BMG music is kind of, ummmm….creepy

Baker B got a letter from BMG music yesterday. It was from the president of the company and he said he’d noticed that Baker B was a member at one time but that Baker B had cancelled his membership, and the president of BMG just hopes very much that Baker B will give them another chance and come back to the fold and take this opportunity to order 12 cds for the price of one with no obligation at all to ever order another thing, because they’ve missed him terribly since he cancelled his membership in 1990!

Yes, 1990. Yes, that’s been, oh, SIXTEEN YEARS ago. I am thinking of writing the president of BMG and telling him that while Baker B is flattered that BMG is still thinking of him with such fondness, I must admit that it does strike us a just a bit disturbing that they continue to cling to his personal information after that length of time. And that they are still able to track him down after sixteen years and what’s probably 8 or 10 changes of address. It also seems to me to be going a tad beyond friendliness at this point, really, and I do fear BMG may be kind of exhibiting some behavior that could in fact be described as stalkerlike. I truly don’t want to hurt BMG’s feelings because I’m sure that they don’t mean to be all creepy and stalkerish, but …perhaps they should consider seeking some sort of professional help. Just someone to talk to about these issues and these feelings of abandonment and hopelessness that BMG seems to be experiencing.

In other news, the new person is working out very very well. She’s all fresh and energetic and ready to take on all manner of problems and situations. We’re trying hard not to scare her away. She is also reasonably quiet, although this afternoon she keeps asking me questions and I can’t seem to get any work done. That’s okay, I’ll just do this instead. The dean came in earlier and was talking to her about making appointments with about five people to talk about a student teacher who is having major problems, and it occurred to me – as a ray of golden sunshine broke through and a heavenly choir began to sing – that I don’t have to do that anymore!!!! YAY!!!!!!!!! I’m kind of gradually handing over stuff to her as it comes up. So at the minute I’m STILL overwhelmed with student teaching stuff, but at least it’s going away.

We’ve just started the madness of placing the NEXT round of student teachers, so I’m all busy and behind with THAT since I’m still involved. Less involved all the time, but I had to go to the meetings and listen to the whining. That’s always fun. At least three of them cried. One cried because New Boss won’t give her an approval to do her student teaching in Pennsylvania at this late date. And she doesn’t have anywhere to live now, because she’d just assumed we’d let her go to Pennsylvania. I’m not sure why she would just assume we’d let her go to Pennsylvania, which is quite a distance from Watauga and the surrounding counties that are our traditional student teaching locations, and I’m not sure why she didn’t apply for an out of area request a year in advance like she was supposed to. She claimed not to know about the year-in-advance approval deadline, but it seems to me that even if you didn’t know about the deadline,  common sense would kick in and you’d talk to the Student Teaching Coordinator WELL in advance to be sure you could in fact go to Pennsylvania. As it’s quite a distance from North Carolina. Certainly you wouldn’t wait until a couple of months before you were to start student teaching and you’d given up your apartment in North Carolina to find out you can’t go to Pennsylvania after all. IF you had any common sense. Which obviously they don’t.

Another cried because she still has a semester’s worth of coursework to go before she’s even eligible for student teaching, but just thinks she ought to be exempt from that silly rule about getting all your coursework done and THEN student teaching. Because it’s not FAIR. And she’s SPECIAL.

Oh, they’re ALL special. But I’m getting rid of them!! Yay!!!!!!!!!!!! Slowly, but they’re going away. New Person has to be gone most of next week for doctor’s appointments that are out of town, and is missing the Horrible Seminar, so sadly I’ll still have to deal with THAT, but she is doing a lot of the work that’s involved in getting ready for it. At least I hope she is. New Boss left her a bunch of notes about it.  New Boss is way out on the West Coast right now – Vancouver, I think – presenting a paper, and will be gone till Tuesday or Wednesday next week, so I’m sure I’ll be in for a nightmare when she returns and starts freaking out about the seminar and thinking of ten zillion things that HAVE TO BE DONE RIGHT NOW!!!! for it. But at least it’s all going away. Eventually.

And New Boss, who I think is trying very hard not to have a nervous breakdown herself over this job, called each of us into her office before she left Monday, and told each of us that we are to take our lunches and we are to leave at five and we are NOT to stay late working. She told me she was worried about me because I’m pale. And told K the same thing – that I’m pale and she needs to make sure I follow orders and that I take a lunch and that I don’t work past five!!! I thought it was a little odd, as I feel fine now after recovering from my weird illness a couple of weeks ago. I don’t feel pale. Then I realized that it could be the foundation I’m using – which is a little too pale, and it probably DOES make me look pale. Well, that and the fact that I kind of AM pale. I look like Casper’s sister under the best of conditions, sadly. So it’s probably just ME. But whatever, I’m all for leaving on time and taking my lunch and getting some exercise and enjoying these GORGEOUS days that we are having. It’s been warm and sunny and the trees are starting to change and it’s really pretty.

Oh, look, it’s just about time to start shutting down and go home!