I've been away for a bit because I've been incredibly busy trying to get through teaching this summer. I still have 3 weeks left and I can't wait for it to be over! Thankfully 3 weeks means teaching 8 more classes total after today, which isn't so bad. I just had the longest weekend ever due to the program... we went to Weatherford for their Academic Bowl competition. I was the social studies coach, which meant I had to be there all weekend to monitor students and help out with the events. I had some great times - for example watching our basketball team win 1st place in the championship - but there were more not so great times. Like when I got to haul all the girls bags onto the back of the bus and get all sweaty before we left. Or when I got to haul all the bags off the bus when we got there (I did the bags 4x...). Or when I didn't get dinner because I was grading tests. You get the point - the kids had fun, I worked.
Anyway classes started back yesterday. The kids didn't get a weekend (nor did I), so we're all tired and I just don't have it in me to try and come up with great lessons. Movies are wonderful things... the kids like watching them and they mean less work for me. Plus they actually can be educational...
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Sunday, June 12, 2011
What a Week!
I haven't posted for a while because I've been busy having one of the busiest weeks ever! I started classes on Monday and started teaching on Tuesday. If that wasn't enough to keep me busy, I was also tutoring a little bit this week. Let's just say I really underestimated how busy I'd be and overestimated my ability to deal...
So first - let's talk about ridiculously long days! Monday we got to campus by 8:15am and didn't leave until 8:45pm. Tuesday we got there at 7:30 and left around 4:30. Wednesday was 9am to 9pm.... you get the idea. The worst part was, I was busy for every minute I was there. If I wasn't teaching, I was learning. Talk about mental exhaustion.
I had planned to combat my mental exhaustion and stress by taking scuba diving. What a let down! I couldn't have hated it more. I'm a swimmer. Scuba diving is about sitting under water. We didn't swim, we sat and froze our asses off. Not exactly my idea of a good time. And we had to haul around our gear, wear heavy weight belts so we'd sink, and after all that - sit in a classroom for an hour and learn the SCIENCE of scuba diving. Well anyone who knows me knows that the entry of science marked my departure from the class. Yep, I dropped it. I'll stick with swimming laps, which I love.
And I'll be doing lots of lap swimming to deal with the stress of teaching. Don't get me wrong, I do like to teach. But I decided to be a professor and not a middle/high school teacher for a reason. This week has served to reinforce that I made the right decision. These kids are smart, more dedicated and focused than most their age, and still they are... well their age (15-17). I just prefer adults, what can I say. I have 20 students in my Spanish I class, which I realize is not that many, but it's more than enough for 8am. Especially since these teens ARE morning people and are already bouncing off the walls. Actually they may just be on a caffeine high, because by an hour in they are done bouncing off the walls and I'm having to keep them awake. On the other hand, I think I'm really going to enjoy my Women's Studies class. There's only 11 of them (well 9 were there on Wednesday), and it's a discussion class, instead of lecture. I'll know tomorrow when I see if they did their reading and are able to engage in coherent discussion.
On the plus side of the week - my French is flying back to me! My first week in a graduate class went really well, and if I do say so myself, I'm one of the best at it! I'm sure the fact that I: (1) took French extensively once upon a time, and (2) know Latin and Spanish pretty well has have helped quite a bit. Either way, I don't suck and that's an exiting way to start my first graduate class!
Sleep was a real issue this week - I was going to bed at 2 and 3 am and waking up by 7 at the latest. I made up for it yesterday though. Went to bed Friday night at 11:30pm and didn't wake up until 1:15pm!! I didn't even know I could sleep like that anymore, it's been so long, but I guess I really needed it. Then we went to spend the day with my stepson and his family - I had a kinda pathetic birthday due to my crazy week and lack of sleep (thanks to Laura who joined me for drinks on Thursday it wasn't truly pathetic. Thanks for lifting my spirits girl!), but they surprised me with a tres leches birthday cake, making up for my lackluster birthday. Then we went to the creek, where I proceeded to think I was a kid again and walk around barefoot in the water, falling on my ass (2 times actually), once with my cell phone in my pocket. So I'm waiting for my replacement to come in on Tuesday (I have a long, bad history with phones and am always well equipped with insurance). Despite the damaged phone it was a really great time and I know the kids had a blast.
Oh and I just got an email from WashU about setting up my student ID and email address. Yay!! Things are starting to fall into place! Anywho - that's a really quick snapshot of my crazy week. I'm finally done grading papers (that's a real drag, BTW... I think I hate grading essays more than they hate writing them), so I'm off to do my French homework.
So first - let's talk about ridiculously long days! Monday we got to campus by 8:15am and didn't leave until 8:45pm. Tuesday we got there at 7:30 and left around 4:30. Wednesday was 9am to 9pm.... you get the idea. The worst part was, I was busy for every minute I was there. If I wasn't teaching, I was learning. Talk about mental exhaustion.
