09 July 2020

Rare trip to the office

When I packed up my office I thought it would be for three weeks. But we're over three months in and I'd not been back. I brought what I thought I'd need for a few weeks! So when it was clear we were in it for the long haul, I realised I could do with some more stuff. I had several books in the office that I thought I could use for preparing my teaching for the next semester. And our key cards have been disabled; I'm sure they know that when you tell academics they shouldn't go into the office, but you make it physically possible for them to go, they'll go. So we can't get in! If we need to pick something up we need to mail some specific email address and then things get arranged with our head of technical services. So I mailed.

One Monday morning I went. It was weird to be back. The place was dark and empty and full of post-Covid signs. But no one-way system as the building doesn't lend itself to it, with dead-end corridors and such. My office was as I had left it, of course. I got all the books I thought I might use. For good measure, I picked up a mouse too! Let's see if that makes working at home more comfortable.

I don't know when I'll be back next! Within three months, I'm sure; we'll have to sometimes be in the building to prepare for teaching. But when will I be back fulltime? Will I ever?


The building has been prepared!
The books I now have at home

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