I love my job

Term starts next week, and both my classes have over 100 students. Which means I have got tons of admin work to do. I've been given 2 TAs, but one of them is away and won't be back till the second week of term. Why was that even allowed? She's away when I need her the most. More importantly, I would never be granted leave during the first week of term, that's for sure.

"So unfair!" as annoying international school brats would say, in their annoying whinging voices.

On Monday I had lunch with a colleague from another department, whom I had met through an NGO of which I'm a member. We sat talking about grant applications, as one does, whilst waiting for our dim sum. She said she's frustrated by the whole RGC application and assessment process. Which I totally agree. Who's not frustrated by it? (If you're not, you better keep quiet about it) She is also disheartened by the internal grants application and assessment process. I've gotten one grant from this source, so I'm not complaining (I kept quiet). Apparently on one of her previous applications, one internal reviewer wrote "Not worth a damn!" on her proposal. And that was pretty much the extend of his assessment. She was outraged, naturally. But she didn't do anything about it. What would I have done, if I were in her situation?

I remember years ago, a teaching staff in our department used words the word "damn" when arguing with other staff about something or other. This other staff, an RC nun, incidentally, was so offended that she filed an official complaint against this guy. And he lost his job a few months later. Well not entirely because of the "damn" incident but that definitely did not help his reputation as a "trouble maker" who "lacks collegiality".

So, back to my question. What would I have done if someone described my funding proposal as "not worth a damn"? I think I would request an explanation, at the very least. So unrigorous, so sloppy, this "not worth a damn" thing. It's something you expect from George W. Bush, not from a social scientist for crying out loud!