Babysat for friends yesterday and was surprised and happy that it went well. At one point during the young man's life, he would scream bloody murder if his mom or dad left the room, leaving him behind with me (even if I was on the other end of the room from him). Yesterday, he liked me.
Yeah, that's right... I'm now cool with the under-2 set.
Friday, September 30, 2005
Wednesday, September 28, 2005
Odd
Apparently, giant squid are not just the stuff of Jules Verne's imagination. Sure, their body parts have washed up on shore before, and we've seen them before, but now, apparently the first footage of a live, giant squid feeding have been captured.
A Japanese research team got the photos; "We believe this is the first time a grown giant squid has been captured on camera in its natural habitat," said Kyoichi Mori, one of the marine biologists on the project.
Interesting job these guys have.
A Japanese research team got the photos; "We believe this is the first time a grown giant squid has been captured on camera in its natural habitat," said Kyoichi Mori, one of the marine biologists on the project.
Interesting job these guys have.
Tuesday, September 27, 2005
the latest meme
The latest meme reads something like this:
1. Go into your archive.
2. Find your 23rd post (or closest to).
3. Find the fifth sentence (or closest to).
4. Post the text of the sentence in your blog along with these instructions.
My results:
"I've really enjoyed the study periods that we've had as a group and it saddens me that the kind of collaborative work that we are doing in preparing for this test is rare in the profession of my choice."
I wrote this two days before the preliminary comprehensive exam - which seems like an eternity ago - and which didn't go well for me. Perhaps I enjoyed the study sessions too much? But it got me thinking and talking about collaboration, the isolation of academia, and then into a strange tangent about co-workers and a rant about dogmatic people, about the only people who I've ever had problems getting along with.
But since writing that sentence, I've become very involved in a Grad student colloquium at school, which, while it isn't collaboration, is at least an opportunity to share the work that we're doing with our colleagues. Looking back, I've realized that's one of the things that will be a drawback for me in academia - that sense of cooperation that comes from being part of a well-run work team. I will miss that feeling. (I won't miss the equally strong but much less pleasant feeling of being part of a team that doesn't work however!)
1. Go into your archive.
2. Find your 23rd post (or closest to).
3. Find the fifth sentence (or closest to).
4. Post the text of the sentence in your blog along with these instructions.
My results:
"I've really enjoyed the study periods that we've had as a group and it saddens me that the kind of collaborative work that we are doing in preparing for this test is rare in the profession of my choice."
I wrote this two days before the preliminary comprehensive exam - which seems like an eternity ago - and which didn't go well for me. Perhaps I enjoyed the study sessions too much? But it got me thinking and talking about collaboration, the isolation of academia, and then into a strange tangent about co-workers and a rant about dogmatic people, about the only people who I've ever had problems getting along with.
But since writing that sentence, I've become very involved in a Grad student colloquium at school, which, while it isn't collaboration, is at least an opportunity to share the work that we're doing with our colleagues. Looking back, I've realized that's one of the things that will be a drawback for me in academia - that sense of cooperation that comes from being part of a well-run work team. I will miss that feeling. (I won't miss the equally strong but much less pleasant feeling of being part of a team that doesn't work however!)
Pseudo-procrastination
It seems ironic to me that the moment I can see the end of the comps prep in sight and actually start thinking about writing them, a whole host of other things crop up to get in the way of actually finishing off the reading so I can write.
I think it's a subconscious thing, in part 'cause I'm scared shitless of writing them and flunking.
Some of it is inevitable family stuff, and other parts of it are inevitable fixing stuff kind of stuff, but I also seem to have found so many other worthwhile academic projects to do in the meantime. One of them is a conference paper I've been wanting to write for a long time now - the urbanization of the zombie film - I keep talking about it but haven't put any serious effort into writing even an abstract, though if I want to submit it to PCA next year, I'll need to do that real soon. It grows out of an interest in representations of the city in literature and film, which is of course one of the conference papers I presented last year.
My interest in urban literature was renewed on Friday because I went to see Neil Gaiman talk, and it was his Neverwhere that got me interested in the very specific ways that place functions in literature. He's a very amusing speaker, personable and articulate, with a fabulous reading voice. I could listen to him for hours - I think the next time he does one of his own audio books, I'll pick it up.
I did miss out on the Zadie Smith reading and signing today downtown. I had wanted to go, but I also needed to fix the car, and by the time I finished what I needed to do, I'd missed the time frame for doing what I wanted to do - too bad, I really like her work too.
I can't complain though - a lot of these distractions were very pleasant, like Book Club on Sunday night and dinner with some neighbors on Saturday night. Or like listening to Margaret Cho last night - what an irreverant woman - I loved it!
I'm hoping as October approaches, the pace of commitments to other things slows down enough for me to get back on track so that these things that keep delaying me - I don't want to say that I'm procrastinating, 'cause I'm not intentionally avoiding work, but they are delaying my progress. Wish me luck!
I think it's a subconscious thing, in part 'cause I'm scared shitless of writing them and flunking.
Some of it is inevitable family stuff, and other parts of it are inevitable fixing stuff kind of stuff, but I also seem to have found so many other worthwhile academic projects to do in the meantime. One of them is a conference paper I've been wanting to write for a long time now - the urbanization of the zombie film - I keep talking about it but haven't put any serious effort into writing even an abstract, though if I want to submit it to PCA next year, I'll need to do that real soon. It grows out of an interest in representations of the city in literature and film, which is of course one of the conference papers I presented last year.
