One Night In Bankok

Is about all my Director spent over there, before embarking on his hike into the mountains, and by hike I mean the kind you need a Sherpa for. Somewhere over there in Tibet, or wherever the Himalayans are; I don't know the geography so well; don't care.

I'm just bitter because he chose the middle of the semester, in the middle of a budget crisis, to take this month-long vacation to find his zen. Whatever that is. Before he decamped to the monastery, though, he was able to communicate via his Blackberry to the office, to direct the cuts. The ones I told you about here.

He came back last week, finally, and just before Thanksgiving sent us all this email. Brace yourself, you might barf. I sure did:

"Colleagues: It's good to be back at my desk after an exceptional trip. Being tangentially a part of the coronation of the King of Bhutan is a once in a (reincarnated) lifetime experience. But even in a Himalayan monastery I was still thinking about you. I read about the budget cuts on the front page of the International Herald Tribune while eating breakfast in Bangkok. So it's big news. Fortunately I was able to communicate back here enough to monitor the situation and continue wrestling with these tough decisions.

Today I finally received some preliminary budget numbers. It does nothing to offset the dire situation, but our numbers should allow some schedule corrections and the possible reinstatement of a few of the recent cuts. Shortly after the holiday, I should also find out about some anticipated one-time money rewarding us for growth, probably for the last time.

As for the future, it's a whole new paradigm in California higher education, but with Thanksgiving on the other side of today's rain, I'd like to express a few things I'm grateful for:

For faculty and staff that care very deeply about this School and what's best for our students. I've been touched by your understanding and selflessness. For great students, as evidenced by the graduate presentations Monday evening. For the comforts and security of living here, despite the sour economy. For my soon-to-be-born grandson, coming into the world at a time when a new day dawns in American history. For the impermanence of everything negative.

Happy Thanksgiving."

End quote. Begin barfing.