Well, they surprised us, and I missed it. The faculty and staff were apparently extremely impressed with our handling of the building move, and they threw a surprise party for us. My wife was in on the secret, and she was able to get me to take her and our son back to the office with me after lunch, without raising my suspicions in the least, so they'd be there for the party.
She didn't know about the welcome-the-new-dean meeting before the party, though, so I missed that. That's where they popped the surprise on the ITS group, with a big "thank you" poster signed by everyone, "ITS Hero" buttons, hugs etc. Then I had to go setup a videoconferencing rig for one of the staff, so I missed the ice cream part too, and my wife gave up on me and had someone give them a ride home. You throw a party for IT, and they end up working right through it. I did manage to swipe a bowl of ice cream before they put it away, so it wasn't a total wash.
Monday is the big grand opening dedication to-do for the LAS building. We thought we were going to have the afternoon off, since they'll be clearing the building and doing security sweeps, but then we were informed that the presidents of TAMU and Carnegie Mellon will each be doing a short speech, broadcast--you guessed it--live, over our network connection. So, we get to work the event, with one of our Polycom videoconferencing units. We get to come in on Friday to setup and test (crews are building a large stage in the parking lot against the back of the building as I type), and Saturday to shut down everything in the machine room so the contractor can test and adjust the UPS system. Maybe we'll get to meet the king and queen, anyway. Maybe.
I'm probably in for it when my son is older. Part of our bedtime ritual is for him to "hide" under the covers at the foot of his bed, and then I come in and fall on top of him, and then he squeals and clambers out. Well, yesterday evening when I fell on top of him, he seemed a bit less bony than usual, and he didn't squirm like he usually does. It took me a few seconds to realize that I had fallen for the old stuffed-animals-under-the-sheets trick, and he was hiding in the closet. Long enough for my bride to get a good belly-laugh out of it, anyway. I figured she had put him up to it, but in fact he came up with the scheme all by himself. So, yeah, we'll probably be in trouble in a few years. It's a good thing I have a devious mind myself, so maybe I can stay one step ahead of him.
Posted by jon at February 12, 2004 10:52 AM