Is it just me...

...or have we been getting slammed lately? I don't remember Fall semester being this busy last year. Of course, I also don't remember much about the pre-JFSB days, so I haven't got a very sturdy measuring stick for things. What do we think? Did we advertise our new location too well? :-)

Question...

Anyone interested in reviving this blog that never really got started?

A Farewell to . . .

Today is my last official day as the Writing Center secretary. I have to say, it is quite a sad thing for me. I started working at the Writing Center two years ago-- I wasn't even engaged yet. A lot has happened since that day. I remember meeting Penny and being slightly intimidated. I remember my first days at the Writing Center and feeling incredibly uncomfortable as "The Greats" such as Ryan, James, Jenny, and Danny milled about. When I started, I didn't even know what the Writing Center was. I quickly learned the art of goldenrods (something which many of you still don't understand). I learned the intricate quirks of the copy machine. I learned how to interpret Penny's handwriting. Pretending I have been on time for all my shifts, I have logged approximately 2,086 hours as the secretary in the writing center. It's true I will be back in the summer as the grammar tutor, but it's just not the same. Quite honestly, I am sad to leave this job. I am terrified to join the "real world" in August and find a real-live adult person job. I feel like this last day requires some navel gazing, but it's all too trite for me to blog about. I'm cleaning out my shelf. I'm deleting all my work off the computer. And so . . . Writing Center. I say farewell to you. Farewell pretty silver nameplate. Farewell, Kronos. Farewell, stat sheets. Farewell, fancy, wonderful stapler. Farewell, comfy chair. Farewell, Writing Center.

1-Up!

Kjerstin just used to best analogy ever in a tutorial:

Writing is like playing Super Mario Brothers.

Discuss.

Just the Commas, Please

So how do you guys deal with it when someone comes in and just wants to go over their punctuation? I mean, I feel pretty capable to give them some quick advice on a few rules, even though Penny would discourage it. And I feel bad trying to force them to discuss content when that's not what they want.

Students really don't have anywhere to go to ask grammar (by which they usually mean punctuation) questions: writing teachers don't cover them, Erica's hours are extremely limited, and our lovely handouts can only take them so far. I know we're not an editing service, but what's a student supposed to do? I feel so bad for them. Ideas on how we can better deal with this?

The Secretaries Are Staging A Coup

I am glad to know the secretaries have been demoted to each being 1/3 of a person. You don't even know who is typing this! Is it Amy? Chelsea? Or that dashing, short girl Courtney? I realize we are all similarly intelligent, beautiful, and powerful, but I demand that we be given our own identities!

No, seriously-- is there a reason we are known as "the secretary" and not given our own individual blogging rights? I know we get paid less than you, but . . . come on.

Links of Interest; or, Things We Love

This is not vanity. I simply wish to record (for posterity and for all of you) Writing Center-related items that have appeared on my own blog.

We love BYUSA

We love cage fights
(This one could conceivably be expanded and posted here.)

We love Lina and Kjerstin
(I'd still appreciate input on this issue.)

We love good conversation

A Writing Center Blog, or What You Will

It's high time someone did this, so here I am doing it.

The main purposes of this blog are as follows:

• To provide a place for tutors to discuss their ideas about writing and tutoring;
• To share stories about the strange things that happen while working in the Writing Center;
• To have serious intellectual discussions about important world issues, such as world hunger and men's fashion accessories;
• To promote a greater sense of comradery and elitism amongst the intelligencia of the Writing Center;
  
• To promote cagematches between great literary and historical figures.

Make of it what you will.