That’s Driving Me Up the Wall! Academics’ Pet Peeves

That’s Driving Me Up the Wall! Academics’ Pet Peeves

It’s Monday morning, and you arrive in the office in a high fever after another parking nightmare. The photocopier is broken, so instead of preparing handouts for your 10am class, you decide to make a head start on the thousand or so emails in your inbox.

The faculty is going through a restructure (yes, another one!) and the interim dean has called for a new slogan: something bold and 'cutting edge'. You need coffee. Curiously, your mug is missing, so you search out the miscellaneous cup that no one uses: the one with the chipped handle and a painted rose. You sit down at your desk.

An hour later, you’ve almost cleared your emails when a new notification arrives. The subject is: 're: The Future Begins Now!' Cathy, your colleague in design, has pitched her slogan to the dean and accidentally copied in the entire faculty. It’s an easy mistake, you think. You like Cathy. She was probably in a rush. You reason that it’s the end of semester and everyone needs a break. Especially Cathy. You delete the email.

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