My interest in urban literature was renewed on Friday because I went to see Neil Gaiman talk, and it was his Neverwhere that got me interested in the very specific ways that place functions in literature. He's a very amusing speaker, personable and articulate, with a fabulous reading voice. I could listen to him for hours - I think the next time he does one of his own audio books, I'll pick it up.
I did miss out on the Zadie Smith reading and signing today downtown. I had wanted to go, but I also needed to fix the car, and by the time I finished what I needed to do, I'd missed the time frame for doing what I wanted to do - too bad, I really like her work too.
I can't complain though - a lot of these distractions were very pleasant, like Book Club on Sunday night and dinner with some neighbors on Saturday night. Or like listening to Margaret Cho last night - what an irreverant woman - I loved it!
I'm hoping as October approaches, the pace of commitments to other things slows down enough for me to get back on track so that these things that keep delaying me - I don't want to say that I'm procrastinating, 'cause I'm not intentionally avoiding work, but they are delaying my progress. Wish me luck!
Saturday, September 24, 2005
reading, writing & 'rithmetic
I read a blogger's response to a Globe and Mail article about Canadian universities' responses to incoming students who lacked basic English and Math skills.
The 'doctor' writes:
The "then" "than" issue is mentioned, as are concerns about organisation. I would add that students often fail at basic comprehension. Summarise? That they can often do. But assess importance of content? Mmmm, not so much.
Further examples drawn from my own students over the last 4 years. Even though they all had 80's in maths, and I flunked out of grade 11 algebra 3 times... they cannot understand how the following is true:
(.5x + x) = y Therefore: x = (2/3y). Alternately 1.5x = y Therefore x = (2/3y)
This is a fundamental point that they just can't get, and it only gets worse from there.
The blog entry ends with a call for some kind of testing to ensure students are prepared for the rigors of academia, but not for a universal SAT or GRE type of test.
Then I had the Globe and Mail's version of the same story forwarded to me, and found the differences between the two perspectives interesting.
The Globe and Mail focuses on the effect this phenomena has on schools - how the number of students accessing writing centres are up and how some schools are targeting students who lack skills with intervention to keep them succeeding in school. This sounds a lot like what we're doing here. We have an early warning system to target students in trouble in core Math and English courses, and our department has been bending over backwards trying to find ways of supporting students who are in danger of flunking out.
As a teacher, I see this all the time. There's a huge difference in some of my classes between student skill levels, and here I think the problem is exacerbated by the difference between public and private school educations.
As a parent though, I also have serious doubts about my own children's preparation for post-secondary education. The Globe & Mail article notes: "I have seen students present high school English grades in the 90s, who have not passed our simple English test. And I don't know why," said Ann Barrett, managing director of the University of Waterloo's English language proficiency program. I can attest that good grades in English (even if all my children were attaining them) are not necessarily indicators of skills in writing, let alone reading, comprehension, ability to analyze, and all the other skills that you need to develop in order to write coherent prose.
The topic seems oh-so-relevant today, as I work my way through the first batch of writing my students have probably ever done at the post-secondary level, and I generate comments like, "The assignment requires you to do something you haven't done here" or "Quotations are dropped into the essay without any connection to your own words" and so on. These are those basic skills that I assumed students would have, and I was very shocked the first term that I taught to find out that I needed to teach all these things because many of them didn't know how to do these things.
And now I have to teach my kids to do this, 'cause their teachers aren't.
The 'doctor' writes:
The "then" "than" issue is mentioned, as are concerns about organisation. I would add that students often fail at basic comprehension. Summarise? That they can often do. But assess importance of content? Mmmm, not so much.
Further examples drawn from my own students over the last 4 years. Even though they all had 80's in maths, and I flunked out of grade 11 algebra 3 times... they cannot understand how the following is true:
(.5x + x) = y Therefore: x = (2/3y). Alternately 1.5x = y Therefore x = (2/3y)
This is a fundamental point that they just can't get, and it only gets worse from there.
The blog entry ends with a call for some kind of testing to ensure students are prepared for the rigors of academia, but not for a universal SAT or GRE type of test.
Then I had the Globe and Mail's version of the same story forwarded to me, and found the differences between the two perspectives interesting.
The Globe and Mail focuses on the effect this phenomena has on schools - how the number of students accessing writing centres are up and how some schools are targeting students who lack skills with intervention to keep them succeeding in school. This sounds a lot like what we're doing here. We have an early warning system to target students in trouble in core Math and English courses, and our department has been bending over backwards trying to find ways of supporting students who are in danger of flunking out.
As a teacher, I see this all the time. There's a huge difference in some of my classes between student skill levels, and here I think the problem is exacerbated by the difference between public and private school educations.
As a parent though, I also have serious doubts about my own children's preparation for post-secondary education. The Globe & Mail article notes: "I have seen students present high school English grades in the 90s, who have not passed our simple English test. And I don't know why," said Ann Barrett, managing director of the University of Waterloo's English language proficiency program. I can attest that good grades in English (even if all my children were attaining them) are not necessarily indicators of skills in writing, let alone reading, comprehension, ability to analyze, and all the other skills that you need to develop in order to write coherent prose.
The topic seems oh-so-relevant today, as I work my way through the first batch of writing my students have probably ever done at the post-secondary level, and I generate comments like, "The assignment requires you to do something you haven't done here" or "Quotations are dropped into the essay without any connection to your own words" and so on. These are those basic skills that I assumed students would have, and I was very shocked the first term that I taught to find out that I needed to teach all these things because many of them didn't know how to do these things.
And now I have to teach my kids to do this, 'cause their teachers aren't.
