I really don’t have much to say today, but I’ll give an update on the flooding that occurred in Vermont the night before last. Much of Vermont did not suffer flooding to the extent they did last year. My town which had only minor flooding last year was hit pretty hard this time. At least three bridges collapsed and one apartment building (not in my apartment complex) partially collapsed when the road running alongside the building washed out redirecting a creek under half the building. The main road that I take to work is still closed this morning, and I hope it will reopen over the weekend.

I nearly forgot! 

Today is the 14th anniversary of this blog.

 I can’t believe I’ve written or posted something to The Closet Professor nearly every day for fourteen years. Thank you for being along with me through this journey. It’s grown into a lot more than I ever expected fourteen years ago, and I have met some wonderful friends through this blog. I feel like we’ve built a community here. 

  Thank you for being a friend!

I plan to spend the weekend inside reading. I hope all of you have a wonderful weekend!

There’s only one more day until I get a four-day weekend because of the Fourth of July holiday. I need some time to relax, not have anything I have to do, and enjoy my time with Isabella. Other than Saturday when we might have some rain showers, we’re supposed to have nice weather. Maybe I’ll decide to get out and about in nature, but that will depend on how lazy I decide I want to be. More than likely, I’ll spend the time reading, and Isabella will spend her time sleeping. It’s become our pattern. It’s always been Isabella’s routine, but she’s a cat. They tend to sleep 12-16 hours a day. What a life!

With just one workday left this week, I am hoping that it will be a fairly quiet one today (✊on🪵). I have a document to finish preparing for an upcoming exhibit, and that’s about it. The research is mostly done, and all I have to do is put it all together in another document. But, when I get back to work on Monday, I’ll have to hit the ground running. It’s going to be a busy day. I have one meeting after another starting at 10 am and ending with a work dinner that evening.

Have a wonderful day!

I had not expected to be able to work from home today. I had several meetings that I needed to be in person for, but all but one meeting was canceled and that one meeting could be changed to a virtual meeting. So, I changed my schedule to work from home. This week has been busy and stressful for many different reasons. I tend to love for Friday to come around, but I am truly thankful this week. I need a more relaxed work from home day. 

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

In the early morning hours of June 28, 1969, 55 years ago today, the Stonewall Riots began. It was a momentous event for the LGBTQ+ rights movement. It certainly wasn’t the first time LGBTQ+ people stood up for their rights, but it was the spark that continued to build the flame that continues to grow, even if certain states are passing laws throwing water on those flames. We can’t let the far right and the so-called Christian Nationalist (aka fascist anti-christs) diminish the rights we have fought so hard for over the past century. (Vote blue in November, if you are in the US!) And yes, I say century because LGBTQ+ rights began its sparks in the days of the Roaring Twenties and even before then. If you are interested in learning more about Stonewall and its cause and effects, you can read more about it in a series of posts I have done in past years about what happened 55 years ago today: 
Stonewall.

Last night, I conducted four tours in two hours to about 60 high school students. That might not pound like a lot, but I talked for two hours straight. As soon as I finished with one group, the next was ready to go. At the museum, we are in the process of changing out exhibits and installing new ones, so there isn’t much to see. I had thought installations would be further along when I agreed to do the tours. So, I had to improvise and came up with the idea of giving the students a special “behind the scenes” tour. I showed the the process of transitioning from one exhibit to the next but also took them into our storage area where the majority of our collection is and show them some of our most unique items.

The kids were great, and I think they genuinely enjoyed the special “behind the scenes” tour. I think the adults who were guiding them enjoyed it just as much. Who doesn’t like being made to feel extra special, and I did my best to make sure they felt that way? And, who doesn’t like to see behind the scenes? 

My new director was there because I was training her on giving tours. Someone has to do it if I’m not available, and I think everyone should be able to give tours. You never know when you’ll be the only person working in the museum when a dignitary shows up unexpectedly, and we are asked to give an impromptu tour.

I think my new director was suitably impressed, if nothing else because I was able to talk for two straight hours and at the volume of my “teacher’s voice.” I don’t often have to project my voice for that long without a break. My throat was so raw by the time we finished the tours. I’ll be lucky if I can talk today. My throat is feeling better, but there is still some lingering soreness. I wish I could take today off, but I have two very important meetings today that I can’t miss. Summer is supposed to be my slow time of year, and for the past couple of weeks, I’ve been busier than ever.

I’m getting a rare lazy morning, which is much needed after an exceptionally busy week. I won’t be going into work until around noon today. I will be working until about 8 pm tonight because I’ll be giving tours of the museum. In the meantime, I get to take it easy this morning. I’ll probably just do some reading, but whatever I do, I plan to take it easy.

I hope everyone has been having a good week. It’s half over, and I’ll be ready when this week comes to a close. I’m on two committees that are taking up nearly all my time at work leaving little time for other tasks I need to complete, but hopefully, things will slow down soon.

I am not ready for it to be Monday, and I was not ready for Isabella to wake me up. I’m not sure what time she began trying to wake me, but I refused to get up before 5 am. I’m trying to train her, but I suspect it will be a futile attempt. She can be extremely stubborn.

Whether I’m ready for it or not, Monday is here, and I have to go to work. It’s going to be a very busy week. The current exhibit in the museum will be coming down, so we will all be busy helping with that. In addition to that, I’m on two hiring committees for jobs in another department, and we have a slate of virtual interviews for the second position (we did virtual interviews for the other one last week). I also have to call references for one of last week’s candidates. On top of all that, I have some evening tours to do. It’s going to be a busy week, and I’m just not ready for it.

It looks like it’s going to be one of those Mondays; probably, one of those week. I slept later than usual this morning. So right away, I’m feeling a bit rushed. If I was going to sleep late a day this week, I’d rather it be tomorrow or Wednesday, the two mornings this week I have medical appointments. On Tuesday, I have a 9:30 am appointment with my primary doctor, so I won’t go into work until after my appointment. On Wednesday, I have a 10 am appointment for my next round of Botox treatments for my migraines. So, on those days, I’d have had a lot more time to laze around in bed a little longer than usual; however, I know that while I may have overslept this morning, it rarely happens and almost never happens when I actually have extra time to sleep in. 

I mentioned it’s going to be one of those weeks, well that’s because I’m on two different search committees to hire positions at the university. I have a number of applications to go over and will be conducting interviews all week. In other words, it going to be busy with doctor appointments and search committee work.

I hope everyone has a great and more relaxing week and has a wonderful Monday!

I have a friend who will be visiting today. While the picture above is of two guys, that will not be the case with this friend. She’s a former curator who moved away, and while I talk to her regularly, it’s been a while since I’ve seen her. She’ll be at the museum this morning, and then we’ll go to lunch. I’m planning to take the afternoon off to just hang out with her and catch up. It will be a nice end to a long, busy week.