Tired and Confused.
What does Grandpa say in that episode of The Simpsons? I'm cold and there are wolves after me? That's how I feel.
I can't do anything lately but work like a freaking mule. I've been seduced by my boss; she has been courting me relentlessly. Seems she has "plans" for me, as I am the only one in the English Dept here with a degree that's actually in Tech Writing. The details of the "plan" are sketchy. Well, I'm sure they're clear in her mind, but they are not to be revealed to me in their entirety yet.
The first development was that I am to be bumped up to teach all 2000-level courses next semester. I am the only adjunct teaching 2000-level courses and only one of two Master's-level dept employees who teach above 1000-level that I am aware of. I've gotten a few dirty looks from some people. I can't blame them; they probably can't understand why they've been here seven years and are still at 1000-level (for real, I am not kidding) and I've been here four weeks and am at 2000-level. The funny thing is that it is NOT a tech writing course, but a speech-writing course.
The latest development is that the Dept Head approached me and propositioned me to overhaul the English Dept website and its subsites. She wants to hire me as a consultant. I said I would examine the site, write a diagnostic report, and give her an estimate.
The site has NO architectural plan that I can discern, other than the fact that it has a home page. This site has almost 500 html pages and almost 1100 files (pics and pdfs) to be managed. Almost 3400 links. I don't know what sort of clams she's prepared to shell out for this, but I bet it's about, mmm, $12,000 less than I plan on quoting her. I mean, damn, if I charged $5 per link and nothing for any other aspect of the pages it would be $17,000. I know that's not how you price a site, but do you see what I mean? Right now the site has NO templates, so are you starting to get the picture? It is basically just a jumble of elements hanging togther by a thread up there on the server right now.
And the English Department is trying to set things up so that they reeeeeealy rely on the site. uuuggh.
I'm not sure what to do. I don't want to work for peanuts, but this is going to be a freaking nightmare. And I don't even know what this "plan" is that I'm supposed to be in line for. If this is critical to impressing the dean with my abilities (and that's the impression I've been given) well, maybe I should take the job. I mean, goodness, it's rare (I think) for someone with only a MA to be so intensely courted by a state school like this one...10,000 students, etc. I don't want to blow it; the sort of chance that they're dangling in front of my nose may not come around again at any other school, ever. Hell, the chance they've already given me, with the 2000-level courses, may not come around at any other school for me, ever.
I am so distressed. On top of that, I have been selected by the Dept. Head to go to some professor I don't know and explain to him that the cover art he has designed for his journal is crap and has to be changed entirely. I have to do it cause I'm the tech writer.
On top of all THAT, I let my students revise their first Comp I paper. Tom assured me that usually only 5 or 6 freshmen from a class will revise. Not my kids. I got almost 60 revisions out of 72 students.
Please, please give me advice, friends! I need help.
Yee-haw. Goodnight.
What does Grandpa say in that episode of The Simpsons? I'm cold and there are wolves after me? That's how I feel.
I can't do anything lately but work like a freaking mule. I've been seduced by my boss; she has been courting me relentlessly. Seems she has "plans" for me, as I am the only one in the English Dept here with a degree that's actually in Tech Writing. The details of the "plan" are sketchy. Well, I'm sure they're clear in her mind, but they are not to be revealed to me in their entirety yet.
The first development was that I am to be bumped up to teach all 2000-level courses next semester. I am the only adjunct teaching 2000-level courses and only one of two Master's-level dept employees who teach above 1000-level that I am aware of. I've gotten a few dirty looks from some people. I can't blame them; they probably can't understand why they've been here seven years and are still at 1000-level (for real, I am not kidding) and I've been here four weeks and am at 2000-level. The funny thing is that it is NOT a tech writing course, but a speech-writing course.
The latest development is that the Dept Head approached me and propositioned me to overhaul the English Dept website and its subsites. She wants to hire me as a consultant. I said I would examine the site, write a diagnostic report, and give her an estimate.
The site has NO architectural plan that I can discern, other than the fact that it has a home page. This site has almost 500 html pages and almost 1100 files (pics and pdfs) to be managed. Almost 3400 links. I don't know what sort of clams she's prepared to shell out for this, but I bet it's about, mmm, $12,000 less than I plan on quoting her. I mean, damn, if I charged $5 per link and nothing for any other aspect of the pages it would be $17,000. I know that's not how you price a site, but do you see what I mean? Right now the site has NO templates, so are you starting to get the picture? It is basically just a jumble of elements hanging togther by a thread up there on the server right now.
And the English Department is trying to set things up so that they reeeeeealy rely on the site. uuuggh.
I'm not sure what to do. I don't want to work for peanuts, but this is going to be a freaking nightmare. And I don't even know what this "plan" is that I'm supposed to be in line for. If this is critical to impressing the dean with my abilities (and that's the impression I've been given) well, maybe I should take the job. I mean, goodness, it's rare (I think) for someone with only a MA to be so intensely courted by a state school like this one...10,000 students, etc. I don't want to blow it; the sort of chance that they're dangling in front of my nose may not come around again at any other school, ever. Hell, the chance they've already given me, with the 2000-level courses, may not come around at any other school for me, ever.
I am so distressed. On top of that, I have been selected by the Dept. Head to go to some professor I don't know and explain to him that the cover art he has designed for his journal is crap and has to be changed entirely. I have to do it cause I'm the tech writer.
On top of all THAT, I let my students revise their first Comp I paper. Tom assured me that usually only 5 or 6 freshmen from a class will revise. Not my kids. I got almost 60 revisions out of 72 students.
Please, please give me advice, friends! I need help.
Yee-haw. Goodnight.
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