I had planned to combat my mental exhaustion and stress by taking scuba diving. What a let down! I couldn't have hated it more. I'm a swimmer. Scuba diving is about sitting under water. We didn't swim, we sat and froze our asses off. Not exactly my idea of a good time. And we had to haul around our gear, wear heavy weight belts so we'd sink, and after all that - sit in a classroom for an hour and learn the SCIENCE of scuba diving. Well anyone who knows me knows that the entry of science marked my departure from the class. Yep, I dropped it. I'll stick with swimming laps, which I love.
And I'll be doing lots of lap swimming to deal with the stress of teaching. Don't get me wrong, I do like to teach. But I decided to be a professor and not a middle/high school teacher for a reason. This week has served to reinforce that I made the right decision. These kids are smart, more dedicated and focused than most their age, and still they are... well their age (15-17). I just prefer adults, what can I say. I have 20 students in my Spanish I class, which I realize is not that many, but it's more than enough for 8am. Especially since these teens ARE morning people and are already bouncing off the walls. Actually they may just be on a caffeine high, because by an hour in they are done bouncing off the walls and I'm having to keep them awake. On the other hand, I think I'm really going to enjoy my Women's Studies class. There's only 11 of them (well 9 were there on Wednesday), and it's a discussion class, instead of lecture. I'll know tomorrow when I see if they did their reading and are able to engage in coherent discussion.
On the plus side of the week - my French is flying back to me! My first week in a graduate class went really well, and if I do say so myself, I'm one of the best at it! I'm sure the fact that I: (1) took French extensively once upon a time, and (2) know Latin and Spanish pretty well has have helped quite a bit. Either way, I don't suck and that's an exiting way to start my first graduate class!
Sleep was a real issue this week - I was going to bed at 2 and 3 am and waking up by 7 at the latest. I made up for it yesterday though. Went to bed Friday night at 11:30pm and didn't wake up until 1:15pm!! I didn't even know I could sleep like that anymore, it's been so long, but I guess I really needed it. Then we went to spend the day with my stepson and his family - I had a kinda pathetic birthday due to my crazy week and lack of sleep (thanks to Laura who joined me for drinks on Thursday it wasn't truly pathetic. Thanks for lifting my spirits girl!), but they surprised me with a tres leches birthday cake, making up for my lackluster birthday. Then we went to the creek, where I proceeded to think I was a kid again and walk around barefoot in the water, falling on my ass (2 times actually), once with my cell phone in my pocket. So I'm waiting for my replacement to come in on Tuesday (I have a long, bad history with phones and am always well equipped with insurance). Despite the damaged phone it was a really great time and I know the kids had a blast.
Oh and I just got an email from WashU about setting up my student ID and email address. Yay!! Things are starting to fall into place! Anywho - that's a really quick snapshot of my crazy week. I'm finally done grading papers (that's a real drag, BTW... I think I hate grading essays more than they hate writing them), so I'm off to do my French homework.
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Sad news... the Entourage eDGe has been discontinued :-(
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| The Entourage eDGe, may she rest in peace :-( |
Reviewers are talking about how having both an eInk reader screen and an Android powered LCD made it too heavy and too expensive. I have to disagree completely. Devices, like the IPAD for example, may be lighter weight, but they are much more costly and are not nearly as functional as the eDGe. The eDGe allows me to read pdf and epub files and annotate them with a stylus. I can then re-save the file in pdf form with my annotations. And that's just the reader functions! There's also the note pad, not to mention android applications, Docs to Go, audio recorder and a lot more!
I just can't imagine not having mine and I think it's a real loss that they've been discontinued. I just hope someone in the near future picks up where they left off and advertises better! I think this reflects on our society's priorities... we have all these gadgets that are so expensive and yet do great because they cater to our obsessive need for entertainment. Meanwhile, a device that caters to the academic fails. Oh well, I guess I'm just glad I have mine. Still a sad day in my book... :-(
Friday, May 27, 2011
Vacuum Storage Bags
Today I did some packing. Well, technically I was re-packing. I had already tried to pack up all but a few outfits for the summer, but I ran out of space. So I ordered some of those storage bags that you use a vacuum to suck out all the air. So today I re-packed my clothes using the vacuum bags and eliminated an entire suitcase! Yay for small victories!
On an entirely different note, I did some more work on my Spanish I lesson plans. Again, wow is this time consuming! I've got the vocab lists for the entire course, worksheets and quizzes for my first unit written, as well as the directions and rubric for their family tree project. So many small details to attend to. I was freaking out, but then my friend, who just got a job teaching with the program this summer as well, texted me. He was freaking out too - so I feel a little better. Apparently my panic is well-founded. :-)
Wrapped up my day babysitting the most adorable 18 month-old little girl in the world. Her parents went to dinner and I worked on lesson plans while watching Buffy The Vampire Slayer (she was asleep already). Fabulous end to a pretty productive day!
On an entirely different note, I did some more work on my Spanish I lesson plans. Again, wow is this time consuming! I've got the vocab lists for the entire course, worksheets and quizzes for my first unit written, as well as the directions and rubric for their family tree project. So many small details to attend to. I was freaking out, but then my friend, who just got a job teaching with the program this summer as well, texted me. He was freaking out too - so I feel a little better. Apparently my panic is well-founded. :-)
Wrapped up my day babysitting the most adorable 18 month-old little girl in the world. Her parents went to dinner and I worked on lesson plans while watching Buffy The Vampire Slayer (she was asleep already). Fabulous end to a pretty productive day!
