Why I will not blog about work (mostly)

Basically, I like my job and want to keep it.

Some people see the sort of administrative detail work that I spend the majority of my time doing as soul-sucking boredom. I have those days occasionally. Generally, though, I really like spending time in the belly of the academic beast. I enjoy my insider's seat on various committees and actually enjoy sifting through minutiae in order to make things happen, like getting people paid on time.

Because I have access to a large amount of confidential information, which certain people might be unduly interested in, I will not blog much about work. I value my job and their trust too much to let my blog get ahead of my common sense.

This will not spare my readers from the occasional customer-service-type anecdote which I will pass on without names attached, in an effort to protect the moronic.

A recent example: The same student, a senior, called my office three times in two days looking for information on changing a low course grade. I directed him to the (same) correct office that could assist him each time. On the third day, his mother called, in an attempt to end-run the system by getting a dean's signature on "some form, she wasn't sure what." She spent almost half an hour trying to convince me that she had the correct office and only my dean could provide the signature. Just before she hung up on me in frustration, she mentioned that "My son can't seem to figure out how to change his grade by himself. He's just not capable enough. So I'm calling everybody even though I'm at work. The other office I called won't change his grade without the instructor's signature. Is that how you people operate?"

The response I wish I could have given: Why, yes, ma'am, that is how "we people" operate. Students can't change their own grades, nor can their mothers, even when they call from work. Since your son is not capable enough to figure that out, you can probably guess why we flunked him in the first place.

The response I actually gave: "We require the instructor's signature on all grade changes because only the instructor has the authority to issue grades. (with a slight emphasis on authority, which she missed completely) You'll have to contact the instructor directly. Would you like the instructor's contact information?"

Her answer: "Not really." (hangs up)

Oddly enough, most of my memorable moments at work come from these sorts of wrong numbers. The calls I get for my actual supervisors are (for the most part) from polite, sensible people who know what our office actually does. The wrong numbers make me realize how lucky I am to be working here.