I was thinking about the title of this blog entry today and all I could think about was Bjork's "It's Oh So Quiet" - it starts out nice and slow and sultry and then it smacks you in the face. So, I got to wondering - it's almost day four into the fall 2007 semester and I haven't written one alert via the ITS Alerts system. Where's the smack in the face? Not one just yet. Can you believe it? I can't - and the more I think about it, or say it out loud, I think I might jinx myself and others around me. In fact, when I have suggested it to my co-workers, they tell me to stop it! stop it! - it's those moments when you start talking about something when what you're talking about actually occurs.
Trust me, I'm not complaining - I'm enjoying the fact that I can actually catch up and do some real, "hearty" work after the pre-semester flurry - but I'm commenting on the quietness because...because...I'M NOT USED TO IT! And, I don't think anyone else is, either. I find it strange - really strange, actually. I don't have any answers or any insights as to why the phenomenon has occurred - is occurring - exactly, but perhaps it's a testament to all the hard work that was done prior to the start of the semester. This is not to say that we don't work hard - really hard - before the start of every semester - actually, I found this one more intense than previous semesters, but maybe it has to do with the way in which we handled things before the semester started that helped us out? I just don't know, but I know that I like it, and it indicates to me that despite any frustrations to get here - any toiling and uh-ohs - something happened to get us to this point.
I would love to hear others' thoughts on this - such a set of collective feedback might help us formulate some ideas and planning - and process - for how we continue the momentum in a more formal way. Enlighten me!