Conferencing Bullets

Ages since I last posted, so I thought I would update with some bullets.

* I'm currently in Lake Tahoe, Nevada, attending a regional conference with some folks I like. Next year I'll be the program chair for this conference (!) and I'm actually feeling pretty good about it. I'm pretty organized, and it's a fairly small conference, so ... no worries.
* It's snowing outside. Bummer. But since it's supposed to also be snowing in High Plains City, I think I would be experiencing this no matter what.
* I'm paying $12 a day for the internet, so I'm pretty sure that part of the reason I'm blogging is because I want to get my money's worth.
* My friend Red is now Associate Dean of the college. She's my roommate, and has a bigger travel fund than I do.
* Slogger received an email about a couple looking to find a new home for their 7-month old Miniature Pinscher. I guess he's considering it, but I hope it doesn't turn out to be another Oscar. Oscar was a cute little dog we saw on a Friday a couple of months ago at the local animal shelter. He was perfect for us, but Slogger was hesitant, so we didn't take him. By the time Monday rolled around, Slogger had decided that Oscar was the dog for us; however, when I called the animal shelter Monday morning, Oscar had already been adopted. Much mourning over the lost Oscar ensued.
* My students and I are all thrilled that we didn't have class on Thursday. Thrilled, I tell you! And I'm also letting them out of class the Tuesday before Thanksgiving. Thrilled again!
* I think I've already gained 10 pounds at this conference, and it is only the second day.
* I bought these shoes. They should be there by the time I get home.
* Last night I had to finish an algebra assignment before we could go out and have a drink. Took me two hours. Erg.
* There's a candidate for one of our searches(it's a high-powered position and I'm on the search committee) at this conference, and I want to pull him/her aside to talk about the search, BUT I want to do it in a way that doesn't reveal anything to his/her colleagues. Can't seem to find this person alone to do that . . .

And that's about all I've got. Here's hoping that the snow will melt before we're ready to head home . . . .

Preach It, Brother!

This had me standing in my living room, cheering and crying! Holy crap, do I believe this guy.

Want

Strangely Comforting

Because I'm too freaking busy to post anything worthwhile:

What Your Socks Say About You

You Are: - Infinitely enchanting - Simply amazing - An incredible person - A true star

The Socks Personality Test

Losing It

No, not my mind.

I got on the scale this morning, expecting to have gained a couple of pounds, due to not exercising, not really paying attention to what I eat (although, see below for a caveat), and generally being stressed and anxious about life and teaching and etc.

Instead, I had lost three pounds.

That is a shocker!

I can only attribute this loss to the daily riding of my new cruiser, the cutting back of carbs and booze in an attempt to lower my triglycerides, and perhaps aforementioned stress and anxiety?

Anyway, I'll take it.

In other news, the students in my college algebra class yesterday had me rolling my eyes and snorting with laughter. First, there is the fact that my instructor is an undergraduate and looks like he is about 12. Granted, he seems to know his math. Then there are the two girls in the back row (and yes, I'm using "girls" advisedly, because they look and act like 8th-graders who are getting to go to the prom with a senior) who NEVER STOP TALKING the entire class. The instructor doesn't take roll, so I'm not sure why they are there. Certainly not to learn anything.

And then there was the poor kid on the back row with a cold, who blew his/her nose at least 30 times in a 50-minute period. No kidding. It got to the point where every time I heard a nose blowing from behind me, I started giggling and couldn't stop. Seriously. I think I even snorted a couple of times.

I'll post more later about the interesting computer system for doing our homework online, which I love but the other students hate.

For now, I'm off to teach a class, attend a meeting (with pizza, which I will not eat), teach another class, attend a meeting, and then go to a volleyball game. Ha. Crazy day.

