Work is interfering with my life

So I love work. Or rather, I love to be AT work because I'm comfortable here, I like sitting at my computer with my feet propped up on the hard drive. It's nice and cold thanks to the great AC. I see all my peeps and catch up on the latest. We make mediocre coffee but we have awesome creamers that would make a cup of crap taste good.

BUT, and that's a big BUT, I have not had time to even blog this week. I have just gone in and out of my favorite blogs (and you all know who you are) and scanned the posts. I am not doing careful reading which is what I usually do. I don't have time to blog because it has been crazy, whack-o, dingaling, insane around here. Sigh.

Why do I have so much work, you ask? Even if you don't ask, I may answer: Because of all the darn procrastinators in the world. I am not the greatest organizer or planner, nowhere near it. I am happy to say that I never had a palm pilot or a blackberry, never really obsess about everything being in order. But I am not a full-blown procrastinator, the likes of which abound where I work. The stuff I have to do over and over again, such as appointments, paying bills, renewing my driver's license or auto tag, etc. I try to do on time. WHY? Because no one is going to put up with my lame excuses about not knowing about the deadline, or no one told me I had to renew my license, or any such stoopid and inane crap.

That's why it bothers me so much when stoodents come in at the fourth week of class to demand (with attitude) that they be allowed to register in a class.

Me: Are you not aware that the Add/Drop period ended two weeks ago?

Them: No one told me.

Me (Sarcasm quickly sets in): No one is going to stop you in the middle of the hallway to inform you of the deadlines, you have to print the schedule from the web.

Them: Where do I find the schedule?

Me: On our website, right where it says "Academic Schedule" in bright blue.

Them: Ok, but I have to sign up for this class, I was dropped because I didn't know I had to pay.

Me: You didn't know you had to pay?

Them: No, but I've been attending all this time (Me in an aside: They think this entitles them to be registered in the class even if the semester is over).

Me: The fact that you have been attending the class does not give you the right to register for it. Where is your Add/Drop Form?

Them: What is that?

Me: .....sigh..... it goes on and on like that. This is just one conversation, and they file through my office like busy little ants, and they each ask the same exact things or give the same lame excuses.

Ok I just took a deep breath. It helps, a little. I remind myself that each of these students is someone's baby, someone's sweet son or daughter. I remind myself how it was when I was in school and the sarcastic bitches that worked in the office would get exasperated and talk down to me, or not look at me, or not smile. So while I'm mentally pulling my hair out by its (increasinly platinum) roots, I force myself to keep breathing slowly, to smile, to make jokes (for some reason it seems to evaporate the sarcasm), and to be NICE. Why do I try to be nice? Because they are getting an education, because they are supplicants at the doors to their future. If they don't get into this class, they may be set back, if I mistreat them they may actually think that they are not smart enough or organized enough or on-the-ball enough. Whatever. It is my responsibility, in my office and in what I do, to make sure I don't put down these students. That I treat them like (young) people. That I show them how a professional advisor acts. I also remind them that they need to organize themselves so they don't ever have to go through this process of late registration and give silly excuses ever again I am burdened with the responsibility of giving a good example. And that's what I try to do. But it's not easy. Sigh. Soon I'll get back to regular postings of a somewhat intelligent nature... nah, I'll get back to posting regularly and commenting on all ya'll's blogs.