First Day RBoC

• Our campus was without power from Thursday until Saturday evening. I spent 13 hours on Sunday on campus finishing my syllabi, first week assignments, lab schedules and the like. I'm teaching three different preps this term (3 lectures + 3 labs, to be precise). Unfortunately, only one of the lecture/lab preps was complete when the power went off. I'm an up-to-the-deadline person usually, but this was cutting it close, even for me.
  
  
• Remembered one more thing I wanted to hand out after I got home. I used three different operating systems to make and print out this one very short text-only latex file. Why? Due to a complicated distribution of programs, Internet access, printers and portable media devices and drivers among three computers.
  
  
• Went my whole sabbatical and summer, and then started the term without a single syllabus stress dream. In revenge, last night the universe sent me a research talk stress dream. In the dream, I realize I am supposed to give my sabbatical research talk in like, 10 minutes. And I have totally forgotten until now. Nice.
  
  
• Got in 15 minutes before my first class today. In this time, and in a few minutes between my first and second class, I: determined that the former secretary's computer was not "broken" as had been claimed, helped an adjunct faculty member transfer, print and copy his syllabus, located a needed course document on the former secretary's computer "no one could find", and fixed a copy machine that was "dead" and needed "service". Solutions are as follows: username = lastnamefirstinitial, jump drive, search for documents with course number in title, remove jammed paper.
  
  
• Realized my senior level semi-elective course has 1 woman and 8 men in it. Our campus, and as a result our major, typically runs around 60% female.
  
  
• Ran an orientation session for an on-line course that is not mine (for uncomplicated reasons that are perfectly acceptable). I used my MacBook Photobooth application to take pictures of the students for my colleague. The students caught on pretty quick after a few "Where do I press?" and "How do I do this?" questions. Nonetheless, I was a little surprised by the questions. I showed my three-year-olds how to use it Saturday and they took 234 pictures in the space of about 10 minutes - without asking a single question.