Celebration/Convocation

Last night was a reception at the President's house (of the University, that is) for all of those who were promoted this year. Slogger and I went, and we enjoyed ourselves. I was hoping that attending this event would allow me to get to know a few of the higher-ups, but it was a bit crowded for that. Really, all I want is for people I have met a couple of times to recognize me when they see me on campus. This rarely happens (the recognizing bit, I mean). Anyway, it was a good dinner, and all of those promoted did get a nice gift, a zippered leather notebook case thingy. Really nice. And it smells like leather (cause it is leather!).

This afternoon is the Convocation. (Footslogger emailed me this morning and asked "Have you convocated yet?" Nope. Not till this afternoon.) The Convocation is an opportunity for all of us who were promoted to be individually recognized, and an opportunity for said President (see above) to make a "state-of-the-university" speech. Should be interesting.

Teaching While Anxious

OK, I know I've been a bad blogger. Really, I know. These first two weeks of classes have been a bit on the crazy side, mostly because of my anxieties. I'm writing journal entries with my Methods I class, so I'm using one of those entries as my blog catch-up.

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I've been feeling this semester (already, in the first two weeks) a sense of anxiety about my classes, my teaching, my students. I'm not sure where this comes from. It could be a normal part of the fall semester, as I enculturate a new group of students into my way of teaching. They are (or many of them are) making a transition -- several transitions, really. From their English classes (largely lecture/discussion) to my methods classes (collaborative, constructivist). From being a student (passive) to being a teacher (active). so some of it could be happening every fall, and I just don't remember it from last year. But then again, perhaps my students last year were so wonderful that it didn't happen.

Or perhaps I have just gone too far down the constructivist highway. I hate seeing certain students looking as if being in my class is painful, something like a dentist appointment. May they are just cranky!

Then again, perhaps I am experiencing a heightened sense of anxiety, because of Slogger's health issues. Overall, I'm feeling more anxiety in my life these days, which can be brought up very easily by the slightest thing. For example, I just walked over to the Education building and back, and as I was walking back I realized that the shows I have on today (brown leather Clark's) were the same shoes I wore almost every day during the 2 weeks Slogger was in the hospital. Just that thought sent a cramping sensation to my stomach and an unwelcome feeling of anxiety and dread. I coudl very well be carrying this into my classroom.

Another possibility is that now that I have received the big university-wide teaching award, I feel the pressure has heightened for me to perform well as a teacher. this is a self-induced torture, however, as I don't believe that many -- or possibly any! -- of my students are aware of the award.

So where to go from here. Let it go (picture me sweeping my hands over my head -- this is a gesture of release for me). Let it go. Take deep breaths before, during, and after class. Slow down. Focus on course goals. Make it concrete when it feels too fuzzy. Refer to future assignments. Realize that none of it affects me in any material way, because I HAVE tenure, I've BEEN promoted and I RECEIVED that teaching award. Ha! So there.

Down by Half!

Yesterday the results of my blood work arrived, and my cholesterol values are CUT IN HALF! IN HALF! I have to say, I love me some Lipitor.

Now for the bad news: my triglycerides are still high. I did a google search on cutting triglycerides, and it looks like I have to cut out all of the stuff I love:
* carbohydrates
* sugar
* alcohol

Yes, alcohol.

I'm bummed. I guess I'll go have a salad for lunch. Cause I'm supposed to eat more green leafy vegetables and lose weight.

Class Tomorrow

Today was the first day of classes. Not mine, which start tomorrow. So I spent today putting out fires and cleaning out files. First fire: the guy from the Benefits office called and left a message that the tuition waiver form for me in their office didn't have the signature from the "appointing authority" -- ie., the Dean. This is something the department secretary should have done. I told her to be sure and send it to the Dean's office before sending it to the Benefits Office; it said on the form that it required another signature. But she didn't. So, I spent a good chunk of today running a duplicate copy of the form hither and yon, getting signatures, etc. Because if it wasn't turned in today, I would end up paying my own tuition. I mean, I could pay my own tuition, but I'd rather not, since the university offers to pay for one course a semester.

