptu version of The Tickle Song....a composition by the father of one my students. It has words and music (none of which I can remember now) but they are very entertaining. I also spent a wonderful hour talking Debussy's La Soiree Dans Grenade with my advanced student. We chatted about Debussy, motifs, musical picture painting, sounds, texture, character. It was an absolute treat. She also bought me half a kilo of cherry tomatoes and a hand of bananas. So you know, music accompanied by fruit and vege. What's not to like about that? In other less fantastic news I think my hot water system is on the way out. Cool showers are not my favourite thing...even in a Queensland summer. And it also seems like someone may have declared a plague of ants upon my house. They're springing up everywhere....even in my bedroom! I swear this is nothing attractive to ants in there!! What is going on? Still on the upside, when I bought my coffee on the way to work today I got a free one for some reason. So you know...swings and roundabouts.

I looked at the sea

Well my friends that was a very nice Sunday indeed. Here's what happened. I had a little sleep in. I got up and ate my breakfast at a leisurely pace and enjoyed my green vanilla tea. I did my meditation. I did some exercise on the Wii. I ignored the fact that the Wii was berating me for being a lazy pants for the last "40 days". I folded and put all my washing away. I cleaned up my home email inbox and made some proper folders to file important emails into. I tweeted intermittently. I did some preliminary notes and planning on my Angry Boys paper about S.Mouse. I cleaned out my car. I remembered to put the bin out. I had an egg sandwich for lunch. I watched My Year Without Sex and thought about life and death and other things. I backed up my Kindle on my two external hard drives. I transferred some pdf docs to my Kindle. I lay on the lounge to start reading the pdf docs and promptly fell asleep. I woke up at 4.30 to a phone call from my mother inviting me to fish and chips at the beach. I went, I ate fish and chips and looked at the sea. Now I am home.