Already screwing up and haven't even started!

[waitinginvain?]

I've been emailing the professor for whom I'll be a TA. And in every email I've managed to come across as an idiot! In the first one he asked for my ASURite ID, and I gave him the number on my ID card instead of my assigned name. I emailed him next, asking if he could tell me what my responsibilities as hisTA will be. He reminded me that he sent all of his futureTAs an email that said we will set up a meeting to discuss the details. (In my defense, I had hoped he would have given me a clue before the meeting! But I didn't say that.) So, when responding to his email, I added that I finally found out my office location. I also gave him my office hours--which it turns out are the same time as class! Why didn't I check??? I emailed him an apology for coming across as an idiot. I said I'm not sure who I'm supposed to talk to about anything. Needless to say, I am so embarrassed! I wouldn't blame him if he had no confidence in me at all. Has anyone else had a similar experience? Is there any way to salvage my image? Thanks.

Edited August 1, 2012 by waitinginvain?

[Hank Scorpio]

Let your deeds, not your words, be your adorning.

[waitinginvain?]

Thank you, Hank. Great advice.

[hashslinger]

Just relax. Flaky people are a dime a dozen in academia, and your professor has probably seen it all. Presumably, he also deals with undergrads on a daily basis, and undergrads regularly ask questions that are downright inane. I constantly get emails from undergrads asking questions that range from the completely unnecessary (a quick glance at the syllabus will tell you where my office is, what my office hours are, what is due tomorrow, what you missed last week, how to get onto the class website, what time the class starts, how many points the final is worth, and on and on) to the downright stupid (are you a hard grader? am I going to miss anything if I don't come to class next week? can you give me the answer to the question on this test? what happens if I "accidentally" plagiarize? I saw your rate my professor page, and I was wondering if what people wrote about you is true?).

Relax. Your professor has already forgotten your gaffe.

[lewin]

hashslinger has good advice and, in the grand scheme of things, these mistakes are minor. Forget about it and move on.

That said, resolve to pay attention to details in the future. Undergrads ask inane questions but you don't want to be categorized with them; you're different now. There are people in my program with a reputation for being scatterbrained ("Oh, there's a talk today?" "When's that meeting again?") and the rest of us roll our eyes at them. They are not the people we go to when we need something important done. Get a calendar and read emails carefully.

tldr: Forget the past, do better from now on.