Friday, September 23, 2005
Got tagged
You can find previous answers to one of these getting to know you things here, a version about books here, and a version about things I've done that you might not have here.
Welcome to the spring 2005 edition of getting to know your friends.
What you are supposed to do is copy (not forward) this entire e-mail
and paste it on to a new e-mail that you'll send.
Change all the answers so they apply to you, and then send this to a
whole bunch of people including the person who sent it to you. The
theory is that you will learn a lot of little things about your
friends, if you did not know them already.
1. What time did you get up this morning? 9:30 (I'm sick dammit!).
2. Diamonds or pearls? Diamonds - I don't think I'm classy enough to pull off wearing pearls.
3. What was the last film you saw at the movies? The Exorcism of Emily Rose. I like it, but it's not The Exorcist. I think that's why I liked it.
4. What is your favorite TV show? This is a hard one. Probably toss up between That 70s Show, Family Guy, and The Daily Show.
5. What did you have for breakfast? Coffee.
6. What is your middle name? Darlene. I'm named after a dead Aunt.
7. What is your favorite cuisine? Pretty much anything I don't have to cook myself. In that category, probably pub grub... yep, like I said, I'm *real* classy.
8. What foods do you dislike? Don't like nuts.
9. What is your favorite chip flavor? Really depends on the mood... almost anything but Dill Pickle.
10. What is your favorite CD at the moment? I'm rediscovering my love of GBS.
11. What type of car do you drive? Domestic POS.
12. Favorite sandwich? Tim Horton's chicken salad. Runzas are good too.
13. What characteristics do you despise? Procrastination (without good reason)
14. If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation, where would you
go? Australia.
15. What color is your bathroom? Rental off-white - ugh!
16. Favorite brand of clothing? Is 'I got it on sale' a brand?
17. Where would you retire to? Cripes! I haven't even started a career yet and you're asking me where I'd retire to? I don't know if I'll ever really retire. I'm hoping to build a career where I make so many opportunities to travel and enjoy myself throughout that I'll never feel the need to really stop.
19. Favorite time of the day? Just before dawn on a warm fall day. Maybe it's my favorite 'cause I hardly ever see it!
20. What was your most memorable birthday? My 33rd. Some very good friends took me out to celebrate when I really needed it. I was feeling old, my marriage was falling apart, and they took me out, made me feel like myself again (though I don't quite look like it in the photos).
21. Where were you born? Regina, Saskatchewan.
22. Favorite sport to watch? Hockey! They're back!
23. Who do you least expect to send this back to you? Not applicable.
24. Person you expect to send it back first? I would say Beckler, but she tagged me.
25. What fabric detergent do you use? Varies - what's on sale this week?
26. Coke or Pepsi? Coke.
27. Are you a morning person or a night owl? Night owl.
28. What is your shoe size? With wide feet, it ranges from 7 1/2 for running shoes to 9 for dress sandals.
29. Do you have any pets? Nope. Last thing I need to worry about right now.
30. Any exciting news you'd like to share with your family? ??? Why would they not already know any exciting news I have? But I just saved a bunch on my car insurance...
31. What did you want to be when you were little? Depends on how little... first teacher, then pianist, then interpreter for the U.N., then photographer for National Geographic.
32. Siblings/Ages? Two sisters: 36 & 34.
33. What did you do last weekend? Belated back to school shopping, grocery shopping, watched aforementioned movie, studied... yeah, I know, pretty boring.
34. First Street address you ever had? Don't know - we moved when I was 1.
35. Family? Have my original family - mom, dad & 2 younger sisters. Have the family I made - hubby, three daughters. What more did you want from this question?
37. Favorite magazine? Dunno.
38. Favorite store to shop? second hand bookstores!
39. What's your house like? Three story condo - red brick, kinda cute. Mostly retired neighbors, so I think when our family moved in, they got a bit of a shock. Hate the yard guys though - they're really loud and annoying.
40. Favorite season? Summer.
41. Favorite Holiday? Anything with a BBQ involved.
42. Favorite Activity? Running, drinking, reading...
43. If you could build a second house anywhere, where would it be? Probably in the mountains (the Rockies that is)
44. Favorite kitchen appliance? Capuccino maker.
45. If you could play any instrument, what would it be? Since I play piano, I'm not sure of the question. I'd like to play better...
46. Sports car, mini van, or SUV? Sports car.
47. Do you believe in the after life? Yes, but not for everyone.
48. Favorite children's book? Charlotte's Web, almost any of Shel Silverstein's stuff, Where the Wild Things Are, Dr. Seuss.
49. Favorite ice cream? Chocolate mint
50. Favorite color? Red.
Okay, that took a long time. Now I need to go work.
Welcome to the spring 2005 edition of getting to know your friends.
What you are supposed to do is copy (not forward) this entire e-mail
and paste it on to a new e-mail that you'll send.
Change all the answers so they apply to you, and then send this to a
whole bunch of people including the person who sent it to you. The
theory is that you will learn a lot of little things about your
friends, if you did not know them already.
1. What time did you get up this morning? 9:30 (I'm sick dammit!).
2. Diamonds or pearls? Diamonds - I don't think I'm classy enough to pull off wearing pearls.
3. What was the last film you saw at the movies? The Exorcism of Emily Rose. I like it, but it's not The Exorcist. I think that's why I liked it.
4. What is your favorite TV show? This is a hard one. Probably toss up between That 70s Show, Family Guy, and The Daily Show.
