Whew!

One week down, a summer's worth of them to go.  From what I can tell, it looks like it's working.  No one has seen entirely through my facade, so I guess that's good.  The talkers that I've got are generally engaged in the topic and not so much in just hearing their own voice.  So as long as I bust my tush every day for the rest of the summer I may make it.  Thank goodness I'm making the big bucks now.  Oh, no.  I forgot.  I'm only making a touch more than I was making as a TA.  Feh.

oh, yeah - 8.19km-39'30"

Teaching Notes

• Has anyone done a study of teachers getting white-lung (chalk-dust inhalation sickness)?  If so, can I get workers' comp?
• Three students saw Superman - 2 enthusiastic thumbs up, and one 'meh,' as Camera Obscura puts it.
• I am actually where I planned to be after the first week of lectures.  I'm stunned.
• Tomorrow is for analyzing the readings.  Danger danger danger.
• It's odd - I'm used to being able to lean on the professor's presence in discussions.  If there's something I don't know, it's never been a problem because I'll just say, I'll ask the professor.  It sounds a lot more sketchy if it's 'I'll go look that up.'
• I can also play against the big bad professor - "Well, it is a difficult reading, but the professor thinks it's important, so...  Now I'll have to actually be responsible for my actions!  I'm an American for crying out loud!  I don't do that well at that!

Whoa.

Blogger cloning! cool...

I know kung fu...

Tunes

Tunes

Tunes

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href="http://www.last.fm/user/Overread/?chartstyle=iPodWhite"><img
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Tunes

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href="http://www.last.fm/user/Overread/?chartstyle=iPodWhite"><img
src="http://imagegen.last.fm/iPodWhite/artists/Overread.gif" border="0"></a>

Superman

I snuck out to see a movie instead of running today.  I don't want to say much about the particulars.  It's sort of odd, it seems like there are a lot of 'new' things, but I kept on thinking, wow, there's really nothing fresh about this.  It's the same old stuff happening the same way it always does (without Richard Pryor as a computer whiz, thank goodness). 

There's one really big 'surprise,' but I really didn't like the way they handled it.  Overall, I enjoyed most of the movie, but left me feeling very unfulfilled, and very unsatisfied with what passed for the 'character' of Superman.

I'm glad I saw it, but I'm even more glad that I didn't have my hopes that high

Stressball

Class went a little better today.  Notes were taken.  Questions were asked (and I even knew the answers, which is helpful)  I think one of the hardest things for me is to judge how much material we can cover in how much time.  Better to over-prep than to under-prep, I guess.  I know I'm dumping a lot of material on them, and I wonder if I'm going too fast.  I tend to talk more quickly when I'm nervous and/or excited, which covers this class pretty well from beginning to end.

We're getting into more difficult territory tomorrow, so we'll see.  I can tell that teaching this way every day is going to wear me out.  I need to look for a masseuse.

8.28km 39'05"

Online advice.

On classic photographs.  Great fun.

8.27km - 38'52"

Post Lecturum

Wow.  Lecturing is so... different.  The students weren't taking notes.  I wasn't really hitting a lot of content on day one, but still, shouldn't they be taking notes?  Also, there are several ringers in the class.  They know the subject really pretty well (and two of them could probably teach the class themselves), so I was always running my eyes back to them to see how they were taking it.  Nerve-wracking. 

On the plus side, I didn't run out of material.  I thought I planned a bit too much, and it turns out that I planned a bit too much, so I guess that's good.  Also, I have a handful of good talkers, and a couple of people very interested in getting into content arguments, so that's nice.  Maybe during discussion they can pull some of the quieter ones out of their shells. 

Oh yeah, one guy went to sleep and one guy came in one hour late and asked when the class started.  :)

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Multimedia message
Originally uploaded by Overread.

Why am I so nervous?  I'm getting ready to teach a class in a half an hour, but I've taught before.  It's no big deal, is it?

This is my first teaching position all on my own at a real university.  Everything is mine.  The readings selections, the lectures, the discussions, everything.  I mean, I've borrowed content from here and there, but I chose them all.  Cutting there, adding here. I've always said, 'if I were teaching this course, I'd do it this way - I wouldn't do that.'  Damn karma.  Of course, I now know very well that idealism and course design don't mesh well.  Well, I guess it's a progressive thing.  I've got to start somewhere, right?

Hehe - These people actually expect me to run the whole show. 

So, I'm a little jumpy.  Students can smell fear, right?

Just Add ‘In a Quiz’ to the End of Your Fortune Cookie

Well, as long as I get it posted before Monday, I’m still not late, right?

Only one missed from last time was #7, “Mona Lisa and Mad Hatters” by Elton John. I just love that ‘Sons of Baaaankers, sons of Laaaawyers’ part. Good Stuff.

1 – I never would get the artist on this one

Soon You will come to knowWhen the bullet hits the bone

2 – I had/have a big crush on this artist. I think just about everybody did.

To where the water and the earth caress

And the down of a peach says mmh, yes,

Do I look for those millionaires

Like a Machiavellian girl would

When I could wear a sunset? mmh, yes,

3 –

It was kind of cold that night

She stood alone on her balcony

She could the cars roll by

Out on 441

Like waves crashing in the beach

And for one desperate moment there

He crept back in her memory    

4 – Eeeeeeasy

There’s something about you girl

That makes me sweat

5 – I’m not so sure about this one…

    There's a hole in my head where the rain comes in,

You took my body and played to win,

Ha Ha woman it's a crying shame,

But you ain't got no one else to blame.

6 – Obscure, but I bet you’ll get it

No one in the world ever gets what they want

and that is beautiful

Everybody dies frustrated and sad

and that is beautiful

7 – A hmmm hmm hmm

And you know what I’m talkin’ about.

Just let me know if you wanna go

To that home out on the range.

They gotta lotta nice girls.

8 – The lyrics site had the last line as ‘You always see my number, you don’t..’

Most times you can’t hear ‘em talk, other times you can.

Oh the same old cliché, as that woman on her a man

You always seem outnumbered, you don’t dare make a stand.

9 –

Face to face

And back to back

You see and feel

My sex attack

Sing it

10 – Toughie?

And when my mind is free

You know a melody can move me

And when I'm feelin' blue

The guitar's comin' through to soothe me

Don't Tell Anyone,

I feel busier now getting ready for this class than I did when I was getting the thesis together.  Feh, anyway, my dirty secret is that I'm still getting out and running:

Fri: 8.27km - 38'46"
Today: 8.23km - 38'45"

Funny, yeah.  Consistency's gotta count for something, right?

So yesterday I went shopping to get a couple more 'Lookie, lookie, I'm an adult' shirts.  I know I can never really pull off the illusion, but if I can trick the students into buying it for the first week or so, I figure it's in my favor.  Good grief though, I forgot how proud of their nice clothing those stores are.  I spent a lot more money than I thought I would.  Ended up with some nice stuff though, so I guess it's ok. 

I'm still lacking shorts that fit my new waist size though.  That's lower priority, but still, I finally feel like one of the cool kids, because my shorts want to ride with the waist somewhere around mid-thigh.  I just roll like that, you know.  I guess paisley underwear should be on my list too...

Final random notes:

• The machine is out of diet coke, so I'm drinking my first non-diet coke in a long long time.  Tastes funky.  I want my unnatural chemicals back in my beverage!
• If I played for Brazil, my name would be 'Overreaca.'  It's true because a website told me.
• Yesterday's outing also involved Ice Cream.  Phish Food, you are my true love.
• I'm not a student here anymore, so I've got to pay for the bus and for the gym.  Feh.  At least my library card still works