"By the pricking of my thumbs....

...something wicked this way comes"

William Shakespeare - MacBeth

Here I was, trying to enjoy a peaceful Spring Break, but no. Something had to come and ruin my illusion of serenity. Part of my problem is that my nervous system goes to DEFCON 1 at the first sign of trouble. I've got to stop doing that or I'm going to have a coronary someday.

....uh what was I talking about?

Oh yes... ummm, well today I get an e-mail from Palpatine. Seems that one of the orchestra kids talked to his parents, who in turn e-mailed Palpatine and unloaded a plea to keep the orchestra class on the books, despite low enrollment. Palpatine responded with an email (CC'd to the parent, Middle school principal and all counselors) saying that there was no Imperial decision to cancel any classes, and that I should respond with "the correct information."

So what sends me into a panic attack is the thought of the Imperial displeasure bearing down on me with full force for having the audacity to "spread wrongful rumors." At the same time, I'm trying to figure out if I really did anything wrong.

What did I do? Well, after Palpatine had that meeting with me to talk about my enrollment, I started mobilizing the forces (students) by telling them how dire the situation. I didn't say straightforward "By the way kids, you can thank the Emperor for this downsizing of the Music Department"... I simply passed on that we were in a pickle, enrollment-wise, and that we don't have enough numbers to justify the classes we currently offer.... and that we need to put bodies in chairs if we're going to keep the classes running. I said that because that's what came out of the meeting with Palpatine!. I was told to double my recruitment efforts.... I was told to use my community resources to help in any way shape or form. Was I supposed to fix the airplane without letting the passengers know that there was a problem?

And what the hell is "the correct information?"... When your principal tells you that you only have enough enrolled students for two sections... doesn't that mean that the other three (four in my case.... if not more) will be removed?

Why do I have this feeling that there is an implied mandate applied of all the Imperial officers to protect the Imperial public reputation even when the damage comes from the Emperor's own policy?

I refuse to write any kind of response before friday. Tomorrow I'm going to check to see what booze there is in the apartment, and I'm setting my laptop to self destruct if I connect with the schools mail server.