I'm back...

First of all, my apologies for being blog delinquent. Two weeks ago, I had the trouble with my computer which took a week to fix. I can't complain because the Texas State University IT department didn't charge me a dime to fix it. Then this past week, I had internet problems at home which only got ironed out yesterday, so there's my excuse. (Not to mention the fact that when I DID have internet, I also had blog block.)

So now I'm back. I've been at Texas State for two months now and I'll have to say I'm loving it more and more. I've lucked out in that all the staff, students and faculty in my department are extremely nice and respectful. I keep comparing it to my last job from hell, and the differences are so amazing I can't believe it. Now I work with Ph.D.s who you'd think would have the "big head" with a "holier than thou" attitude. Quite the opposite. In fact, at my hell job, very few people (including the owner) had educations and THEY had the big heads! Insecurity, I suppose...feeling they had to prove themselves and making their employees feel bad to make themselves feel better. Sad.

At the hell job of about 20 employees, we rarely had anyone come into the office and none of us ever had a reason to leave the office, so it was just us...all day...every day...no change. Now that I'm at the university, I am loving the activity on the campus. With the elections coming up, it is buzzing with energy.

Lots of booths are set up trying to get everyone's votes.

Everyone on campus can vote early, so I'm going to do that next week.

Love this guy's shoes...and everything is so color-coordinated.

Campaigning dog.

It's a pretty campus and they keep it extremely well manicured. I love walking around during my lunch hour just to see what's going on. Cool Batman book bag.

These guys were clowning around and playing music for tips.

Must have been a kids field trip to the University.

Bobcat bus.

Uh-oh...here we have another instance of "boots with short skirts." You could never guess the weather by looking at this picture. The guy on the right is all bundled up with a jacket, jeans and boots. The girl in front of him to the left is wearing shorts and a tank top. The girl with the boots is wearing a sweater with extremely short shorts. And the guy to the far left is kind of in between them all. I'm guessing it was about 80 degrees that day. To each his own.

Even though I'm not a very political person, I'll end this on a political note because of the upcoming elections. You see a LOT more of these around here...

...than you do these.

But then again, this is Bush country.

This next week will be my last in helping out at the local newspaper. One of my responsibilities has been editing the copy that comes in from groups and organizations into a format appropriate for publishing. The worst are the womens' Republican groups which are dripping with opinions and subjective content...and completely inappropriate for publication. This is a part of what they submitted about their delegates attending the Republican Convention...these are direct quotes.

"Protesters were filthy, vile and despicable. Some of the hooligans had buckets of urine or buckets of nails."

"Most everyone was 'taken' with Gov. Palin. By the end of the Convention, they were referring to the nominees as 'the hero and the hottie'."

I'm sorry..."the hero and the hottie???" How very professional. Needless to say, those comments won't get published. And just as a sidebar...if those kind of comments had been submitted by the Democratic side (which they NEVER have been), they would have been edited in the same way.

My new job digs...

Okay, so just a quick post tonight because I know some people have been thinking I've really been slacking in the blog department. I have an excuse!! I have a new job at Texas State University in San Marcos. New jobs are always a stressful thing, but I'll have to say my phase-in has been extremely comfortable. This is my first experience at a state job and I have no complaints. Maybe I lucked out. I work in the Technology Department and everyone is extremely nice, courteous, respectful...including the students. And the benefits!!! Oh, my GOD!! I get full health benefits at no cost...plus life insurance for me...and my kids while they're under 25, retirement that they kick in more than I do, they pay you for taking time to walk around campus for a "wellness" thing, they pay you while you take a class to further your education, you can join the student recreation association (health club) at $10.00 a month, you get discounted tuition rates for taking classes, you're encouraged to take little classes on job performance which you get paid for during working hours. But here's the best thing...we get two paid weeks off at Christmas. Whoa! That's in addition to the vacation hours you accrue through the year at eight hours a month. Not to mention regular holidays. So I officially get 28 days of paid days off my first year. How cool is that?? I didn't get a single benefit at my last job, so it's like I died and went to heaven!

So here's a little tour around campus. This is the building I work in.


Lobby.

Lobby looking out.

Lobby looking in...that's me in the reflection.

The campus library.

This is a little art gallery on the top floor of the library. I thought this was a cool picture of Georgia O'Keefe. I like the reflections I got in the shot. You're not supposed to take photographs in the gallery, so don't tell anyone.

This is "Old Main," the first building on the campus.

This is a view from the top floor of the library towards the building where I work.

The student union and bookstore.

Texas State is very proud of the fact that Lyndon Johnson graduated from there. I'm not totally sure that's something to be proud about, but whatever. When I was taking this picture, a student came up to me and told me that students put little accessories on the president from time to time...hats, jewelry, etc. I'll have to check him out now and then for any adornments.

A nice view...

...and very nicely landscaped.


And another perk! I get to buzz around the campus in this little guy...and park wherever I want! Something unheard of on college campuses!

So, besides all this, I'm still working part-time at the New Braunfels Herald-Zeitung, so I've been a tad busy to say the least. I'll keep trying!