I also attended my first (repeat) class of College Algebra this morning. I think the GA teaching the class is about 12.

This evening Slogger and I had salmon cooked on the grill, rice, and green beans almondine. Perfect. But I've been feeling cranky and low. After giving it some thought, I realized that the teaching award I was given last spring has ratcheted up the anxiety level for the first day of class. Now I have something to live up to! Slogger says I need to just approach class as I always have, and that's good advice I'll try to remember.

Not Knocking

I was working in my office this morning when I heard students walking down the hall. The next thing I knew, one of those students were standing in the middle of my office, while the other hung out in the doorway. This student -- one of my advisees -- had walked in without knocking. Without. Knocking. Or even pausing in the doorway.

The shock of it kept me from saying anything about it -- I answered the question and they went on their way.

I have a vague memory of someone doing that during advising week. Now that I know who it is, he will be getting a lesson in etiquette the next time I see him.

Back from Dallas, and some Bullets

I returned home from Dallas on Sunday night, late, and am still recovering. I recognize that it's been over a week since I posted. It's been an emotional week, and I do want to share some of that with you (oh you few) readers.

First, the traveling. I flew from Big Western City into Kansas City, where Sheri picked me up. We then drove the rest of the day to Dallas, talking all the way. By the time we got there, my throat was sore! Needless to say, there are reasons that Sheri is one of my best friends from childhood. She makes me feel like there is someone else out there who gets me. (And she reads my blog, so that was kind of fun -- I would start telling her a story and she would say "Oh, yeah, I read about that on your blog.")

Wednesday night we arrived in Dallas, and Sheri dropped me off at my brother's MASSIVE house out in the country. Did I say massive? Uh, yeah. Huge. Anyway, the triplets had stayed up late to see their Auntie Bad Ass, and that was fun to get little boy hugs all around. My mom and stepdad were also there, and that was great. We were all pooped, so we didn't stay up too late.

The next morning was the funeral service, which was an emotional roller-coaster for me. Needless to say, I cried through the whole ceremony. I think the root of those tears came from several places. First was my concern for JR's family, imagining his wife of 57 years now on her own, his children and grand-children and even one great grand-child making their way in the world without him. There was also this piece of me that was remembering my own father's death, which I've never really resolved. Finally, I was imagining myself in the same situation, hopefully after a very long time, losing Slogger. I guess that feeling makes sense as we have gone through a near-death episode only a few months ago. I was sitting next to my younger brother during the ceremony, and just when I would get the tears under control, I would look over and see him bawling, which set me off again. We are a weepy bunch, my brother and me!

After the service, we grabbed some lunch and headed out to the Woods (JR's 40-acre plot of land in East Texas, where I spent so many weekends as a child) to visit with family and friends. That was a great time, though also a bit teary. It was a time of chatting with old friends, including JR's daughter H, who was my first best friend. I also got to catch up with Sheri's sister D, meet her daughters, and spend a bit of time with her brother (also D, but with no good pseudonym yet!).

I don't have time this morning to do an adequate job of writing the whole week, but I'll provide some highlights of the remainder of the week:

• pizza dinner at the pool with Sheri, D, D, and their kids
• bowling with triplets! and the triplet named after my dad won!
• driving back to Kansas City with Sheri, and never running out of talk
• pulling into a Sonic for an ice cream, and hearing the Wimbleway song on the radio. [Long story about our Scout troop, singing, and this song.]
• hearing JR's wife (BR) say how much it means to her that "her girls" came to honor JR

And now, back to my regular life. Still some tears now and then, but hugs from Footslogger help. Yesterday was the dissertation defense for the doc student in geology, for whom I'm serving as the outside member. Way, way outside, as I told the other committee members. Three hours? Wow.

I did manage to finish my course syllabi yesterday, but I still need to get ready for the first day of classes, call the vet and get Marty an appointment (she's limping again, and it's probably arthritis, but I want to take her in just to be sure), unpack my suitcase (!), and get some laundry done. Lots to get to. So I'm off to exercise and get going on that -- more later.

