Executive Decision

Well, the five classes I taught are over and, per our evaluations, people liked them! I saw several lightbulbs going off in peoples' heads and it was a rewarding experience. Plus, I now know I can teach a 2-hour class *and* keep everyone awake!

Hey, it's all in the little things, isn't it?!

In other news, I simply must gush about my amazing assistant. She's a go-getter and has never let me down yet. But she WOWed me when I walked into my Fozzie Fields office and she had had it repainted, thoroughly cleaned, my desk was rearranged, a new little conference table was added, AND she had gone down to the ol' painting archives and picked out some paintings that would compliment my existing paintings!

I was very touched that she ordered me matching desk paraphernalia (pencil holder, inbox, etc.) and everything looks so shiny. I hate to admit this, but it makes me want to stay at work longer. I felt so loved that she did that for me, especially during a week where I feel my sanity's hanging by a thread.

This morning, I received my ethics proposal back from one of the uber-ethicists. I had to submit a proposal for my ethics thesis due in June. I picked vaccine ethics, where I argued that it was unethical to mandate Catholic school children to receive vaccines known to be created from aborted fetuses' stem cell lines. It just seemed ironic/oxymoronic. I laid out a solid, logical argument. And my topic was denied by the ethicists, on the grounds that it was "too controversial." Huh? Since when has ethics NOT been controversial? I thought that was the point? So that pissed me off, to my core. I picked a topic that has troubled Catholic parents and about which there is not much academic literature written. I like to push the envelope and extend boundaries.

But I got the smack-down. It's "too controversial."

Well, excuuuuuuuuuuse me!

So then, in a fit of maturity, I googled "what is the most boring topic in Catholic bioethics?" I got 1,670,304 responses. But I am now going to write on how embryonic stem cell research is evil because it violates human dignity. Yes, it's true and formally sanctioned by the Catholic Church. But it's SO boring. Everyone who's remotely Catholic knows embryonic stem cell research is bad. Very bad. Sigh. So much for stretching the philosophical muscles.

Just after I received that news, I had three employees approach me and each one of them broke down into tears. All three cried. Like, they went through an entire box of Kleenex. I'm grateful that everyone feels comfortable coming to me, looking for help and support...but it just exhausts me. I feel like the vacuum cleaner is switched on and they suck all the life out of me. Good thing I did not become a therapist! I'd be done by 11:00 each morning!

After a couple more meetings, I realized I've been giving work my absolute all this week and made an executive decision.

Jack and I have toyed with the idea of getting a housekeeper for years now. Back in the day, when I was in grad school and working and he was working a gazillion hours a week, we teamed up to get the household chores done as quickly as possible. But it never failed; we'd end up spending a whole Saturday cleaning the house when the dust got to be too much for our sinuses. Too frugal for my own good sometimes, I never bit the bullet and got a housekeeper, even when I was living by myself and had a 900 square foot rental house which I only used for sleeping quarters!

But now, Jack is working more than me and my 70-hour weeks. We just don't have time to do the cleaning and I HAVE to have a clean house (the clutter makes me crazy). So while Jack wanted to wait until we were debt-free to hire a housekeeper, I made an executive decision and scheduled two interviews with potential housekeepers!!

I'm starting to feel better already! Now, if only I could figure out a way to write an EXCITING, non-controversial ethics thesis.