5. What did you have for breakfast? Coffee.
6. What is your middle name? Darlene. I'm named after a dead Aunt.
7. What is your favorite cuisine? Pretty much anything I don't have to cook myself. In that category, probably pub grub... yep, like I said, I'm *real* classy.
8. What foods do you dislike? Don't like nuts.
9. What is your favorite chip flavor? Really depends on the mood... almost anything but Dill Pickle.
10. What is your favorite CD at the moment? I'm rediscovering my love of GBS.
11. What type of car do you drive? Domestic POS.
12. Favorite sandwich? Tim Horton's chicken salad. Runzas are good too.
13. What characteristics do you despise? Procrastination (without good reason)
14. If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation, where would you
go? Australia.
15. What color is your bathroom? Rental off-white - ugh!
16. Favorite brand of clothing? Is 'I got it on sale' a brand?
17. Where would you retire to? Cripes! I haven't even started a career yet and you're asking me where I'd retire to? I don't know if I'll ever really retire. I'm hoping to build a career where I make so many opportunities to travel and enjoy myself throughout that I'll never feel the need to really stop.
19. Favorite time of the day? Just before dawn on a warm fall day. Maybe it's my favorite 'cause I hardly ever see it!
20. What was your most memorable birthday? My 33rd. Some very good friends took me out to celebrate when I really needed it. I was feeling old, my marriage was falling apart, and they took me out, made me feel like myself again (though I don't quite look like it in the photos).
21. Where were you born? Regina, Saskatchewan.
22. Favorite sport to watch? Hockey! They're back!
23. Who do you least expect to send this back to you? Not applicable.
24. Person you expect to send it back first? I would say Beckler, but she tagged me.
25. What fabric detergent do you use? Varies - what's on sale this week?
26. Coke or Pepsi? Coke.
27. Are you a morning person or a night owl? Night owl.
28. What is your shoe size? With wide feet, it ranges from 7 1/2 for running shoes to 9 for dress sandals.
29. Do you have any pets? Nope. Last thing I need to worry about right now.
30. Any exciting news you'd like to share with your family? ??? Why would they not already know any exciting news I have? But I just saved a bunch on my car insurance...
31. What did you want to be when you were little? Depends on how little... first teacher, then pianist, then interpreter for the U.N., then photographer for National Geographic.
32. Siblings/Ages? Two sisters: 36 & 34.
33. What did you do last weekend? Belated back to school shopping, grocery shopping, watched aforementioned movie, studied... yeah, I know, pretty boring.
34. First Street address you ever had? Don't know - we moved when I was 1.
35. Family? Have my original family - mom, dad & 2 younger sisters. Have the family I made - hubby, three daughters. What more did you want from this question?
37. Favorite magazine? Dunno.
38. Favorite store to shop? second hand bookstores!
39. What's your house like? Three story condo - red brick, kinda cute. Mostly retired neighbors, so I think when our family moved in, they got a bit of a shock. Hate the yard guys though - they're really loud and annoying.
40. Favorite season? Summer.
41. Favorite Holiday? Anything with a BBQ involved.
42. Favorite Activity? Running, drinking, reading...
43. If you could build a second house anywhere, where would it be? Probably in the mountains (the Rockies that is)
44. Favorite kitchen appliance? Capuccino maker.
45. If you could play any instrument, what would it be? Since I play piano, I'm not sure of the question. I'd like to play better...
46. Sports car, mini van, or SUV? Sports car.
47. Do you believe in the after life? Yes, but not for everyone.
48. Favorite children's book? Charlotte's Web, almost any of Shel Silverstein's stuff, Where the Wild Things Are, Dr. Seuss.
49. Favorite ice cream? Chocolate mint
50. Favorite color? Red.
Okay, that took a long time. Now I need to go work.
Telecommunications suck sometimes
Usually, I'm all for email, voice mail, instant messaging... but not when people use it as a way of avoiding responding to my requests for things.
I'm starting a slow burn of annoyance at the people in my life right now who are not responding to my messages.
Just answer me, damnit! and I'll leave you alone!
I'm starting a slow burn of annoyance at the people in my life right now who are not responding to my messages.
Just answer me, damnit! and I'll leave you alone!
Thursday, September 22, 2005
Uninspired
I should be working. I had planned to be working this morning.
But I'm really feeling unfocused and uninspired this morning. Maybe part of it has to do with the brilliance of the papers presented at the colloquium last night. I walked away from it feeling stupid in retrospect.
But part of it also is that I don't want to teach this afternoon. It will be a short class because they'll all be exhausted from finishing their drafts and the biology exam that the majority of the class also has today. I also keep looking at the clock when I do try to read because I worry that I'm going to lose track of time and be late to leave. I could leave early, but since I want to drive (what luxury!) I also can't leave too early because then I won't have enough money to plug the meter.
So I sit here frazzled, uninspired, unintelligent, feeling annoyed at my three day a week schedule, not looking forward to getting drafts, and wondering if I should try going to the gym even though my workout yesterday exhausted me.
Grrrrr.
But I'm really feeling unfocused and uninspired this morning. Maybe part of it has to do with the brilliance of the papers presented at the colloquium last night. I walked away from it feeling stupid in retrospect.
But part of it also is that I don't want to teach this afternoon. It will be a short class because they'll all be exhausted from finishing their drafts and the biology exam that the majority of the class also has today. I also keep looking at the clock when I do try to read because I worry that I'm going to lose track of time and be late to leave. I could leave early, but since I want to drive (what luxury!) I also can't leave too early because then I won't have enough money to plug the meter.
