18 Jan 07

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More interesting things:

Decided that if I were talking to lifeguards, I would describe my position now as being similar to that of an instructor, and I would say I'm learning to be something like an instructor trainer. One interesting thing about this is the four different words we use for describing the process of learning something - an instructor trainer compares to a teacher educator - and another is that it's pretty crazy for me to think of myself as being at the level of "instructor" when it comes to teachers....

Sat working away at a series of PDFs on the sixth floor when I heard Professor Number Two's voice somewhere behind me. As he walked out past the front desk, he made a dramatically surprised face and asked whether I worked there, too ("too" meaning in addition to the three ladies who were already there or in terms of as well as the other things I do, I'm not sure). Ella answered for me - which was good, because I was laughing, of course - with, "No no no, she works for AL-PHA-AA!" (although of course she used his actual name) and Number Two came back with the comment that "You are everywhere!" Of all people, he might be the most likely to know that it is an industriously cultivated and much-valued ubiquity I'm working on here, and therefore probably was not surprised when I called after him "Don't forget that!"; I wonder, however, if he knows that for me, at least, "industrious" is not the same as "mercenary," and whether he has the same shared understanding of just how much fun it is.

Sidled up to Professor Number Four's door with a genuine question, for once - concerning the class selection issues Professor Alpha is not exactly clearing up for me with a sweep of the hand - and had, amusingly, to repeat it when Number Four got more involved with selecting my "Book of the Day" than with contemplating my dilemmas; after agreeing first that I needed about a hand's-width of texts most times I see him and second that the course I'd originally wanted would in fact work well, I asked him if I could brag for a second and went on to tell him about my lit review. He only sort of looked at me - half an eyeball was still aimed in the direction of his bookshelves - but his response and the ensuing conversation was priceless: "Yeah... and? That's what you were supposed to do. Write things to be published." "Number Two! I never WROTE a literature review before! This is fresh out of the BOX! I didn't know what I was DOING!" "Come on, come on... you've been waiting your whole LIFE to write this review. That's what you CAME here for." "Yes, but...." "Yes but nothing! [Insert narrow but laughing gaze here.] Don't give me this innocent stuff - don't hide in that 'Oh, you've never done it before!'" And of course, all I could think was a) this is hilarious yet largely accurate, b) if someone only heard the last half of the conversation one or both of us would have been in trouble, and c) I don't ever want to have a professor-related conversation in Peculier Pub again. (Okay, that last one is a lie.)