Just when you think it can't get any more strange...

I am regretting my last blog post. I am regretting it BIG TIME because I tempted the Fates with the line "....is that all you've got? Bring it on!"

Because they've brought it on, big time. Since we've moved in we have dealt with:

• all three of our elevators being down, at completely unscheduled intervals and sometimes with people inside! It's from overheating hydrolic oil in elevator 2, or something about magnetic tape, or maybe we haven't fed the little hampsters that spin the wheel or perhaps Tom Cruise is filming "Mission Impossible 5: Badger Protocol"
• campus legend "Tunnel Bob" has been sighted multiple times skulking around the building, pressing his face into windows and scaring the bejeezus out of staff - seriously, when the director of technology services comes running up to my office on the second floor at 6:30 pm to report that Tunnel Bob has just pressed his face against his window I am thinking "what the hell? I really need a taser" but externally I say "thanks for letting me know...let's contact campus police"
• the running argument with custodial over who is responsible for providing toilet paper was finally resolved (thank you VC Bazzell for recognizing the absurd nature of the debate) so after week three of being in the building we are fully stocked. I am no longer humiliated by asking "can you spare a square?"
• furniture is still being delivered and will be coming in over the next 2 months - so for instance private offices only have one guest chair because the fabric was backordered. The second guest chair will arrive in about 4 weeks - please go light on entertaining in your office.
• the custom furniture for the Dean's private office and reception is back ordered and expected some time in July. In the mean time we are telling the Dean candidates the private office "is the minimalist look... trust me, it's all the rage in Europe"
• the licensor is inspecting the preschool this morning at 9:00 am, keep your fingers crossed for a positive report. Jill Riley, director of the Preschool and the whole entire staff have blown me away - they closed at 5:00 pm last Friday, moved over the week-end and in 3 days unpacked and set up the entire preschool.
• the card access system is burping about every other day which means on one day my card would work, and the next day I am frosted out of spaces. Soooooo not helpful and sooooo out of our control.
• 80% of the sod that was installed on the project was rejected and had to be ripped up. This week new sod put down and it looked really funny to see the front lawn get rolled up and put onto skids. Of course I knew what was happening but it sure caused a few raised eyebrows among our staff - I couldn't resist a few lines " budget cuts are a bitch" or "we decided to just pave the front lawn to save on maintenance" and "WHAT? Pulling out our sod??? Are you serious? OMG I can't believe this is happening - Robin's gonna kill me"

But every day we just keep laughing. Some days it is more of a maniacal laugh, other days it's just this side of hysteria, but mostly ya just gotta laugh.

Two by Two

Right now I am sitting in my office at home trying to come up with a catchy line about the move back home. Truth be told I am drawing a blank. "Two by two" is all I've got because the title "I'm freaking exhausted" just wouldn't read quite so well.

Dress forms from Design Studies move home

On Monday May 21 we began the move back to 1300 Linden Drive and by Friday May 25 the first phase was complete. All the months of planning, meeting, writing and hand-wringing paid off with a smooth and swift move of occupants and functions from Sterling Hall, Tokay Boulevard, Middleton Building, Mechanical Engineering, Henry Mall and the MSC building into Nancy Nicholas Hall. I am sure I've said this before - the landing at Normandy wasn't this well planned!

The faculty and staff have been in the building nine working days and it's been pretty darned great to have everyone under the same roof. I'm not blowing any smoke, I firmly believe the School is at its best when everyone is together, bumps and all.

And we need to be linking arms because on top of the move we have been hosting candidate visits for the Dean's position. Part of me wants to curl up in the corner of my office and quietly weep (because if I made noise they would find me) and part of me says "Really, is that all you've got? You think you can break us? Bring it on!"

We finished moving from six locations on the Friday before the Memorial Day week-end but the team of Miranda Hofmann (Operations and Facilities Manager), John Hilgers (Director of Technology Services), Andy Wagner (Assitant Director of Technology Services), Julie Anderson, our student workers and Assistant Dean Bruce Hellmich made the impossible happen. At 8:00 am Tuesday morning - with only part of our furniture delivered, untested technology and unpredictable elevator service - we welcomed our first candidate. The hallways had been largely cleared of packing debris, furniture was borrowed from other spaces to fill Plenary Hall, catering arranged, restrooms stocked, card access programmed and technology for the presentations cobbled together from other locations. Two down, one more to go.

Because if you're not living on the edge you are taking up too much room.

This is Human Ecology.