Today, in my office, I had Richard Tingle's newest opus on my computer screen, his purple head (oh, the irony) large and bulging in plain view.Just then, a colleague of mine from another department came into my office breathlessly with the latest Dean gossip. Before I could swap pages on my computer, or minimize or anything, my colleague looked at the screen.
"Whatcha reading?"
"Oh," I said, "just some academic blog. Bunch of proffies whining."
I shut things down and had my conversation with him, but the whole time I felt - I don't know what else to call it - guilt.
Why? I love the Misery. I read it every day. I love the regulars and the occasional appearances by nutcases who want to shut it down. I can tell you all the moderators, know whose comments to trust and whose to avoid. I had a dream once about meeting Strelnikov. I pray nightly to our Lord and Yaro. But....this feeling was weird.
Q: Have you ever been "caught" getting your Misery on? How did it make you feel?
i love the title of this post.
ReplyDeleteI don't feel like I've ever been "caught" on CM or RYS. It's not a huge issue due to the location of my office and the volume of the exterior door. Also, for the most part, anyone coming by my office while my office door is open is either a student that wouldn't understand what they were seeing, although students are few and far between, or a colleague that shares my love of CM with me.
ReplyDeleteAs for the title of this post, to borrow from "Wayne's World", it " . . . makes me feel kinda funny, like when we used to climb the rope in gym class."
I like telling people about the site. If they think it's cool, then they've got the right approach to this career. If they're horrified by it, then it's good to know that, too.
ReplyDeleteI was always alarmed at the fear many RYS readers had of being found out. It still seems to me that folks complain about perfectly reasonable things on this page and the old one.
ReplyDeleteObviously if we're making fun of colleagues, it's best not to publicize that, but as for just being a READER of CM, I don't think of it as guilt-worthy.
I admit to feeling embarrassed sometimes when a colleague saw me reading CM, but partially because I was reading my own post! What an ego!
ReplyDeleteBut the better point belongs to Cal. What is so terrible about what we talk about? I think most of us would like to fix the academy, and part of that is admitting what's wrong.
I tell everyone I can about CM. Nobody ever gets back to me, so either they're offended, or they're lazy.
ReplyDeleteEither way I probably should just enjoy it myself and not worry if others do.
I feel dirty after I spend an afternoon with Dick Tingle.
ReplyDeleteWhen I'm done with Yaro, it's he who feels dirty.
Just sayin'.
I've been busted goofing off online, and I usually feel guilty about that, though for the goofing off, not the content. Reading the newspaper online doesn't seem either more or less appropriate than reading the Misery. And I often tell others I read CM (and RYS)
ReplyDeleteWriting, I do pseudonymously (if that's a word) rather than anonymously. I don't broadcast "Hey it's me saying this", but I try not to write anything I wouldn't say in public.
I had a momentary urge to check CM on the classroom computer in between classes last week. The projector was off, but I still think that would have been unwise. Better to be caught checking on the news.
ReplyDeleteTurn your desk around.
ReplyDeleteLove to hear percussion.
ReplyDeleteTurn it upside down.
ReplyDeleteI not only celebrate reading this page, but share it regularly with colleagues and print out entries I find especially funny to post in the copy room... no guilt, no shame. I'm sure it'll be a surprise to me when I am fired, too!
ReplyDelete