So I sit here frazzled, uninspired, unintelligent, feeling annoyed at my three day a week schedule, not looking forward to getting drafts, and wondering if I should try going to the gym even though my workout yesterday exhausted me.
Grrrrr.
Monday, September 19, 2005
Pins and Needles
My head's been in my ass more often than usual lately... when I start to worry about the future, that kind of thing tends to happen.
What was bugging me wasn't much, just the whole finishing school thing, no biggie, right? Problem is, I really want to finish - I've got an awful lot invested in this. And it's not just me - our whole family is invested in this joint education venture - we've worked hard to get as far as we have, we've done without things, we've gone deep deeeeep into debt, we've lived what has felt like a precarious existence for the last three years to get as far as we have.
And we're close enough now to taste it - I can actually imagine the dissertation (which is something that I haven't been able to do before) and D is entering the home stretch - he's written qualifying exams, he's completed all his course work, he's done most of the practical qualifications he needs to graduate, and will be there in less than a year.
So when I found out that my loan application had been declined, what I felt I can't quite describe - disbelief, fear, desperation, despair, anxiety - or something that was a bit of all of them, and it preoccupied my thoughts for much of the past few weeks. People who I met often said I looked tired, but I think it was just that I was worn out with trying to figure out what was wrong.
Because there was no good reason that I could see for the decision. My credit rating looks exactly the same as it did last year when I applied for the same loan (which I got), so it couldn't be that. I checked my credit record, but there was no incorrect information on there that would've affected it. It took several days to track down the information I needed to find out what was wrong, all the time, I tried not to imagine what we'd have to do if I didn't sort this out.
You know what was wrong?
When my school emailed the confirmation of enrollment to the lender, they neglected to actually fill out the form and sent it out blank. So the lender thought that meant I wasn't registered and rejected the application. But the kicker was that it took over a week to get anyone to tell me why the loan was rejected, and then another three days, four phone calls, and a personal visit to the person in charge to get them to understand that this needed to be fixed.
Now I'm sitting here with my fingers crossed, hoping that nothing else goes wrong before they get the money to me...
What was bugging me wasn't much, just the whole finishing school thing, no biggie, right? Problem is, I really want to finish - I've got an awful lot invested in this. And it's not just me - our whole family is invested in this joint education venture - we've worked hard to get as far as we have, we've done without things, we've gone deep deeeeep into debt, we've lived what has felt like a precarious existence for the last three years to get as far as we have.
And we're close enough now to taste it - I can actually imagine the dissertation (which is something that I haven't been able to do before) and D is entering the home stretch - he's written qualifying exams, he's completed all his course work, he's done most of the practical qualifications he needs to graduate, and will be there in less than a year.
So when I found out that my loan application had been declined, what I felt I can't quite describe - disbelief, fear, desperation, despair, anxiety - or something that was a bit of all of them, and it preoccupied my thoughts for much of the past few weeks. People who I met often said I looked tired, but I think it was just that I was worn out with trying to figure out what was wrong.
Because there was no good reason that I could see for the decision. My credit rating looks exactly the same as it did last year when I applied for the same loan (which I got), so it couldn't be that. I checked my credit record, but there was no incorrect information on there that would've affected it. It took several days to track down the information I needed to find out what was wrong, all the time, I tried not to imagine what we'd have to do if I didn't sort this out.
You know what was wrong?
When my school emailed the confirmation of enrollment to the lender, they neglected to actually fill out the form and sent it out blank. So the lender thought that meant I wasn't registered and rejected the application. But the kicker was that it took over a week to get anyone to tell me why the loan was rejected, and then another three days, four phone calls, and a personal visit to the person in charge to get them to understand that this needed to be fixed.
Now I'm sitting here with my fingers crossed, hoping that nothing else goes wrong before they get the money to me...
I hate it when I can't tell dreams from reality
Last night I dreamt I needed to send out four very important and urgent emails.
Question: Is this just a general anxiety dream and the emails are just an expression of anxiety, or did my brain insert emails into the dream because I really do need to email people and have forgotten who?
I hate it when I can't tell my dreams from my reality.
Question: Is this just a general anxiety dream and the emails are just an expression of anxiety, or did my brain insert emails into the dream because I really do need to email people and have forgotten who?
I hate it when I can't tell my dreams from my reality.
Friday, September 16, 2005
They're getting closer!
The Tim Hortons, that is... there are now 3 in Massachusetts (though none are still very close by).
The quintessential Canadian donut shop is slowly infiltrating the corner of the continent that I live in and I'm psyched (even if I don't ever order the double double). In fact, Boston could be one helluva great coffee mecca if they manage to even get to the suburbs, because then I could have either Tims or ABP anywhere I go! How ideal would that be!?
After all, who can't help but love a donut shop that's penetrated the halls of academia, with a dissertation by Steven Penfold at York U. in 1999 on the sociology of Tim Hortons: "The social life of donuts: commodity and community in postwar Canada".
The quintessential Canadian donut shop is slowly infiltrating the corner of the continent that I live in and I'm psyched (even if I don't ever order the double double). In fact, Boston could be one helluva great coffee mecca if they manage to even get to the suburbs, because then I could have either Tims or ABP anywhere I go! How ideal would that be!?
After all, who can't help but love a donut shop that's penetrated the halls of academia, with a dissertation by Steven Penfold at York U. in 1999 on the sociology of Tim Hortons: "The social life of donuts: commodity and community in postwar Canada".
Wednesday, September 14, 2005
International moments
Today, the bus driver recognized my accent, asked where I was from and told me he was from Nova Scotia.