Loss

I found out a few days ago that a man who I think of as my second father (JR) passed away, after a short bout with cancer. I'll be traveling to Kansas City next Wednesday to join up with my friend-since-3rd-grade Sheri, and we'll drive together (in her Prius, thank the stars above) to Dallas for the funeral on Thursday. Can I just say that I'm not looking forward to the weather?

JR has been a part of my life since I was 5 years old, when my parents met JR and his wife (BR) at a Mensa meeting. Their children were approximately the same ages, so the friendship among the parents meant friendship among the kids. Years followed of sleepovers, co-family camping trips, week-long vacations camping on Padre Island, weekends at The Woods (their 40-acre plot of land, with a POND!), Scouting opportunities, etc.

JR taught me to shoot a gun safely, that life in the summer without air conditioning can be liveable (barely), and that dancing the fox trot can be fun.

He was as close to a nudist as it comes -- when I took Slogger out to JR and BR's house to meet them, I warned him that we would likely see JR in the skimpiest of Speedo's, rolled down to a mere whisper of cloth. Slogger laughed, but my prediction was accurate. I'll always picture him tanned and thin, wearing his tiny red Speedo, with a Swisher Sweet hanging from his mouth, laughing.

I can't imagine the world without him.

And, of course, his death has ratcheted up my concern for Footslogger's health, as I imagine JR's wife and children coping with his loss and then picture myself in their place. I'm trying not to dwell there, as both Slogger and I plan for him to be around for many, many years.

After the funeral on Thursday, there will be a get-together for friends and family at their home. I'm looking forward to seeing very old friends (most of whom I haven't seen for years) and to being with my mother, brother, and nephews for a few days.

Of Tiling, Asbestos, and a New Diet Plan

Yesterday, our college administrative person (who is utterly fabulous, so I don't blame her for this AT ALL) (really, I don't blame anyone, I'm just whining) emailed everyone whose office resides on my floor to let us know that after noon today, we won't have access to our offices for a week. Why, you may ask, in the middle of getting ready for fall classes, would this happen? Well, we're getting new tile flooring in the hallway and the stairwells. Oh, and in order to take out the existing flooring, they have to do asbestos abatement. Enthusiasm for this project was sparked when we had our accreditation visit last spring (which we passed! with flying colors!). Part of getting-ready-for-the-accreditation-visit was spiffing up the buildings, which included retiling and repainting the hallway on the first floor, where most of the action is. Third floor? I don't think the accreditation visitors ever made it up that far! So anyway, I'll be heading in to the office early this morning, hoping to finish AT LEAST getting the readings lined up for one of my fall courses (the one I'm completely revising) so that I can work on other stuff at home.

Like the 300-page dissertation I have to read from a field completely outside of my knowledge base. I'm interested in this field, but not knowledgeable at all. Remember the science geek attempts? It's in that field: geology/geophysics. I'm the outside member, as in way outside. Let's just say that the title includes lots of things I don't know about, like "lattice-preferred orientation analysis" and "abyssal peridotites." Whew.

The science geek project, by the way, is still ongoing, but I'm in such lower-level courses at the moment that it feels like one of those dreams where you're trying really hard to run, but your body will not move? Like trying to run through big vats of yogurt or something.

Anyway, in other news, I have been running on my treadmill all summer, and not losing any weight (which is ANNOYING!) so I decided I should probably pay attention to my diet as well. I've downloaded this software, which is still in its trial period. But I'm thinking about purchasing it, because I really like the ability to track what I'm eating and how much I'm exercising. If nothing else, it gives me something positive to do in that direction. And -- other than hiking for six months at a time -- this process of tracking intake and output is the only way I've lost weight in the past. So, I'm shooting for losing about 25 pounds by January.

And While I'm At It . . .

