I don't know if it's the changes I've been going though over the last year, or if it's how quickly I've adjusted to Oregon, but I've felt a huge sense of culture shock since leaving Oregon. There are little things - I've adjusted to quiet, small-town life with no traffic, and friendly people that aren't in a hurry, and nothing being crowded. Chicago seemed like a chaotic zoo to me! (Especially the airport.)
Then there's the materialism. I've done a good job of starting to get rid of excess things and simplify my life. I am amazed by all the gadgets people have! When I was in the airplane and looking at the airmall catalog I saw it with totally new eyes. I couldn't imagine why people would want the things in that catalog - I mean, come on, do you really need a coffee mug that has a clock on the side? What if you go to read the clock and tilt it back for a better view, and spill all your coffee? These two things just do not need to be made into one... And do we really need a separate appliance for all the types of foods that we cook?
Then at the grocery store in North Carolina there was a whole section for cool-aid, when did that become a food group? And who eats those isles and isles of pre-boxed, ready to go meals? I want to go back to my organic food co-op in Oregon!
Thursday, December 20, 2007
The first week of the holiday
I've been in North Carolina now for about a week. It has been a great trip so far. I have had a lot of fun dancing with my nephew. In fact I posted a dance clip online last night:
http://www.physics.oregonstate.edu/~demareed/dancing_with_ian.AVI
He is super cute! I love the butt wiggle he gives at the end of the video.
I've had a lot of good talks with my mom, and we did a puzzle together. I also helped my sister make soup to give to her son's teachers.
I went "up the mountain" to Boone and Blowing Rock on Monday to have lunch with one of the friends I made on an interview at App. State. It was good to catch up with people there, and I enjoyed finishing up my Christmas shopping before coming home. I also bought some gifts for myself :)
I've been catching up for work slowly in the evenings but last night that was at the detriment of my sleep, as I hit a productive streak and stayed up very late. Then my sister came over with her baby in the morning and of course I couldn't stay in bed with my nephew downstairs!
Finally having a good date
So I started exchanging some fun emails with someone via my online profile. It seemed like he was a pretty interesting guy though it's very hard to tell from online and just a few emails. However, I was insistent that I not let work run my life, and I should go out. I decided to ask him to meet me (he had suggested the same) because I thought it would do me good to go out and would be worth meeting him even if he wasn't worth meeting. It turns out this was a good attitude because I went on the date with no expectations, and was fairly relaxed and ready to enjoy myself no matter what. Turns out the guy was cute, and he was super great to talk to, and seemed very mature yet fun. I enjoyed meeting him so much I was ready for the 2nd date by the time the 1st one was over.
We did go out again, 2 days later. We were just going to meet briefly for drinks or something, but instead I got to town early (he lives in Portland) and we had dinner. We at at a very yummy Peruvian place, and the food was terrific. We shared a cheese appetizer, each really enjoyed our main courses and glasses of wine, then shared a trio of flavored creme brulee for dessert. He was charming, funny, and great to talk to. The best part of all was the next day when I checked my email there was a message from him saying that he looked forward to me getting back in town after the holidays.
I'm so glad I finally went out!!
We did go out again, 2 days later. We were just going to meet briefly for drinks or something, but instead I got to town early (he lives in Portland) and we had dinner. We at at a very yummy Peruvian place, and the food was terrific. We shared a cheese appetizer, each really enjoyed our main courses and glasses of wine, then shared a trio of flavored creme brulee for dessert. He was charming, funny, and great to talk to. The best part of all was the next day when I checked my email there was a message from him saying that he looked forward to me getting back in town after the holidays.
I'm so glad I finally went out!!
The end of the Quarter
Wow - I am exhausted! I can't believe I survived teaching 250 students this quarter. My new job is amazing - I love it, it is more than I ever hoped it would be. I seem to relate well to my students. I have a lot to learn and there are a lot of things I want to do better, but I feel like I'm off to a strong start. I had a very low drop-out rate in my class, and my students did well. I feel like they really tried to achieve the things I pushed them to do. They also did pretty well on my final - I put a question on there that I thought would really challenge them and they averaged about 65% on it - which means that most of them actually managed to do it right.
I gave my students a diagnostic test to see how well we're doing in the courses before doing our curricular reform. I was worried about the results because it was my first time teaching a large-enrollment course and I was new to this student population. However, my students did great. They did far above the average large-lecture class (as compared to colleges across the country)! I am very proud of them, and myself. I feel like things are going well in the class because I relate well to my students - which is largely because I somehow fit in well in Oregon. I feel like I belong.
I also had my teaching evaluated by two senior faculty members in my department and one faculty member from the center for teaching and learning. There are great things they pointed out for me to improve on in the future, but they were also full of encouraging words and seemed to really enjoy what we were doing in the classroom. It was nerve-racking having them observe my class - but that day was very lively and I couldn't even pick them all out from the crowd so it was easy to forget I was being watched. I was a bit nervous though and accidentally dropped the brand new piece of demo equipment (that was just made by my request the previous week!) on the floor in front of all the students! Fortunately it didn't break :)
The funniest thing though was when I nearly knocked over one of my students passing a basketball to him (to show momentum conservation). I haven't passed a basketball in years - and I've been working out my upper body lately. I guess I have a lot more "umph" in my throws than either I or my students realized! I enjoy having laughter in my classroom... I am looking forward to getting back to my students in Jan.
I gave my students a diagnostic test to see how well we're doing in the courses before doing our curricular reform. I was worried about the results because it was my first time teaching a large-enrollment course and I was new to this student population. However, my students did great. They did far above the average large-lecture class (as compared to colleges across the country)! I am very proud of them, and myself. I feel like things are going well in the class because I relate well to my students - which is largely because I somehow fit in well in Oregon. I feel like I belong.
