Jacob--and no work done

Jacob is spending the night tonight, so needless to say I'm not getting any work done. By the time I got him to bed, writing was the farthest thing from my mind. Usually he is not allowed in my office, so tonight when I let him wander in there he acted like he was in foreign territory. But he was good--when I said no (knitting needles) he put them down. He found some sort of electronic part in my junk tray and tried to use it to put lipstick on. Oh, well. He's always tired when he comes from day care and today apparently the fire alarm went off--not a fire drill but something to do with turning on the heat--and scared him badly. So he was really cranky, wanted nothing to do with me, barely ate the exotic dinner I fixed him--roast chicken (from some leftover tenders I had cooked), peas and carrots from a can, hummus (which he purportedly loves but didn't eat) and apple crisp, which I kept trying to convince him was a cookie. Big mistake! All he could say then was "Cookie!" But shortly after the abortive supper, he brightened up, wanted to talk and play, and was going full steam by the time it was bedtime. But he's a sweet agreeable child and easy to put to bed. He had pulled a stepstool up next to his Pack-'n'Play so we made a game of seeing how close he could come to getting into it by himself. Needless to say, I removed the stool after that. But so far there's not a peep out of him. And Scooby who barked all evening to get in because he could see us in the family room is in and happily quiet. All is peaceful--knock on wood.

I am a budget manager because of my position as director of the press, but finances are not my talent. I have a rather simplistic attitude about money--hoard it until you're sure you have a really really cofortable cushion--and I don't understand accounting procedures, like inventory write-down and capitalization of expenses. So after a three-hour meeting with my boss, who has an MBA, and the university's controller, my eyes were glazed over and crossed. I went to lunch with Jeannie at one of our favorite spots--bratwurst, hot kraut, and sour potato salad--and that helped. But in the meeting I tried to make my point again that I repeat over and over--publishing, especially academic publishing, should not be a bottom-line business. We don't publish to make money; we publish for the public good, the intellectual good, the contribution to public knowledge, and prestige for our university. Business types do not understand this. They say, "I know, I know, but . . . ." It's a really hard argument in this time when private universities, like other institutions and individuals, are seeing doom and gloom ahead. I had a headache by the time the meeting ended, but thanks to Jeannie for cheering me up.