The Venting Thread

[Langue_doc]

I just got Visa statements for both my own personal account and the company Visa card at the library.  In both cases they charged for last month's credit card bill, and added a late fee.  We DID pay last month's bill on the company account, on time!  As for my personal card, apparently they failed to send me a statement last month, making it effectively impossible to pay.  This is dirty dealing!

I signed up for online billing, so I get an email as soon as my statement is ready, and also subsequent emails reminding me that my payment is due on such-and-such date.

[Parasaurolophus]

Uuuuuuuurrrrrrrrgggghhhh!

There, that helps.

[Langue_doc]

Sort of a vent because of the hassle involved in getting to chat with a live person, but with a resolution at the end.

I've been getting some of my groceries through Amazon, including an almost foot-tall glass bottle of olive oil. The first shipment was packed in bubble wrap, the second one was just thrown into a carton resulting in a bent cap, and oozing olive oil. The third shipment was once again securely wrapped in bubble wrap before placing it in the carton. The fourth shipment, which arrived today, was rattling as I was bringing it inside, so I knew that the bottle had been placed in the carton without any protective wrapping. The person who packed it probably crossed his or her fingers, thinking that a glass bottle containing oil, of all things, would arrive intact. The bottle did arrive intact, but I contacted Amazon to let them know that such packing defied common sense, and that they should advise the warehouse or shipping site to pack all glass bottles securely. It took me quite some time to get a live person--Amazon thinks that all you have to do is click on one of the choices the Customer Service website throws out, but I kept typing that I needed a representative. The representative offered me a "returnless refund", which I promptly accepted. I wasn't looking for a refund but merely wanted to express my outrage at the sloppy packing.

[Parasaurolophus]

Alas, it has now fallen to me to put together syllabi for two new courses in a new degree program. The task had been delegated to our actual expert on those topics, but some bad things are happening on her end, and so I've gone from helping to doing outright.

It's okay. It's not all that onerous, really, and I owe her a favour. But the timing isn't ideal for me, and I'm no kind of expert on the subject of these courses. I like to be indispensable, but man...

[clean]

This is as much a vent as a question.
Im on a committee whose output will eventually go to the Board of Regents. 
When a draft of the letter was distributed, I said that I approved of the content, but that it should not be on letter head EACH Page.
Then I get the document to electronically sign.  It was not fixed. I said that we should fix it before everyone signs.  Committee Chair does not know really how to deal with Docusign, so the dean's assistant was going to do the processing. 
Shortly after my email the committee chair said that he didnt think it was a problem and we should sign. 
Then I get an email that the Dean is OK with it being on letterhead for each page.

I replied to the email and added the dean to Confirm that the dean is OK that a document to be reviewed by the Board of Regents is on letter head for every page?  (The deadline for submitting the letter to the dean is in 5 days, and it should only take 5 minutes to fix this error, and would have taken less time if the committee chair had fixed the document yesterday BEFORE attempting to go to Docusign!).

But the dean replied, "confirm"

So there you go!  The Half Ass work ethic comes from the top! 
I dont know how much longer I can deal with this!

So the question is, How common/acceptable is it to have a formal letter on letterhead for each page (rather than the letter head on the first page)?

That reminds me.... I need to go buy some lottery tickets!

[mamselle]

The issue is with the EA who formatted the letter before creating the .pdf.

They need to "suppress header" for all pages after p. 1.

As you say, that's the usual format, and it takes a minute to fix.

I'm guessing they're new.

M.

[clean]

The EA is not new.  However the committee chair is inexperienced chairing committees. 

Even the EA, though, could likely have fixed the document with ease before she dealt with putting it in Docusign (which the chair should learn to do!).

But for the DEAN to not care that such a document is going to the Board of Regents? 

Does he tuck his shirt in his underwear?  I am afraid to look!  I m surprised a marketing professor (by training) would not care about how things look!   

[evil_physics_witchcraft]

Today I had a student lie and gaslight me to my face about coming in to lab an hour late. What the absolute fuck???!!! Accept that you screwed up and stop wasting my time!

We also have a hole in the roof and have to wait until the weekend for someone to fix it since it's about 3 stories up (above ground basement) and I don't want to fall off the roof. If it were the garage roof, I would have fixed it. So, for now, we have a bucket under the hole (about 3 in. in diameter with a branch stuck in it) since it is supposed to rain tomorrow. :(

[Cheerful]

I miss the days when this community (mainly at Chronicle forums) had meaningful, informative, discussions of current issues in higher ed governance, leadership, and policy -- instead of redundant, personal, political squabbling among a few.

Polly, for example, used to post current issues and news items -- and not always steeped in the usual politics that lead to the usual people saying the usual things.

I don't learn anything much here anymore.

[Istiblennius]

I miss the days when this community (mainly at Chronicle forums) had meaningful, informative, discussions of current issues in higher ed governance, leadership, and policy -- instead of redundant, personal, political squabbling among a few.

Polly, for example, used to post current issues and news items -- and not always steeped in the usual politics that lead to the usual people saying the usual things.

I don't learn anything much here anymore.

Sadly, I think we've mostly learned that all it takes is dedication to a general lack of decency on the part of one person to ruin a community. I'm with lightening.

[waterboy]

Yet, all one needs do is ignore and move on. No need to respond to anyone else's post. I've stopped myself numerous times from taking the bait - and I'm only an occasional commentator anyway.

[mamselle]

There's always the 'ignore' feature...

M.

[marshwiggle]

I miss the days when this community (mainly at Chronicle forums) had meaningful, informative, discussions of current issues in higher ed governance, leadership, and policy -- instead of redundant, personal, political squabbling among a few.

Polly, for example, used to post current issues and news items -- and not always steeped in the usual politics that lead to the usual people saying the usual things.

I don't learn anything much here anymore.

Sadly, I think we've mostly learned that all it takes is dedication to a general lack of decency on the part of one person to ruin a community. I'm with lightening.

Do the actions of one person ruin the community? As Mamselle said, there's always the "ignore" feature. I can't imagine anything, short of direct, sustained, personal attacks on me, that would make one person able to spoil a community for me.

[clean]

In the Olden Days (and I may not remember correctly), but Didn't Fiona use to post something like "Dont Feed the Trolls"?

I have posted a time or 2 that I tend to skip over the replies by the very few on the fora that I know will bother me, and any reply that quotes that person. IF it looks like a particular thread is filled with troll excrement, I dont enter the troll cave! 

If no one replies, then the trolls will either find their goats somewhere else, or make increasingly provocative or hostile posts in an effort to get a reply that will result in them being banned. 

[Juvenal]

Is it, thus, life in "bland land"?