Thursday, May 26, 2011
I got a job! Yay!?!?
Trying to find a solution to my lack of funds for moving - I applied for a job teaching this summer. Last week I found out that I've been given three classes and I was thrilled. After today, however, I'm questioning how well this is going to work out. I spent most my day preparing my Spanish class materials. I wrote my syllabus (including agenda and grading scale). I threw in the towel while working on my vocab lists.
I need the money and I really do love teaching, so I'm not about to give up, but seriously... I never dreamed this planning would take me so long! I mean who'd have thought that putting together an agenda and the materials for a class that meets 4 hours a week for 6 weeks would be so difficult? To be fair, I think this is more difficult than a normal high school situation. I've been told here's your class title, teach what you want. No textbook. No objectives. No expectations. The freedom is great, but maybe just a little bit crippling. It's exciting though, and ultimately I'm a nerd so (complaining about the work aside) most of me is loving this.
I need the money and I really do love teaching, so I'm not about to give up, but seriously... I never dreamed this planning would take me so long! I mean who'd have thought that putting together an agenda and the materials for a class that meets 4 hours a week for 6 weeks would be so difficult? To be fair, I think this is more difficult than a normal high school situation. I've been told here's your class title, teach what you want. No textbook. No objectives. No expectations. The freedom is great, but maybe just a little bit crippling. It's exciting though, and ultimately I'm a nerd so (complaining about the work aside) most of me is loving this.
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
I've never written a blog before...
This has been by far one of the most interesting, surprising years of excitement in my life and it's only going to get crazier! So at the request of several of my friends, I'm going to keep a blog of my journey. Hopefully I don't suck at blog writing - but I've never tried it nor have I ever really followed anyone else's blog - so it could be a complete disaster. With the disclaimer out of the way let me fill in some background....
I am the first one in my family to attempt college (I just graduated with a BA in History and a BA in English May 15th!!!) - and about a 1 1/2 ago I decided that I was going to go all the way and earn my PhD. This was a really scary decision for me because I had no idea if I could compete to get into good schools. And even if I got in - I didn't know if they would give me funding. Without funding there was no way that I could afford to go. But I decided to go for it and this spring it paid off. I was accepted into 11 graduate programs, 9 of which gave me full scholarships plus living stipends. Starting in January I was getting emails, letters, and phone calls from top programs all over the country and they were recruiting ME! I spent the better part of two months traveling around the country and on phone calls with some of the greatest scholars in my field (which is late medieval/early modern gender history if you were wondering). It was like my very own Cinderella story (thankfully without the glass slippers and awkward ball gown). It even ended with a very teary graduation and Channel 8 news doing a story about me just a couple weeks ago (talk about unreal! Here's a link to the WFAA News Story!)
Finally I decided on Washington University in St. Louis, where I will be funded for 8 years, and I will be studying with Dr. Daniel Bornstein. I won their Chancellor's Fellowship, which includes an unheard of living stipend and a great community of Fellows. I couldn't be more excited to move to St. Louis and start the next chapter of my life. And that brings us to my current situation - which includes a couple huge problems to get past this summer:
1. I can't actually afford to move and the money doesn't start until the end of August
2. I own my place and need to figure out what the hell I'm doing with it
I'm sure in retrospect they will seem like minor problems, but at the moment they are terrifying (doesn't being broke blow?). Anyway stay tuned - I'll be checking in throughout the summer to update everyone.
I am the first one in my family to attempt college (I just graduated with a BA in History and a BA in English May 15th!!!) - and about a 1 1/2 ago I decided that I was going to go all the way and earn my PhD. This was a really scary decision for me because I had no idea if I could compete to get into good schools. And even if I got in - I didn't know if they would give me funding. Without funding there was no way that I could afford to go. But I decided to go for it and this spring it paid off. I was accepted into 11 graduate programs, 9 of which gave me full scholarships plus living stipends. Starting in January I was getting emails, letters, and phone calls from top programs all over the country and they were recruiting ME! I spent the better part of two months traveling around the country and on phone calls with some of the greatest scholars in my field (which is late medieval/early modern gender history if you were wondering). It was like my very own Cinderella story (thankfully without the glass slippers and awkward ball gown). It even ended with a very teary graduation and Channel 8 news doing a story about me just a couple weeks ago (talk about unreal! Here's a link to the WFAA News Story!)
Finally I decided on Washington University in St. Louis, where I will be funded for 8 years, and I will be studying with Dr. Daniel Bornstein. I won their Chancellor's Fellowship, which includes an unheard of living stipend and a great community of Fellows. I couldn't be more excited to move to St. Louis and start the next chapter of my life. And that brings us to my current situation - which includes a couple huge problems to get past this summer:
1. I can't actually afford to move and the money doesn't start until the end of August
2. I own my place and need to figure out what the hell I'm doing with it
I'm sure in retrospect they will seem like minor problems, but at the moment they are terrifying (doesn't being broke blow?). Anyway stay tuned - I'll be checking in throughout the summer to update everyone.
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