ready to run back to paradise

NOW.

We don’t usually have insane maddening horrific days here, since this is not the College of Ed. It’s usually quiet and peaceful and not at all crazy. The phone rarely rings non-stop (except for Aggravation Receptionist’s personal calls, of course) and we rarely have people lining up in the doorway to see us.

Today is an exception. And boy do I want to go back to Charleston.

First of all, Aggravation Receptionist is out on vacation this week. Of course we all get vacation, and she planned it way in advance (I’m not sure how she has the days to take since she’s been out so much, but that’s neither here nor there and is not my business either) so it’s not her fault that it’s Lunacy Central in here. Except that of course Draaaaama Queen had to go to the emergency room this morning for stabbing lower stomach pains. And I don’t think she’s making it up – she came in an hour or so ago looking like death and said the doctor told her she might have a virus or she might have some disease that he didn’t seem at all interested in pursuing, and he gave her antibiotics and told her to come back in ten days if she doesn’t feel better. So now she’s going to the Health Clinic because she’s afraid the stabbing pains may indicate something a little more serious than what you’d take a round of antibiotics for. Although there is apparently a bug going around. She says she feels fine for awhile, then gets stabbing pain so excruciating she can’t stand up. And she has no money and just spent her last $40 for her copay and her phone is out of minutes and we don’t get paid for three more weeks but that’s pretty much the norm with Draaaaama Queen.

So I don’t think she’s lying but it sure is inconvenient. Because it leaves me and New Guy here alone answering ten zillion phone calls and walk-ins. Because it’s registration for second session today and we also sent out graduation deficiency letters at the end of last week so they’re all going, "But I didn’t knooooooooow I had to taaaaaaaaaaaake that class!!!! Waaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhh!!!"

And I think half of it is people who are sent to us from Admissions because Admissions is, quite honestly, a quagmire of idiots who have NO idea what they’re doing and if they don’t understand something or just don’t want to deal with it, they send them to us. And of course we just send them right back. This has gone on the entire eight years I’ve been here. There’s a very high turn-over rate in Admissions, so a lot of it is that they really don’t know what they’re doing. Still, they sure do need to learn. It’s incredibly annoying.  For us and for the students who are being sent everywhere on campus except where they’re supposed to be.

And did I mention my poor father is in the hospital??? Yes, my SIL called me yesterday while we were still in Charleston. He fainted in the kitchen and fell. Somehow he managed not to break anything or to hit his head on the counter that extends out into the middle of the floor, but he’s horribly sore. He finally called my brother, who took him to the VA. And they sat around for hours and finally he was admitted. Apparently he’s very anemic, which explains why all he does is complain about how tired he is. Now they have to find out what is causing him to be anemic – it could be something very minor or very serious. Apparently it’s quite common in older people, and they don’t ever figure out what’s causing it in 30% of them. I don’t know what kind of things they’re doing. I called him this morning and all he knew was that they’re running a bunch of tests.

So while he’s there, someone has to stay with my mother. Who can’t stay by herself. She called me today to tell me Daddy’s in the hospital – thinking nobody had told me – and when I asked her who was there with her, she said the SIL was. And somebody else was there. She wasn’t sure who it was. So she asked the other person who it was and then says, "Oh, it’s Dana!" Her granddaughter. SIL’s daughter. I asked her to let me talk to SIL, and she leaves for a second and comes back and tells me SIL’s at work. After just telling me she’s there. So I talked to my niece, who couldn’t tell me much with Mama standing right there but did tell me SIL is off tomorrow so can stay with her then. If Daddy isn’t out fast, I’ll have to go down and stay with her to give them a break. Which is not going to be easy when we’re so shorthanded, but what can you do?

So, yeah, I really would like to just go right back to Charleston right now. Since I can’t, I’ll post some cheering photos.

 

The lovely Rainbow Row – with the nifty zoom lens that I still haven’t learned to hold quite steady –

 

 

The Battery

 

 

 

 

Somewhere in town. I liked the weird shadows down at the bottom.

 

 

 

 

 

Another Rainbow Row shot-

 

 

The Huguenot church – very impressive.

 

 

 

Somewhere in the historic district –

 

 

 

 

 

And I LOVE this weird old building, which is just a facade along the water –

 

 

Finally, Fun With Exposure:

This restaurant on East Bay has the coolest changeable colored lights –

 

 

So I played with looooooooong exposures –

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

While I was writing this, my mother called me again. To let me know Daddy is in the hospital. And she still wasn’t too sure who was staying with her. At least she’s figuring out to call my cellphone. Or Dana is telling her to.