... to sit at the computer tonight. The thermometer is registering close to 30C in the house and not much cooler outside. There may or may not be a storm front on its way. If there is, I expect the rain will evaporate before it gets to this part of the city. I'm living in Melbourne's version of the Namib desert. All we need now are the kilometre-high dunes and those crazy, corkscrew-leaved Welwitschia and the transformation will be complete.
And it was hot at work today too. So hot that everyone was either flat or cranky or flat and cranky, which is difficult to achieve as you have to maintain enough energy for the bad temper while feeling as though someone has pulled out the plug. But we all managed magnificently.
So, what did I get done today? Nothing terribly exciting. A lot of data entry, consolidating assignment marks, photocopying exam papers to send off to sessional lecturers, suggesting that people can take responsibility for their own workloads, those sorts of mundane activities. A group of us also spent a fair amount of time trying to work out how to transform the new, impractical, one-size-fits-all assessment policies into ones that will be fair and equitable. (In an attempt to streamline the process, the policy-makers have assumed that all assessment is identical, whether in performing arts, Polynesian history or pathophysiology. This has created a lot of confusion for staff and students. And when I say a lot ...)
But it's going to be cooler tomorrow, so I might get a chance to leave the office and take a stroll around campus with my camera. Or—if I get up early enough—I'll pop down to the beach and see what's happening.
And the cricket starts on Thursday.
