Sharp

(backblip)

I had an unsettling morning today. Ten minutes before it happened, a faculty meeting was cancelled, and some s*** went down in the department, but it was all so cleanly done it was hard to really understand what happened. To the best of my understanding, a female colleague of mine (with a history of mental health difficulties) did something BAD, and was escorted off campus by a police officer, placed on administrative leave, and then the locks to our department's main doors were all changed. I have no idea what does one have to do to warrant such humiliating treatment; I assume another person had to have felt threatened. I am still rather confused and feel uneasy about all this, but I don't have anyone to talk to about this that wears Big Person pants and can shed some light, while remaining respectful and discreet.

Fortunately, I met up with MDDM (my now-retired department head, advisor/mentor/friend), and managed to brighten my mood a bit. I kept the story away from him; things have been really weird ever since he retired, and he does not need this baggage. We talked about a new research project we may take on, and other stuff, a bit lighter and fluffier than police escorting faculty to their vehicles.  

I wish things were simpler at work. I miss sharpening pencils with manual pencil sharpeners. These were considered miracles of progress when compared to the trusty pocket knife!