Right place, wrong place....

I'm sure I'll complain later, but I have to say that I am really enjoying BNCC this week. A new person said to me yesterday, "BNCC has a great vibe" -- and she's right.

Today was day 2 of 3 duty days... it was significantly less soul-sucking than in prior years.

We started the day with a piano prelude on our new babygrand piano.

Our college president gave the keynote, which really was good. It is so nice to have a former philosophy teacher as the college president -- in some ways it makes me want to be a college president... but then I get over it. He talked about how the profession of teaching is an essential service to human beings, in that we are assisting the quest for knowledge. It was nice, with the appropriate funny bits -- and he ended with poetry.

Next one of our English faculty read some of her own poetry (which I'm not sure I understood... but, it was interesting...) and we broke into a wide variety of break-out sessions that ran until lunch.

After lunch one of our faculty groups presented "The Laramie Project" for the rest of the faculty. They were simply amazing. They've been working on it all summer and really did well with it --(without the help of the Drama person)...

At the end of the day, we ate ice cream in a somber mood and went on our way home.

In many ways I know I'm in the right place to work. My department is really nice, we get along and are open to helping eachother. My division is lively and good natured, and we manage to live on the hall without fights and battles over territory. My dean has great attention to detail and is a very compassionate manager. If, in 20 years, my debaters have as much grace, wit, smarts and charm as my current Academic VP, I'll be proud of them. I've already sung the praises of my college president....

If BNCC were a small four-year school in Red State they'd have to pry me out of there.... sigh. I'd like to write a bit more and teach a bit less. I'd like BNCC to be about 400 miles south and/or west of here..... do you suppose they'd all move with me?