rolanni | The Wonders of the Day-Job

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day-job

The Wonders of the Day-Job

A while back, the college announced that it would be supplying of the academic departments with Krueger Pod Machines. As you might imagine, I was Pretty Excited to hear that we were going to be getting a Pod Machine, but it turns out -- no, not that kind of pod.

I didn't lose all of my enthusiasm for this project, though, because the Pod Machine was represented as being a single-shot, no muss, no fuss, no-gross-(grossGROSS)-coffeepot-to-try-to-wash-out-in-the-woefully-inadequate-sink-in-the-ladies-restroom. Wow, I thought, I can drink coffee at work again without threatening my immune system or having to put on boots, snow hat and parka and walk over to the campus deli for a $4 cup o'joe.

Now, I'm looking at this thing, and at the Pods, and -- it seems to me that the machine operates by superheating the water in the reservoir, then blasting it through the plastic pod that holds the coffee, and into my cup -- do I have this right? Meaning that melted plastic gets into my coffee?

I'm not seeing this as a Better Alternative to the pot with the green hair growing in the bottom.

In other news, the Immediate Bosses think it would be very good if I did not mention to The Distant Boss over in Admin that I write and publish books. They think he'd do Something Rash, and asked me, specifically, to excise something bearing on my writing from my self-evaluation for last year. I didn't do that, because TDB hadn't asked me for my self-eval and the new rules seemed to indicate that the only folks who cared about such things were the Immediate Bosses. Today, however, the penny dropped, TDB asked for a copy of my self-evaluation.

Now, I usually allow myself to be guided by the Immediate Bosses on matters of college politics, on account of they've survived here a whole lot longer than I hope to have to. But! This piece of advice felt...wrong. I thought about it for a Really Long Time, and finally did do as they had suggested. I still feel bad about it, which probably means it was the wrong thing to do, but there you are.

In other news, the package UPS swears was delivered here at the end of June remains undiscovered, and the vendor, not completely unreasonably, wants their money.

Lunchtime's over. How's by y'all?

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Not sure of that particular version, but all the various pod machines I've seen punch a hole through the pod, then run hot water through it (no melting plastic). You should have a small hole punched top and bottom if that's what it's doing.

Or in some versions a hole punched in the top and the bottom of the pod blown out (there is a deliberately weak seal at the bottom; some kinds allow that to be re-sealed after putting your own coffee[1] in it).

Either way it shouldn't melt the plastic or even get it hot enough in the time (fractional seconds) to taint the drink.

[1] Or in my case cocoa/chocolate.

I think the plastic is probably temperature-rated, and the water doesn't quite get to boiling. http://www.coffeedetective.com/can-i-recycle-my-keurig-kcups.html has some discussion of the issue.

Just out of curiosity, what is it that the Immediate Bosses fear that the Distant Boss is going to do if he finds out that you're an actively published writer? Try to get rid of you for having ideas above your station?

Only thing I can think of is that Distant Boss might be the sort who would freak at the possibility that the published (gasp!) books might have Sex! and Violence! in them which would Corrupt Impressionable Young Minds.

...books might have Sex! and Violence! in them...

And in the case of Duainfey, at least, he would be correct in his supposition.

which would Corrupt Impressionable Young Minds.

If he thinks this, however, he hasn't been over to the college bookstore.

Or ever known a college student. "My book can't corrupt them; if they can understand it, they can't be corrupted any further."

My question exactly.

Our program's computer tech is also a published writer and award winning screen writer. She is intelligent, has an ability to communicate well and beats the socks off the rest of the school's tech folks. Knowing school bureaucrats well, I still cannot understand why your Immediate Bosses don't want anyone to know you write. Because they can't?

The Immediate Bosses have been pretty wonderful, actually. It seems to be a legitimate concern about TDB, who they know and I don't. So, personal history and knowledge is in play, which is why I finally did excise that paragraph.

...and still feel lousy about it.

oh! It just seems so odd in an academic environment that someone would be so insecure (?? or whatever) that you being a writer would be a cause for concern. TDB seems as wacko as my "beloved" Dean.

Have you worked in an academic environment??

For 30 years now, I'm actually a Professor of Computer Animation.