A subject near and dear to my heart: punctuation. Along the lines of a quiz, I turn out to be one of my favorite, and thus most overused punctuation marks -- the dash.

You Are a Dash

Your life is fast paced and varied. You are realistic, down to earth, and very honest. You're often busy doing something interesting, and what you do changes quickly. You have many facets to your personality, and you connect them together well. You have a ton of interests. While some of them are a bit offbeat, they all tie together well. You friends rely on you to bring novelty and excitement to their lives. (And while you're the most interesting person they know, they can't help feeling like they don't know you well.) You excel in: Anything to do with money You get along best with: the Exclamation Point

What Punctuation Mark Are You?

I WON! I WON!

Woo-hoo! Brigindo was crazy enough to nominate me for my very first blogging award:









I am so honored, touched, and proud -- especially to be nominated by someone whose writing is so elegant and soothing.

So, here are the rules:

1. Put the logo on your blog.
2. Add a link to the person who awarded it to you.
3. Nominate at least 7 other blogs.
4. Add links to these blogs on your blog.
5. Leave a message for your nominee on their blog.


And since we all know I'm a rule follower from WAY BACK, here you go:

I nominate the following...

Pamela Jeanne at Coming2Terms
Rudbeckia Hirta at Learning Curves
Life of a Fool
Musey at My Hiding Place
Jen at Oh, And . . .
Russian Violets
Belle at Scattered and Random


wow, that was tough. Hard decisions to make. And if I've left you out of the brilliant party, and you want to be part of it, consider yourself nominated!

Dogs and Mandolins

Now that our lovely fence is up around our jungle-like backyard (it's a small jungle, but a jungle nonetheless), we're thinking about getting a dog.

Thinking about it.

It would be a big change for us, as we've always -- at least since Slogger and I have been together, and that's 10 years -- had just the cats. We've commented many times on how much easier cats are than dogs. We can leave them alone for weeks at a time (with someone to check on them every other day, so don't flame me about that), we don't have to come home at lunch and walk them, etc.

Yesterday after we went to capitol city to buy a few things, we stopped by the dog pound to see if there was a dog there that would speak to us. We saw one that is a possibility, though she will not be adoptable until the end of the month. A black lab mix puppy, sweet and quiet.

Also, some friends just emailed us about a 3-year old black standard poodle who is looking for a home, so that's an option as well.

All of this while we're planning seriously on purchasing a small teardrop trailer for camping trips and trips to visit family. It could very well happen that we'll be taking a dog along with us . . .

Edited to add: I should mention, by the way, that in my former life with Bad Andy, we had 6 dogs and 5 cats. So I'm not a stranger to dogs . . .
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In other news, I bought Slogger a mandolin for his birthday, which was last Friday. THIS WILL GO DOWN IN HISTORY AS THE BEST PRESENT I'VE EVER BOUGHT HIM! Seriously. He is crazy about it, plays it every day after work, has already bought all the accessories (he is a serious accessorizer) such as a music stand, a mandolin stand, a mandolin case, a tuner, a strap, and a capo. Pretty soon we'll take our tear drop trailer, our new dog, my keyboard, his mandolin and all his mandolin stuff, and hit the road as a traveling band. Got any ideas for a name?

Achieving (Some) Clarity

In the last couple of weeks, when I've been able to force myself to work, I have been getting lots of work done for my fall courses. I've been teaching these fall courses for the last six years and getting excellent teaching evaluations overall. There is, however, a clear pattern in the comments every fall of a couple of students saying that my assignments aren't clear. In the past, I've always written assignment descriptions in my course syllabi -- assuming that having everything in one document would be simplest for my students -- and handed out rubrics or other grading scales in class. Last year I started making samples of big assignments available to my students (with names removed, of course). I've tinkered around with the assignment descriptions over the years, trying to make them more clear, but this year I've decided to make a drastic change.

