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[conjugate]

....and tell them to pass it on. Let's see how far it gets!

In my other life, I am a meme, you know.

But I really do fear we have moved much too from the OP's original concerns and (in hus absence) animating spirit.  What to do?

In my view, it's pretty obvious.  I think we need to work out template language to put inside mission statements for future Search Committees.  This language would directly address the towel issues, and the related towel-questioning issue.  This will work until such time as the Gov't determines that it's illegal to ask a candidate personal questions concerning hus towel usage, so that the SC will have to engage in crafty workarounds, such as asking, "So, are you feeling...er...dampish after your shower?  I only ask because I'm concerned you might catch cold." 

With regard to the somewhat off-topic digression about desserts earlier in the thread, I'd like to observe that I went with apple pie a la mode.  I was afraid that it would not be taken well, but in fact the committee seemed to like the idea.  This doesn't apply to the restaurants that offer the double fudge brownie with two scoops of ice cream (chocolate) and chocolate sauce, topped with bits of shaved dark chocolate.  I swear, with a dessert like that, I'd order two, skip the entrée, and let the committee do its worst.  Oh, and coffee with it.

Then of course I'd order extra napkins, perhaps an extra spoon (because I'd bet some committee member would like to try a bite), and then a few more extra napkins.  The napkins, of course, are to use as towels when I go back to the hotel to take a shower.  Yum.

Conjugate
(thinking about those home-made Dark Chocolate truffles in the refrigerator...be back in a minute)

[fiona]

This thread is becoming too complex. I need a Wamsutta.

The Fiona

[yellowtractor]

Conjugate, why has it taken us so long to find one another on these fora?

I would like to speak out boldly in favor of template language covering both the domestic accoutrements of a candidate's overnight stay and any attendant dining experiences.  For instance, it really should be just fine for the presence of creme brulee on a menu to trump any of the other unspoken, working paradigm within the larger candidate-SC system.  If there is creme brulee, one orders it.  Otherwise, one continues to take one's cues from the SCC (or hus credentialed representative), etc.

In other words, I will see you that double fudge brownie and raise you one creme brulee.

My understanding is that coffee, either before or after the meal, is a non-regulated substance and wholly open to the candidate's predilection (as opposed to coffee during the actual interview, which is risky).

As for the towels, I do think that a Statement of Candidates' Rights is in order (like the Statement of Passengers' Rights I've been seeing, lately, in the backs of taxis).  I think a candidate has a right to towels of a certain fluffiness in his or her accommodations.  (The exact degree of fluffiness may be pegged to a sliding scale:  obviously if you are interviewing at an R1 with deep pockets, one has a right to expect some serious fluff.)  There is also the cotton vs. synthetic question, and the precise nature of the nubbing.  Some synthetic nubbings are abrasive.  A candidate should have the right to a towel of appropriate nubbing.

How many towels, though, is another question.  What say you?

[chineseliterature]

I have always had something GREEN on my mind, but I did not dare to mention it.

I did not want to hijack the thread.
(I did not mean to produce cliche)

But I cannot help it now.

I wonder if you flush the toilet in your assigned hotel room during the campus visit?

I do not want to sound horrible, but I remember the mayor of a global city (London, I think) asks us to be as green as possible. He asks us not to flush the toilet at home unless extremely necessary. He himself chooses not to flush the toilet at his place. His family members cooperate.

So his place is very green; he saves a lot of water (= energy).

Since so many of us emphasize the significance of greenness, maybe we can save water by not flushing in the hotel.

[angel]

How many towels, though, is another question.  What say you?

Seven.

1 bathtowel to dry off
1 to towel-dry hair
1 for a bathmat (in short supply in hotels these days)
1 facecloth
1 bathtowel to lounge around in (does anyone else do this? It seems I'm forever in a towel).
1 miscellaneous
1 for guest (the number of towels should increase in proportion to the number of guests).

[angel]

Since so many of us emphasize the significance of greenness, maybe we can save water by not flushing in the hotel.

No, no, no. Flushing is the first thing SCs investigate. Some have been known to order a spot check after you've left the room just to be sure. No one wants to be trapped with a non-flusher down the hall for the next 30 years.

[yellowtractor]

But there's also the risk of hiring an over-flusher.  One should check the number of gallons used by the candidate during hus stay as well as the final disposition of the bowl.

[chineseliterature]

Since so many of us emphasize the significance of greenness, maybe we can save water by not flushing in the hotel.

No, no, no. Flushing is the first thing SCs investigate. Some have been known to order a spot check after you've left the room just to be sure. No one wants to be trapped with a non-flusher down the hall for the next 30 years.

How about a compromise?

Like the mayor of London, who flushes ONLY WHEN NECESSARY?

We can choose to flush 1 minute before we leave the hotels for the campus sites.
But before we leave, we can choose not to flush.

[voxprincipalis]

No, no, no. Flushing is the first thing SCs investigate. Some have been known to order a spot check after you've left the room just to be sure. No one wants to be trapped with a non-flusher down the hall for the next 30 years.

I have heard of cases in which SC's set up the toilet so it would plug when flushed and then removed all plungers from the area to see how the candidate would react. I believe this is referred to as "taking the plunge."

VP

[yellowtractor]

It's all about problem-solving, of course.  As it is also about choice.

That said, is it possible to move back towards the dining or bathing paradigms, rather than waste disposal?  I admit I am trying to think seriously about this while eating take-out Chinese, and the flushing is detracting from the aesthetics of this experience.

[angel]

Sorry, Tractor, but candidate's lives are in the balance. Put down your food a moment.

I have heard of cases in which SC's set up the toilet so it would plug when flushed and then removed all plungers from the area to see how the candidate would react. I believe this is referred to as "taking the plunge."

VP

Yes. This happened to me, in fact. Luckily I'd been tipped to the practice and so I *always* check the functionality of the toilet.

If you do fall victim, though, get on the phone to the front desk immediately. They'll be checking your response time.

[chineseliterature]

Since I am a closeted green person, I do green things without much noticing them myself.

If the SC finds my virtuous deeds, maybe it will choose me.

One thing I often do is to turn off the lights in the empty classrooms.
I usually stay late in my office; when I leave school for home, there are usually me and the janitor(s) left in the building.
To my surprise, most classrooms are empty with all the lights on. I do not see any reason to keep the lights on. (There is no expensive equip. in these rooms; there is no student in or nearby)  I turn them off.

I think I have done this for many months.

[crazybatlady]

That, my friend, is one of the greatest joys of hotel stays for me. And I get a kick out of the places that do all the crazy foldings of handtowels into swans or shells or whatnot. And the TP with the carefully folded corners to show yours are the very first parts it will touch.

Except for the little bath cleaning fingers that made those folds .

This was not a nice thing to point out to me. Don't you know there are a lot of germ fearing folks around here? 

cbl

[onlyanne]

duh...one always throws out the little folded part plus the first 360 degrees of unfolded toilet paper.

[fiona]

duh...one always throws out the little folded part plus the first 360 degrees of unfolded toilet paper.

I do not. I am not wasteful.

The Fiona, ever frugal