I am slowly closing the first year at Marist.
Working double duty almost day and night 7 days/week.
I effectively work 12-18 hours per day. And am at school many days 10 -12 hours.
I am waiting summer break!
I feel very very tired.
The Director of Graduate Programs part of my job, was more than I expected.
I am the sole academic advisor for 162 students, making study plans, planning each semester course schedule, finding instructors to teach, handling files for new applicants and interview them for admission (Fall 2011 adding more 37 of them), and all other program related matter (include weekly meetings).
Even if in the Fall I built up a database, in this Spring I still found mistakes in student registrations, files, and I still struggle with students who effectively don't follow any study plan (because that is how they did it in the past). I constantly try to revise the database when there is always some student who registers for a class just because it fits better in the night when s/he likes it better to come to school; instead of the one in the study plan. Of course they don't let me know, I have to find out when I match reports and my database. Or the student does not register at all and does not bother to tell me either.... Lots of administrative busy time; and many things that could be very well avoided if students would be more responsible (in the end are grad students not freshman). But might be I expect too much.
Just as my students, in the courses I teach, told me that I have high expectations from them :-)
Plus that I am full-time tenure track faculty who needs to do research, publish or perish, teach, and do service. That's why most of the time my bed time is always after midnight closer to 1 or 2 or 3am.
A lot on a single plate.
Where are you RPI?
Greener grass always from a distance.....
I miss my friends from RPI, my good friends from SIUE and most of all my house with doggy door and fenced yard in Edwardsville (Taylor seconds me on the later).
:-)