I'm creating an assignment sheet for each assignment, in a separate document. In the process of doing this (I'm almost finished) I realized that there was a lot of ambiguity in my syllabi. Lots. Because I had to make all kinds of decisions as I was writing them.

I don't know if anyone is interested in the structure of the thing, but I set each information sheet up in this format:

Purpose:
Assignment Description:
Method:
Evaluation:

When I told Slogger what I was doing, he said, "Sounds like hand-holding to me." Well, this is true. However, in defense of my hand-holding, this is the kind of thing I ask my students to prepare for their (future) junior high and high school students. So I can think of it as a) making my life easier, b) modeling good teaching practice for preservice teachers, and c) having something concrete to point to when complaints arise.

But anyway, I've been so focused on getting this job done that I've neglected to blog. Sorry about that.

P.S. I found out last week that my proposal for a small conference in my field was accepted. This makes me so happy! I attended this conference when I was in grad school, and I am looking forward to getting back into it.

New! Bike!

OK, I went to a birthday party lunch yesterday for my fabulous colleague, Katie, and after ogling her new cruiser, I decided, yes, I deserve one.


So I walked a block to the bike shop and bought this one:









They're putting it together for me today, and I should be able to pick it up this afternoon.

Oh, and I also ordered chrome fenders and baskets on the back.

I'm so excited! I can't wait to ride that thing to work, in a skirt and heels.

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By the way, I'm feeling much better after my sleepy and dizzy Zyrtec episode. Back to sneezing and Claritin, which is now just the way I like it. That sounds something like the beginning of the Seven Dwarves, which is interesting for someone whose life is sometimes like a fairy tale!

Oh, Lordy

OK, it's been ages since I posted. In my defense, I wrote a lengthy post over the weekend, only to have it disappear into the blogspot black hole. Annoying.

But here's what's going on now. I usually have some allergy issues in the summer -- sneezing, runny nose, itchy eyes and throat, etc. -- and I usually take Claritin for it. Claritin hasn't really been working for me this summer as it usually does, either because I've gotten resistant to it OR because the pollen count is freakin' gargantuan this summer. Lots of rain, etc.

So, I decided yesterday, and Slogger concurred, to switch to Zyrtec. Took a Zyrtec yesterday afternoon, and -- true -- I haven't sneezed much since. However. I've been sleeping on and off, both while in bed and while walking around, for the last two days. AND, on a scarier note, I've had a couple of dizzy spells today. So, needless to say, no more Zyrtec. I'd much rather be sneezing.

But my lack of energy and my sleepiness meant that Slogger prepared dinner tonight. Score! I've been sitting in my chair grading materials on my online course and thinking about the book I'll be reading tonight. Yes, another Harry Potter. Why quit when you've got a good thing going?

Rethinking Sabbatical Leave

One of my projects for this summer is to write both a sabbatical leave proposal (to be evaluated by the dean of my college prior to being approved or not by the higherups) and a book proposal to publish the results of that research. I made a good start on book of these products earlier this summer, but as time goes by I find myself less and less inclined to work on them.

In fact, I'm beginning to rethink the timing of a sabbatical leave.

The most compelling reason for not taking a sabbatical leave just now is that it necessarily would involve traveling. The proposals that get supported by our administration almost always involve travel -- I suppose the idea that one could stay at home and get work done is considered a fallacy -- and I have been planning to spend most of one semester traveling around the US, working with teachers in different places. The problem with traveling now is that since Slogger had his heart attack, I'm not so keen on leaving him, for any reason. He doesn't like it either.

I'm also not sure, suddenly, that this is the research I want to do. It seems that I have -- beginning with my dissertation and continuing on through my recent tenure and promotion -- been easily shifted by passing interests in research projects. I want to dig in, choose a topic for research, and stick with it. For years. And I'm not sure that this is the area I would like to choose for it.

At this point, I'm thinking of spending this school year figuring all of that out and perhaps submitting a sabbatical leave proposal later. Still thinking about it, though.

Thoughts, internets?