OK. No insecure academics in that area? Possibly I have not comprehended well.

We are artists and academics, so, do you want the Venn diagram of interconnected insecurities and neurosis? For the most part until you get to a certain level of administration there is an understanding and appreciation of creative endeavor. I was unclear about the level of TDB. Still insecurities but not to the point where someone must hide what they are doing.

One gathers that they fear evidence of A Second Career (ahem) would lead the Distant Boss to believe that the college is not, as it of course ought to be, first in my affections, and therefore be Moved to Scrutinize my work in order to prove a lack of 150% effort.

Ghod knows, that's the sort of grief I really don't need, so I appreciate the concern of the Immediate Bosses.

Also, I gather that I'm something of an embarrassment to the department. One of my faculty members related a story of being waylaid (waylain?) by a colleague in another department who wanted to talk to him about the fact that a secretary had more published books than most of the faculty members.

...which I would submit isn't exactly the secretary's fault, but it's that sort of attitude that has consistently gotten me in trouble throughout my working life...

This last bit was my first thought -- ACK! Competitor!

wanted to talk to him about the fact that a secretary had more published books than most of the faculty members.

I thought the standard response to that was "Well, they're only science fiction, after all." Or shouldn't I be so cynical?

Science Fiction is now Cool in academia.

...be afraid...

Ah. I got my English degree when SF and comic books were in the same category of pop culture, with approximately the same degree of (dis)respect.

Be afraid when the college starts teaching a class based on themes found in your books.

... and still doesn't know that you work there.

Doc

The fun part starts when a student quotes her, and the teacher marks it wrong.

Having had one of my books taught in a college-level SF/F course, my first advice: "Run away!"

Or...

1) attempt to dragoon her into free lunchtime lectures and whatnot?

2) show her his ... well, how can I say this? The little book he's been working on forever, and just maybe she could take a look and make some suggestions? Just this once, you know, as a favor?

3) purchase a complete set of the works and read them to see if they reflect well on the image of the university

I'm sure I can come up with more possibilities, if you like.

Did UPS get a signature or anything? (Forged by the driver?)

They're pretty bad here, too. I ordered something a couple of weeks ago; it arrived in Mpls last Wednesday (per their site), and was supposed to be delivered Thursday. It wasn't. Friday it didn't even have an estimated delivery date. I called and insisted they trace it (normally they do that only for the shipper, but B&H closes early Friday).

Monday it was in Tempe AZ, scheduled to arrive Friday. Yesterday it was still in Tempe, now estimated for next Monday. This was absolutely not acceptable to me, but UPS refused to do anything. (First they claimed they couldn't because it was on a truck that wasn't stopping before it got here, then they admitted they wouldn't deliver it Saturday because they weren't paid extra.)

B&H made themselves a customer for life (and one who tells all his friends) by shipping another one yesterday, 2nd day Air.

Did UPS get a signature or anything?

UPS finally did fork over with a scan of a signature. However, at first, they only provided a (not very good) guess, and elucidated that the package had been left at "reception." Since we have no "reception" (we have "mail room") and no one by Guess Name on staff, it caused no small amount of confusion and dismay. I called the local hospital (where someone by the Guess Name works, but not, as it happens, in "reception") and the local community college, and -- just to be complete -- the local high school. With the amount of luck you might expect.

My feeling at this point is that the driver kicked the box off the truck on Water Street. The mail room supervisor, whose name was on the "Oh, wait! We have a scan of that signature after all!" is purusing the matter.

why is it important to mention in your eval that you are a writer? How does that pertain to your day job duties? An eval should be all about the job, not what you do in the time off from said job. Anything else would fall under invasion of privacy in my book.

It actually had relevance, in my opinion. I will cop to having an ... idiosyncratic approach to self-evaluations.

a - you should be TEACHING writing at the stupid college, not cleaning coffee pots! that was what i thought when you first started talking about the "day job".

b - i used to work at the state university as a staff member (cross-cultural director, i.e. travel study) and i would take off the occasional four day weekend to attend SF or Mystery conventions. my boss never counted it against leave, as a literary convention was clearly an academic activity. but he OH so carefully never asked me what pen name i used for my "genre" fiction as he was just SURE i would be mortally embarrassed to admit to such a thing.

you should be TEACHING writing at the stupid college, not cleaning coffee pots!