Later in the day, I passed a man wearing a T-shirt emblazoned with "MooseJaw Saskatchewan" on the front.
Imagine that.
Later in the day, I passed a man wearing a T-shirt emblazoned with "MooseJaw Saskatchewan" on the front.
Imagine that.
That's gonna be me in the back row!
I'm happy to say that I managed to get a ticket to the sold out reading by Neil Gaiman next Friday in Cambridge. This will be very cool! Coming from where I grew up, there weren't many writers stopping by town on book tours, and though I've caught a few people before, Gaiman is definitely the coolest reading I'll ever have been to!
Monday, September 12, 2005
Connections
Booker novelists have expressed outrage at Turkey's charges against author Orhan Pamuk of "public denigration of Turkish identity" for his statements about the Armenian genocide. Turkey has actually updated its penal code regarding freedom of speech in recent years to bolster its attempt to join the EU, but this charge will likely hurt them in their application.
Connections:
I live in a town in which I've been told the largest concentration of Armenians outside Armenia itself reside. There's an Armenian library in town and the anniversary of the genocide is commemorated here.
I read lots of Booker Prize winners and I value freedom of speech for everyone (even if I don't agree with what is being said - which isn't the case this time).
The first advanced writing course I taught was to international business majors, one of whom wrote about Turkey's bid to enter the EU... so I actually know a little about it, and it doesn't look like much has changed from when this student wrote about it two years ago.
Connections:
I live in a town in which I've been told the largest concentration of Armenians outside Armenia itself reside. There's an Armenian library in town and the anniversary of the genocide is commemorated here.
I read lots of Booker Prize winners and I value freedom of speech for everyone (even if I don't agree with what is being said - which isn't the case this time).
The first advanced writing course I taught was to international business majors, one of whom wrote about Turkey's bid to enter the EU... so I actually know a little about it, and it doesn't look like much has changed from when this student wrote about it two years ago.
Ivory Tower-itis
As I started reading this article by Thomas Benton on the death of secondhand bookstores, my first thought was, "Cambridge has the best used bookstores! That's where I always go. What's he talking about?" Then I realized that he hadn't said "Cambridge", only "in the vicinity of Harvard". Aaah! Well, that's different. 'Tis a pity that Harvard has so few used bookstores in its vicinity.
As I continued to read, the back part of my brain that's always categorizing and labelling told me this was one of those opinion pieces heavy on the nostalgia, though accepting of the fact that the world changes. Then I realized when I got to the end, that it was not nostalgic or accepting, but calling for change! A rallying of the universities to save the rapidly disappearing used bookstores!
Oh! See I was mistaken. When I read the author's statement that "Online bookstores are wonderfully convenient, particularly now that I live far from a major city. These days, I can obtain nearly any book I want, including rarities, on relatively short notice" I thought he was waxing nostalgic but only that. I guess I didn't take the "live far from a major city" part seriously since he'd already indicated that when he was at Harvard, "Two or three times a year, my long-suffering wife and I would take to the road in a rented car, traveling north to Gloucester and Newburyport in Massachusetts, Exeter and Portsmouth in New Hampshire, and Portland in Maine (being sure not to miss the Douglas N. Harding rare-book warehouse on Route 1 near Wells)" which seemed to indicate that he wasn't averse to travelling to obtain books. It also seems it paid off: "I probably acquired more than 2,000 books -- scholarly and antiquarian -- by the time I finished graduate school seven years later."
Imagine my surprise at the end when he writes, "If influential and wealthy people -- perhaps the kind who collect books themselves -- can be convinced of the importance of secondhand bookstores to an academic community, perhaps money could be found to subsidize their continuing existence in places such as Cambridge" Seems like a plan, or at the least a proposal.
I wonder who those influential book collectors might be? Hmmmm?
As I continued to read, the back part of my brain that's always categorizing and labelling told me this was one of those opinion pieces heavy on the nostalgia, though accepting of the fact that the world changes. Then I realized when I got to the end, that it was not nostalgic or accepting, but calling for change! A rallying of the universities to save the rapidly disappearing used bookstores!
Oh! See I was mistaken. When I read the author's statement that "Online bookstores are wonderfully convenient, particularly now that I live far from a major city. These days, I can obtain nearly any book I want, including rarities, on relatively short notice" I thought he was waxing nostalgic but only that. I guess I didn't take the "live far from a major city" part seriously since he'd already indicated that when he was at Harvard, "Two or three times a year, my long-suffering wife and I would take to the road in a rented car, traveling north to Gloucester and Newburyport in Massachusetts, Exeter and Portsmouth in New Hampshire, and Portland in Maine (being sure not to miss the Douglas N. Harding rare-book warehouse on Route 1 near Wells)" which seemed to indicate that he wasn't averse to travelling to obtain books. It also seems it paid off: "I probably acquired more than 2,000 books -- scholarly and antiquarian -- by the time I finished graduate school seven years later."
Imagine my surprise at the end when he writes, "If influential and wealthy people -- perhaps the kind who collect books themselves -- can be convinced of the importance of secondhand bookstores to an academic community, perhaps money could be found to subsidize their continuing existence in places such as Cambridge" Seems like a plan, or at the least a proposal.
I wonder who those influential book collectors might be? Hmmmm?
Sunday, September 11, 2005
The idiocy continues
The library home page at my university was recently revamped, which means menus aren't where they used to be. And it is not evident from what is on the front page what links I would need to access the OED. After several unsuccesful links, I spot the "Search" function. Of course! I'll type in "OED" and it will take me to the link.
