Spoiled.

My department, honestly, is full of the nicest people you will ever meet. I mean that. I really enjoy coming to work every day partly because everybody from the most jaded old professor to the undergrads to the janitor are just really nice to be around. So often, when I am hanging out in my office or collaborating with others in my department, or profs from other departments that naturally gravitate towards mine because we are so cool, I am blissfully ignorant of what lies outside in the cold hard world of the rest of the university.

I was at a meeting today with some faculty from around campus, and . . . gees. There are some real tools out there.

I sometimes wonder if academics are, in general and my department aside because I suspect it is atypical, more likely to be difficult people. You know, something about this profession appeals to people who are kind of lone wolf types that don't work well with others, and/or who think they are the smartest people ever. But then, every job has its asses. So maybe there are no more here than elsewhere, and I just am inclined to attribute it to the sickness of the institution of academia because that's an easy target?