katakat.com bytes from a participant observer

Just kidding, no vacation. This summer has flown by like every other working day; I just look out the window to enjoy some sun and blue sky. Since it hasn't rained much this year, there's been no shortage of nice weather. At least I'm not missing much. I've had a lot of fires to put out at work lately. Being a newly-minted Department Chair trying to reconcile glacial tradition and steamrolling change has made it a tough road. My institution has had a lot of turnover in administrators lately, and my department has not had a dean for several months. Classes begin on August 27th; I have a week to prepare for the impending onslaught.