Only the "Search" function is "Coming Soon!" - so wait, let me get this straight. You rearrange the site then don't have a working search function? THAT was a good idea!
Only the "Search" function is "Coming Soon!" - so wait, let me get this straight. You rearrange the site then don't have a working search function? THAT was a good idea!
Saturday, September 10, 2005
I like meeting new people (well, most of the time anyway)
Met the new group of doctoral students this year - there are 9 of them, which is by far the biggest class admitted in many, many years. Makes me a bit jealous - there's only two of us left from my class - they all get to go through the same stuff together at the same time. Some don't have MAs though, so they'll still be on a different track, so I guess it's not really that big a change in the numbers.
I do know I was looking forward to meeting them when I woke up yesterday morning, but then, I felt so drained (no good reason) by the time the meet 'n greet started, that I really didn't feel like being 'on' for meeting new people... you know, making nice conversation, remembering names, asking polite questions etc....
Not that I needed to worry - they were all cool and within about two minutes, I was actually enjoying the shindig. (though I would've enjoyed it even more if the department could've sprung for at least one free drink!)
The experience was a bit like I feel about teaching. Usually when I'm heading in, I'm not enthusiastic, but within a couple of minutes of starting class, I'm psyched and actually feel energized after teaching.
Same kind of thing with meeting new people. I actually worry that I'll look or sound like a dork. Which is stupid. Not because I'm not a dork. But because when I think about it, I really just don't give a damn. Well, mostly don't...
*pfft* Okay, so I do. But I also don't. And no, I DON'T need to make up my mind. I'm gonna have it both ways.
I do know I was looking forward to meeting them when I woke up yesterday morning, but then, I felt so drained (no good reason) by the time the meet 'n greet started, that I really didn't feel like being 'on' for meeting new people... you know, making nice conversation, remembering names, asking polite questions etc....
Not that I needed to worry - they were all cool and within about two minutes, I was actually enjoying the shindig. (though I would've enjoyed it even more if the department could've sprung for at least one free drink!)
The experience was a bit like I feel about teaching. Usually when I'm heading in, I'm not enthusiastic, but within a couple of minutes of starting class, I'm psyched and actually feel energized after teaching.
Same kind of thing with meeting new people. I actually worry that I'll look or sound like a dork. Which is stupid. Not because I'm not a dork. But because when I think about it, I really just don't give a damn. Well, mostly don't...
*pfft* Okay, so I do. But I also don't. And no, I DON'T need to make up my mind. I'm gonna have it both ways.
Wednesday, September 07, 2005
Back into the swing of things
Going to school in the morning was an odd, and slightly disorienting experience after all the movement of travelling halfway across the country and back.
The morning started well - I was psyched about the class I was teaching, looking forward to the possibility of shadowing and working with the new prof in the department, and just really sailing through on the aftereffects of several days of no work (not to say I didn't get tired during the trip - I'm exhausted - but I didn't do anything intellectual, which was a nice break!)
Unfortunately, things started going downhill pretty much as soon as I arrived at school. I had an immediate disappointment in not being able to shadow, but it was countered by a kind of schadenfreude-relief of finding out in a non-annoying kind of way that it wasn't going to happen. Then I had some bad/worrying news that I need to follow up on to try and correct. Then I went to the department meeting... though that was kind of a neutral event.
My biggest disappointment came the moment I walked into my classroom. I walked in to the tiniest classroom I've ever seen (the functional part of it is probably the size of my bedroom... which has never had thirteen people in it before) and announced "I'm here for English 111 - Constructing Narratives across Media. I hope you all are here for that too". I was rewarded by nothing but blank looks.
Apparently, the twelve people in the class who I thought had all signed up because they were psyched about studying multiple media for their comp class didn't exist. What did exist were twelve nursing students whose advisors had just scheduled them into the class - they had not selected my class because they were interested in the topic - they just ended up in my class.
That threw me for a loop, because I felt like I needed to explain what the class was about and how it was different from the regular class and how it was the same. I almost cried in frustration - if I have to teach the freshman comp, I wanted to teach students who were excited about the concept of this special topic course and motivated to talk about it and write neat papers about it.
So I'm very disappointed... and worried... I guess I just have to wait and see if the class warms up to the material and if I can fix the problem I learnt about in the morning. Wish me luck
The morning started well - I was psyched about the class I was teaching, looking forward to the possibility of shadowing and working with the new prof in the department, and just really sailing through on the aftereffects of several days of no work (not to say I didn't get tired during the trip - I'm exhausted - but I didn't do anything intellectual, which was a nice break!)
Unfortunately, things started going downhill pretty much as soon as I arrived at school. I had an immediate disappointment in not being able to shadow, but it was countered by a kind of schadenfreude-relief of finding out in a non-annoying kind of way that it wasn't going to happen. Then I had some bad/worrying news that I need to follow up on to try and correct. Then I went to the department meeting... though that was kind of a neutral event.
My biggest disappointment came the moment I walked into my classroom. I walked in to the tiniest classroom I've ever seen (the functional part of it is probably the size of my bedroom... which has never had thirteen people in it before) and announced "I'm here for English 111 - Constructing Narratives across Media. I hope you all are here for that too". I was rewarded by nothing but blank looks.
Apparently, the twelve people in the class who I thought had all signed up because they were psyched about studying multiple media for their comp class didn't exist. What did exist were twelve nursing students whose advisors had just scheduled them into the class - they had not selected my class because they were interested in the topic - they just ended up in my class.
