Friday, December 3, 2021

Daddy's Little Secret - Nailing The Ultimate Distraction When You Need Alone Time from a Hyper-Loving Puppy.

I guess I can't call her a puppy much longer, but I do know that when I'm home, Karal needs full-blow attention. We recorded two episodes of The Write Time yesterday, and the second was filmed from home. I needed her on the best behavior and so I filled her Kong with peanut-butter. I'm guessing I'm not the first to learn the value of this, as images galore are out there. It really is the ultimate distraction, and I admit she left me alone for the 60-minutes I needed.

What a day. Phew. Somehow I survived, and it's no thanks to Workday and trying to get reimbursed by the University. A full four hours was spent on how to get reimbursements through and they still failed. I've armed up the back-ups, though, and on Monday we're all going to figure it out. The best staff members across campus are teaming up to problem solve the meticulousness of thinking like the Workday App, so that our very human behaviors can proceed. If there's a difficult way to make an easy task nearly impossible, the bureaucracy of higher education will achieve it. Trying to get the ways conferences, hotels, parking lots, and gas stations give receipts to align with how business systems want to recognize them is a Herculean task. Once upon a time, receipt photographs worked with a paper form to itemized costs. Not any more. Now, there's digitation of receipts to work with (but not really work with) the University's system. Welcome to the stuff no one warns or tells you about while holding a career in academia. It should be easy, but alas, it's complicated.

I need to write. I need to grade. I need to plan. There is so much going on and I feel like I can't get atop any of it. I do have, however, the way to distract the dog. That is a bonus - one I've learned is good when leaving the house, too. I don't have to see the eyes in the bay window begging me to come back inside. 

For me, peanut butter destroys the stomach. I love the stuff, but avoid it unless I'm at wit's end and need a quick solution for hunger. Of course, now I'm out of biscuits, but that's an easy fix.

TGIF people. Finally two days without meetings, ZOOMs, classes, and immediate email so I can finally get some of the work done. 

Be well. 

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