And we're only 6 days in

I've already accomplished a couple of things in this first week of the new year. First, I had a class that was a total failure. It's one of those things that can happen when you teach a class for the first time, and I'm teaching 2 classes for the first time and am using a brand new book in a 3rd, which is pretty much the same thing. I'm a pretty confident guy, but when you spend an hour preparing for something, only to have it totally collapse on you, it's humbling. Even if you've had 30 years of practice making sure the message you deliver is appropriate for your audience, you can still find yourself in front of a class, explaining something that makes perfect sense to you, only to look out at the students and see nothing but, as my old boss used to call it, the bovine stare. You know, the way cows look- attentive but totally uncomprehending.

Second and on a much more entertaining note, I've started a turf war and am now sitting back and watching it unfold. That I didn't do it on purpose doesn't make me any less proud of myself, because I knew it was a possible consequence of my actions. I'm not really at liberty to share any details, but all I really did was offer to help somebody do something, and it's now totally blown up over who is in charge of what. I've been copied on about 20 e-mails, all of which contain my name, but none of which are actually directed to me. Every once in a while I chime in to say something like "I don't care." but nobody responds and the back-and-forth goes on. We haven't quite gotten up to name calling yet, but I feel like it's getting close. I'll keep you posted.