That threw me for a loop, because I felt like I needed to explain what the class was about and how it was different from the regular class and how it was the same. I almost cried in frustration - if I have to teach the freshman comp, I wanted to teach students who were excited about the concept of this special topic course and motivated to talk about it and write neat papers about it.
So I'm very disappointed... and worried... I guess I just have to wait and see if the class warms up to the material and if I can fix the problem I learnt about in the morning. Wish me luck
Nebraska
Okay, so first off, I just gotta say... DAMN! this country is big! Almost as big as mine! I have car butt now from sitting in a moving vehicle for soooo long! But it was worth it!
Corn, corn, corn
There's lots of corn grown in this country... or at least in the country I travelled through. Corn and soy. Different from the endless wheat fields I'm used to seeing. But if you squint, it looks exactly the same. Felt like I was driving across Saskatchewan and Manitoba most of the time.
Nebraskan fast food
In Nebraka, there's a fast food chain, Runza's Restaurants, that make runzas. What's a runza, you ask? It's a whole bunch of ground beef with cheese wrapped in dough that's then cooked. And it's damn good - too bad there aren't any of them here 'cause they'd probably get added to my list of favorite fast food places.
The wedding
Only one word describes this wedding: beautiful. Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful! They are a fabulous couple and their happiness was a delight to see. Congratulations!
We are such geeks!
At the wedding reception, when people are supposed to be drinking and having a good time, someone at our table of eight mentioned Bentham's Panopticon... and we all nodded our heads 'cause we're all geeks who've read Foucault. Sheesh! I felt the need to drink after that just 'cause we were obviously thinking too hard!
There is such a thing as too much
Six states and fourteen hours of driving is just too much: Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania.
Holy Toledo!
So, now I know where the expression comes from... because we decided on the way back home that we'd have dinner in Toledo. We saw the sign for the Toledo zoo - probably not a great place for dinner, so we keep driving. And driving. About ten minutes later, it dawns on us that we must've blinked real hard and missed it, 'cause there ain't no Toledo to be seen, hence "Holy Toledo! We missed it!"
State Troopers
These are scary dudes, and I really don't ever want to meet one, which is why I was really glad that I got lucky in New York with them. No, not that kind of lucky. I mean that I didn't have to talk to one of them. I was in the left lane following this dude from Kansas who wasn't going as fast as I wanted him to but wasn't moving over to the right lane to let me pass. Well, we go past a cop on the side of the road who flips his lights on just after we pass him - he's after one of us. So I back off and shift to the right lane. Kansas didn't see him or something, 'cause he kept going at the same speed. Cop pulled past me and nailed Kansas instead. I'm sure some state troopers are really nice people, but I'm happy to say I have yet to meet one!
Home again, home again, jiggedy, jig
Three thousand miles of travelling under our belts, we run into our only snag a half hour out of Boston. A tractor trailer flipped, blocking two lanes of traffic. At least that's what the radio said. I believe it, 'cause when we turned off onto a side route that would go nearby my house anyway, we say nothing but stopped traffic for a couple of miles ahead. That last half hour actually took an hour and a half - a bit of a frustration after such a long travel!
Corn, corn, corn
There's lots of corn grown in this country... or at least in the country I travelled through. Corn and soy. Different from the endless wheat fields I'm used to seeing. But if you squint, it looks exactly the same. Felt like I was driving across Saskatchewan and Manitoba most of the time.
Nebraskan fast food
In Nebraka, there's a fast food chain, Runza's Restaurants, that make runzas. What's a runza, you ask? It's a whole bunch of ground beef with cheese wrapped in dough that's then cooked. And it's damn good - too bad there aren't any of them here 'cause they'd probably get added to my list of favorite fast food places.
The wedding
Only one word describes this wedding: beautiful. Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful! They are a fabulous couple and their happiness was a delight to see. Congratulations!
We are such geeks!
At the wedding reception, when people are supposed to be drinking and having a good time, someone at our table of eight mentioned Bentham's Panopticon... and we all nodded our heads 'cause we're all geeks who've read Foucault. Sheesh! I felt the need to drink after that just 'cause we were obviously thinking too hard!
There is such a thing as too much
Six states and fourteen hours of driving is just too much: Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania.
Holy Toledo!
So, now I know where the expression comes from... because we decided on the way back home that we'd have dinner in Toledo. We saw the sign for the Toledo zoo - probably not a great place for dinner, so we keep driving. And driving. About ten minutes later, it dawns on us that we must've blinked real hard and missed it, 'cause there ain't no Toledo to be seen, hence "Holy Toledo! We missed it!"
State Troopers
These are scary dudes, and I really don't ever want to meet one, which is why I was really glad that I got lucky in New York with them. No, not that kind of lucky. I mean that I didn't have to talk to one of them. I was in the left lane following this dude from Kansas who wasn't going as fast as I wanted him to but wasn't moving over to the right lane to let me pass. Well, we go past a cop on the side of the road who flips his lights on just after we pass him - he's after one of us. So I back off and shift to the right lane. Kansas didn't see him or something, 'cause he kept going at the same speed. Cop pulled past me and nailed Kansas instead. I'm sure some state troopers are really nice people, but I'm happy to say I have yet to meet one!
Home again, home again, jiggedy, jig
Three thousand miles of travelling under our belts, we run into our only snag a half hour out of Boston. A tractor trailer flipped, blocking two lanes of traffic. At least that's what the radio said. I believe it, 'cause when we turned off onto a side route that would go nearby my house anyway, we say nothing but stopped traffic for a couple of miles ahead. That last half hour actually took an hour and a half - a bit of a frustration after such a long travel!
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