My food safety year

The only job I ever wanted was to be a professor. I can do lots of things, but like my dad and uncle used to tell me, just make sure you’re really good at whatever you do.

I followed this girl to Australia, because she got a job at a uni that was much better for her.

Kansas State let me work remotely for about a year, since all my teaching and research were on-line, and then decided I had bad attendance at faculty meetings and didn’t hold aldi_surfing_santa_ham_1their hands during tea, and fired me.

When I received confirmation of the firing in April, I was in Kansas and thought a few bottles of bourbon would help me through. When I tried to clean up the next day, I had withdrawal issues and ended up in hospital followed by two weeks at the rehab resort.

It was rough on Amy, her being in Australia.

I worked in the kitchen, mainly cleaning dishes, but the woman who ran the kitchen had microbial food safety down; I couldn’t stump her and she had her thermometer on her uniform.

On the day I left, I told the 100 or so drunks, pill, meth, coke and glue addicts I would rather talk with them than any colleague I knew at my university (other than Dean Ralph).

Full professor, I got nothing. I didn’t even get paid for the last three weeks I worked, jon.stewart.competence.13because no one had bothered to tell me when I was fired. I chaired a MS student’s defense, and I wasn’t even employed.

Excellence in education.

I floated around for a few months, then got a gracious offer to join a private firm, but after three months, I resigned. It wasn’t me. I’m not a vice-president of anything.

When Kansas State president Kirk Shultz writes, as he did yesterday in response to a restrictive Kansas policy on social media use, “Disagreements are part of almost any family, but at the end of the day we always find ways to resolve our differences,” I just sigh, and don’t care anymore. People can believe what they like.

I’m back to my focus on food safety. The stuff that makes people barf. Happy surfing Santa.

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About Douglas Powell

A former professor of food safety and the publisher of barfblog.com, Powell is passionate about food, has five daughters, and is an OK goaltender in pickup hockey. Download Doug’s CV here. Dr. Douglas Powell editor, barfblog.com retired professor, food safety 3/289 Annerley Rd Annerley, Queensland 4103 dpowell29@gmail.com 61478222221 I am based in Brisbane, Australia, 15 hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time