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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Tunes

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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
  

Done For today

Creating this class is a wonderful pain in the tush.  Ive been working on fleshing out the readings and finalizing the structure all day long (except the break just long enough to be disappointed by the US soccer team, of course).  I'm really excited about being able to put in parts that I really get excited about, but I feel embarrassed when I take out pieces that I don't feel as comfortable with.  I generally over prepare, but I think that's a good thing.  I am a little worried about assigning too much reading.  It is a summer class, after all, but the readings are fun!  Well, maybe not all of them.  Maybe not to undergrads who are only taking the class to knock off requirements, but still... :)

US - Ghana

Well, crap.  Ok, I actually had hope of the US actually winning one.  No dice.  I'm a little skeptical of the penalty kick, but there's no doubt that the US had their chances and didn't take advantage.  They looked ok against Italy, but this was the US team that played the Czech Republic.  I wonder how long Arena will keep his job?

Honestly though, the team from Ghana earned this.  The US team played horribly, but they earned it.  They played well and deserve the win.  I'm rooting for Ghana and Korea now.  Ghana'll play Brazil though, so I guess I'm rooting for Korea.

Work is Dead, Long Live Work!

The grading is done and submitted, and now the work begins. 

Putting together a class is an exhausting job.  I've TAed one of the classes I'm going to teach twice and the other class once, so I'm lucky to have a lot of material to draw on, but still, I've got to build a lot of it from scratch.  In fact, it's a very good possibility that the only reason I'm not tearing at my clothes and ripping out my hair is that I really don't know what I've gotten myself into.  I've got the basic form and themes of the class down basically, but the readings and finer structure are still very much... hopeful.

Another odd first - a couple of 30-something students came in to talk to the 'professor of the X classes for the summer.'  I was pointed out and they came to chat about seeing if they could get in (the class is full).  First funny thing was that they didn't laugh when they saw that I was the one who was going to be teaching it.  Second funny thing is that they seemed genuinely excited about taking the class.  Now maybe that was just an act to butter me up so I'd let them in, but still.  funny world. 

The office is getting more and more private as people leave.  This one left the academic world to try her luck in DC.  This one left to take care of ill parents.  That one is going to spend the summer back home with the long-distance boyfriend.  This one is working like a madman at his local job to build up enough money to make it through another school year.  And here I am - the only grad student hanging through the summer in the office.  I always gripe about not being able to get anything done because of all the distractions, but I'm going to be really lonely in here.  Especially since I'll be moving on before the office gets rowdy again.  sadness.