Who Moved My Cheese?

Because I need some to go with this whine! (Take my wife, Please!) All of this is indicative of my humor level right now. Ways in which things are sucking right now:

• In a nod to MaggieMay's universe, our own local Forces of Darkness (here, we'll call them the dementors, so as to draw as many Harry Potter readers as possible to this site) are gathering for what, I think, they hope will be a committee-level smackdown next week. This follows on the heels of the faculty level smackdown that they delivered pre-Spring Break. Honestly, I'm about at the point of challenging them to a game of dodgeball or something. If we're going to work this out like children, then let's do it with a contact sport!
• Re: the above: what I really want is to be able to ask the blogosphere whether they find these kinds of seemingly-giant-but-actually-minute differences cropping up at their own campuses, particularly between and among divisions that should, inherently, be on the same damn side. But such is the fate of the academic blogger, that she cannot copy the latest string of emails from her colleagues for public dissection.
• I'm in the middle of a job candidate search, preparing for an all day departmental hootenanny, about to receive a batch of papers, getting ready to attend a local conference this weekend...I don't have time to scratch my ass.

Ways in which things are NOT sucking:

• I am closing in on my contribution to a group publication that has been two years in the making. I think, with my co-author, I have found something to say about this truly bewildering novel. I read it with my class this semester, and they rocked it out. Not only did they dig deep and find threads that are crucial to understanding the novel, but they worked together, and they pointed me toward new ideas about the ending. I love you, class!
• The schedule has just been posted for a conference I'm attending at the end of the semester, and whoa, there are some great people on the docket. I'm excited about the paper I am delivering; I'd be even more excited if I could find the time to write it. (see above)
• The wonderful, fabulous, Frenchie F is coming to visit this weekend, ostensibly for a conference, but really to drink wine and hang out. Love that!
• My other class, which has been one of the most sisyphean teaching events of my life, finally picked up steam yesterday. I have no idea what caused it, but this phrase floated through my head about halfway through: "Oh. THIS is how I used to teach!" Yay!
• In interviewing people for this job, my ACUN and the department that are working together have created quite a collegial working process. I hope I'm not speaking too soon, but we've turned what could have been a contentious and bitter process into a careful and empathetic system of finding someone who will work and prosper within our respective curricula.

Hmmm. It seems that there's significant overlap between list #1 and list #2. What is the only thing that doesn't appear on the second list? (If I could find a Mp3 of the old Sesame Street classic "One of These Things Is Not Like the Other" I would so embed it here!)