Hierarchy and self-importance

The other day I passed an "above scale" university professor in the hall way. He was obviously in a hurry but when I said "hello" and made eye contact, he didn't respond. He knows me very very well; I am not a stranger. His actions though they may be innocuous, made me feel invisible. If I was the Dean or a professor of his "scale" or caliber, I would have received a nod, a hello or even eye contact in return. But this is academia, and the professors are the university and administrative assistants like me, are treated like disposable line items on the left side of the accounting ledger.

Here in the world of academia, there are "ladders" or "steps" which professors earn through years of teaching and service, grant money they bring in from their research, good quality of publications, recognition by peers and now, a host of private organizations which contribute money towards their research or university infrastructure. If professors want something to happen, they make it so. However, if you're under the academia pecking order, you have small chances of promoting change or having your thoughts heard.

You can see the hierarchy and divisions at work especially among them who think that their work should be rewarded more than others, who like one of those feral birds you see on TV, squawk loudly, flap their outspread wings and inflate their chests to ward off an adversary. Many professors act and sound self-important which just reveals their fragile flaws in front of the indifferent staff.

There's this one blow hard professor who has an office near my cubicle. Once a week he has a big conference call full of other big wig self-important types all yapping loudly on their own speaker phones, hundreds of miles away, about big important issues that will move and shake the industry. Unfortunately, he leaves his door open so I hear a lot of the conference call, and so does everyone else.

Imagine having a nice, intimate meal with your gf or bf and this big, fat red-faced sweating republican at the next table has just sat down and is talking loudly to his date or colleague about "important" issues which, of course, are not. You concentrate on your girl friend's voice, her lips and squint your eyes in focus but that loud republican blow hard just keeps yapping away, shoveling the appetizer into his awful mouth and going on and on about drayage and you just sit there-- reminded that a $50 bill for the meal will arrive. And, what are you paying for, really? The food? The ambiance? No. You're now paying to hear that blow hard dispense his time-tested wisdom about drayage. That's what you're paying for!

The universe and the university are full of these types who make others feel invisible and though you take it personally, you know you shouldn't because your life is better than that and you're already hard on yourself as you continue to seek your own character "perfection."