The first week back

[alt_sinistra]

Congratulations, all our first years, on making it through your first week. I promise, it does get easier to figure out how to manage it all.

Now that I’ve seen how some changes to my schedule have shaken out, I have posted a chart of my office hours in the usual places (my classroom and office doors, and duplicated copies in the house common rooms.)

In short:
- various daytime hours on Monday, Wednesday, Friday when I am not teaching.
- 7 to 9pm on Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday.
- by request at other times.

In the past, I have offered hours - often very relaxed and conversational - on Sunday afternoons. Between changes to the YPL schedule and my own commitments, it makes sense to schedule these week by week. I also expect to be unavailable on most Tuesday afternoons and early evenings and am generally unavailable in the late afternoon. Additions to my regular hours will be announced in class that week, and posted on Mondays.

Advance warning, fifth, sixth, and seventh years, I will be asking you to make some brief (about two hours total) but specific observations and measurements during the Draconids (October 7-8), Orionids (October 20-21), or Leonids (November 16-17). All three include at least one weekend day, and the Draconids are best visible just after sunset, but your actual options will depend on the weather. (Fifth years: we will jointly pick a midnight session to skip in exchange, and I have a thought about evening sessions and bad weather that might please you - we’ll discuss next week.)

Comments

Private message to Antosha

[alt_sinistra]

Antosha -

First, I’m quite looking forward to our planned chat tonight, but I entirely will understand if you’ve found yourself at the end of the week wanting nothing more than solitude, a good book, and a great deal of sleep. Simply say the word, and we will try again another time.

On Peter and Wendy - having read it, I quite see what you mean, about Raz being cast as Peter, and me as Wendy. Most perceptive of you to spot so on such short acquaintance that the map and the territory are not the same. I do have plenty of comment (took notes, even!), but I will save that for in person. And yet, for all the places that made my hackles rise in the text, and a few places where I had to put it down for a time, there are some really lovely bits, aren’t there?

I have also dusted the cobwebs (rather literally, as I’ve not touched them in years) off my texts on Chinese astronomy and related arithmancy, and I shall come prepared for that discussion as well. (I am not going to haul all the references with me, but at least I can make a start for you.)

Finally, I forgot to ask: did you find the Poole’s Jelly Gums of use? I have given in to the inevitable and ordered a case for easy dispersal at need. While I’m grateful that Dolores is currently talking to everyone but me, I do have all the sympathy in the world. (And on that, I have the disconcerting feeling she’s merely trying to decide how to make nice and thence make many suggestions or request my help. Probably both.)

Still contemplating my reading
A.

Private message to Raz

[alt_sinistra]

Raz, love.

I knew it was going to be hard not to sleep with you regularly after this summer but I hadn’t realised just how much. It’s not even the more euphemistic pleasures (though those too) - just missing having you there. Good sign for the future, I suppose, if entirely tedious for the next seven months. I can’t wait for tomorrow.

Also, my recent mail, now in the wedding planning edition. Besides the usual lot of letters implying I’m nowhere near good enough for you (ignoring those, truly, but there’s two you should look at because they’re a little odd), I have:

- Six invitations, one we should discuss. Oh, and Mum’s set Dad’s 75th birthday party for 18th November. Best chance to introduce you to the extended family we’re going to manage. (Plenty of other distractions for the aunts and cousins. And Nana.)

- Seven unsolicited prospectuses (prospecti?) from wedding vendors, mostly dire. (Charmed lovebirds. Far too twee pastel cakes. Two horrific sets of robes. A caterer whose prices make no sense - must ask Temp what they’re hiding. Rather pitiful table decorations made from Scottish sea shells. A hall in the back of beyond. Only half-decent one is decoration charms, but I want to see what you think.)

- The latest round of pamphlets from Wizarding Repopulation. The “You are engaged, congratulations!” set is rather a piece of work, with new pamphlets about wedding charms, managing one’s relations with in-laws (all I can say, love, is that given your family, it would be more use if I did the exact opposite) and so on. And exhorting me to come for an appointment.

(On family wedding charms: been working up the nerve to discuss something since Mum got me enough detail. We needn’t make a decision until much nearer spring.)

- And finally, a note from a “longtime reader” of In The Soup drawing my attention to the retraction in this week’s issue. (I’d not got that far in my pile yet.) Doesn’t say much, just admits they trusted an unreliable source, and rather carefully apologises. Quite curious, actually.

No plans for the weekend other than whatever time you’ve free for me, and tonight with Antosha. (Though if you want time on your own, there is always research to amuse me.)