Good ghod, no! Then I'd have to read student papers and grade tests, and when would I have time to write?

As someone who only has time to do art in the summer when I am not teaching --I agree with you. Teaching writing would definitely not allow you enough time to write and I WANT you to write (so I can read it).

>>- you should be TEACHING writing at the stupid college, not cleaning coffee pots!<<

What she said.

What you said ...

Brom

I have not heard of Krueger. If it's a Keurig, you can find lots of lovely types of coffees (and dark chocolate cocoa, and teas), or you can get a reusable pod and use your own coffee.
That's why we picked it for my mother - it's the only 'pod' coffee mfg that lets you use your own coffee. Then I brought one to work, and enough people liked it that we bought a heavy duty one for the office.
Fresh! hot coffee on demand, and no arguing about dark vs flavored.

also, if you 'offer' to do the ordering of pods, most companies give you free sample boxes (5-8 pods) for every x number of boxes you order. so you can order everyone else's boxes and cover your coffee costs.

My take would have been to tell what I do. Hey, there are lots of day jobs if they don't like it.

My employer demands to know if you work elsewhere, *and has the capacity to know if you lie*, so I reported proofreading. They always say yes to outside work, so it's just easiest to tell it straight.

The supply of Day Jobs With Medical Benefits may be thinner in central Maine than where you live.

If you meant Keurig, then it is a k-cup not a pod. It will get you a coffee fix and it is better than a vending machine. But it is not as good as real coffee. And the k-cups are not cheap either. I only mention the part about k-cups because if you look for pods you might not buy the right thing.
Keurig is very easy to use, produces the same exact size cup every time (I had a pod that varied about 4 ounces.) It does occasionally seem to get off (I think it is when someone interrupts the cycle) – just turn it off for a few minutes.
No plastic taste to the coffee.
I buy my k-cups at:
http://www.coffeecow.com/PublicPages/ProductListing.aspx?SubCategoryID=4

I like:
GMCR K-Cup Sumatran Reserve
Tully's K-Cups Kona
GMCR K-Cup Kenyan AA Extra Bold
GMCR K-CUP Nantucket
Not sure what kind you like, but if you like a stronger blend – you might try one of those.

I am a bit of an idiot, so keep that in mind when reading my response.
Your writing has nothing to do with your current job.
You are not trying to increase your worth to the dept/school.
Your immediate boss asked you not too.
Drop it.

I am a bit of an idiot, so keep that in mind when reading my response.

And I'm not a Corporate Bean. Mindset is, if not everything, then A Lot.

Your writing has nothing to do with your current job.

Actually, it does. Not my fiction writing, necessarily, but the fact that I can parse a sentence certainly has something to do with my current job.

You are not trying to increase your worth to the dept/school

Er, yeah, I am. Raises are nice, no? My raise depends on my performance review. I think this may be standard.

Your immediate boss asked you not too.

My immediate boss is not me; I've been a freelance writer and Captain of My Own Ship for far too long to accept that just because someone stands above me in the pecking order, their Understanding and Insight is automatically superior to my own.

Drop it.

Also? Not a dog.

I think you made the right choice. Immediate bosses' (how DO you punctuate that plural possessive? Is that right?) concern about excessive scrutiny if it's revealed to TDB that you don't belong heart & soul to the Day Job seems a reasonable fear for some bosses, a type not limited to academe. But I can see why you would feel lousy about it ... it must smack of denying a part of yourself at the behest of narrow minds. Prudent, but still disheartening. Sympathy, and know that those of us who read here know how to value both you and TDB as we ought.

I hear you - it's triply hard to hide your capabilities under a bushel when they are appreciated by so many...even the Immediate Bosses of which you speak.

This seems to be one of those cases when politics do not equal rational thought, and to be rational and true is counter to survival. Come to think of it, this may be a case where honesty and truth are not necessarily the same thing. Your characters would say, 'Necessity exists' even though it's awfully squicky.

Hang in there
Lauretta@ConstellationBooks

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

The Wonders of the Day-Job

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self-eval

The Joys of Academic Politics