Disturbance in the Force

Things are out of whack in my life for two major reasons. First, I boycotted the Times Picayune because they aren't going to publish daily. So when I woke up today, instead of reading a daily paper as I've done for the past 25 years, I just got my computer and went to work. I feel like I don't know what's going on in the world. That's a bit ironic, as with the internet I should feel more connected. But I enjoy starting the day with the paper. I read just about all of it in order. I think that the newspaper helps me be  a better teacher, as I can model to my students what an informed conscientious person looks like. Second, my employer Xavier University is thinking about switching from a departmental model to one of divisions. That's pretty scary to me, as I imagine faculty would have much less of a say in the governance of this institution. Thinking about a Catholic University without a Theology Department is unsettling to me. Instead, I would be in the division of the Humanities or something like that.

So to fix this imbalance I am going to end my boycott of the Times Picayune and resubscribe to the paper, even though I wish Ricky Mathews would go home and sell the paper to someone who would keep it a daily publication. As for my second stressful change, well, that's ongoing and I'll know more in the next six months. I keep trying to tell myself that the change will be OK but I can't convince myself. Maybe in the end it is the paper and keeping abreast of all of the news that makes me such a cynical pessimist?