I also had my teaching evaluated by two senior faculty members in my department and one faculty member from the center for teaching and learning. There are great things they pointed out for me to improve on in the future, but they were also full of encouraging words and seemed to really enjoy what we were doing in the classroom. It was nerve-racking having them observe my class - but that day was very lively and I couldn't even pick them all out from the crowd so it was easy to forget I was being watched. I was a bit nervous though and accidentally dropped the brand new piece of demo equipment (that was just made by my request the previous week!) on the floor in front of all the students! Fortunately it didn't break :)
The funniest thing though was when I nearly knocked over one of my students passing a basketball to him (to show momentum conservation). I haven't passed a basketball in years - and I've been working out my upper body lately. I guess I have a lot more "umph" in my throws than either I or my students realized! I enjoy having laughter in my classroom... I am looking forward to getting back to my students in Jan.
Fun in Chicago
As I mentioned in the previous post, I went to Illinois and Indiana for work the week after Thanksgiving. I flew in and out of Chicago. While I was in Chicago, I wanted to hang out with the friends I made in Las Vegas this summer. However, the girl had just gotten a new job and couldn't get off work. Fortunately the guy is pretty cool too, and I enjoy spending time with him, so I spent 2 days having a mini-vacation in Chicago.
I got in Friday afternoon. We went downtown and ate dinner, then went to an opening of a Jasper Johns exhibit at the Art Institute. The event was interesting - there were small group detailed tours, snacks, and lots of wine. After that we went to a bar with live music and watched the band "Brilliant Pebbles". They weren't very good - but it was a lot of fun. The lead singer was totally spastic and made some horrific noises at times - in fact one of her signature sounds was like a huge high-pitched sneeze! You can hear them here:
http://www.myspace.com/brilliantpebbles
I suggest you give them a try - I guarantee you've never heard anything like it! I'm glad I had a number of drinks that night because I probably wouldn't have been nearly as amused listening to this completely sober...
On Saturday there was a snow storm. We started the day with a big lunch, then went downtown to look at Christmas decorations. We did a little shopping too, mainly because my shoes sprung a leak and my feet were wet and cold! I got some great Oregon-appropriate dog-walking shoes that have gotten a lot of use since my trip. We saw the window decorations at the downtown Macy's, and we saw the bicycle puppet-theater. I've included the video Matt took of the dancing puppets!
Then we went to one of the cute smaller neighborhoods and window shopped - though mostly we were just trying to stay upright and warm waddling down the ice-covered sidewalks! We went to dinner at a fun little noddle house and lingered a while because it was warm inside. Then we went to a fancy bar with a fireplace and had a drink, then we went back to his house and freshened up before hitting a blues bar with a live band for the night.
The next morning we ate big bowls of oatmeal and then he took me to the airport. He was a great host, and I had a nice trip.
I got in Friday afternoon. We went downtown and ate dinner, then went to an opening of a Jasper Johns exhibit at the Art Institute. The event was interesting - there were small group detailed tours, snacks, and lots of wine. After that we went to a bar with live music and watched the band "Brilliant Pebbles". They weren't very good - but it was a lot of fun. The lead singer was totally spastic and made some horrific noises at times - in fact one of her signature sounds was like a huge high-pitched sneeze! You can hear them here:http://www.myspace.com/brilliantpebbles
I suggest you give them a try - I guarantee you've never heard anything like it! I'm glad I had a number of drinks that night because I probably wouldn't have been nearly as amused listening to this completely sober...
On Saturday there was a snow storm. We started the day with a big lunch, then went downtown to look at Christmas decorations. We did a little shopping too, mainly because my shoes sprung a leak and my feet were wet and cold! I got some great Oregon-appropriate dog-walking shoes that have gotten a lot of use since my trip. We saw the window decorations at the downtown Macy's, and we saw the bicycle puppet-theater. I've included the video Matt took of the dancing puppets!
Then we went to one of the cute smaller neighborhoods and window shopped - though mostly we were just trying to stay upright and warm waddling down the ice-covered sidewalks! We went to dinner at a fun little noddle house and lingered a while because it was warm inside. Then we went to a fancy bar with a fireplace and had a drink, then we went back to his house and freshened up before hitting a blues bar with a live band for the night.
The next morning we ate big bowls of oatmeal and then he took me to the airport. He was a great host, and I had a nice trip.
Working Too Hard!!
So I haven't posted to my blog in about a month... After having an amazing long Thanksgiving weekend, things at work started moving full speed ahead. I reverted back to grad school habits of replacing meals with protein bars so I can keep working, and working late into the night and skipping sleep.
What, you may ask, can be keeping me so busy when I only teach for 3 hours per week? Wow - makes me feel like I can't manage my time well putting it that way! But then we should keep in mind that I also have a research project going on (the one I stared in Cape Town) - and a masters student to manage who is working on that data. I'm also leading a journal club with faculty and grad students reading about my research area. Then there is my committee work. I'm in charge of the women in physics committee, and am working on taking charge of the service course committee which fortunately has been lead so far by a senior faculty member while I get situated. I was hired to take charge of service course (large introductory course) reform, so this is a very important committee.
This course reform work is what is taking the bulk of my time lately. A week after Thanksgiving I went to Illinois and Indiana to visit two schools who have done course reform work we'd like to borrow from. That was a very hectic but useful trip. Even more exciting than that is the classroom remodel work that is going on. The public classrooms in our building are being remodeled and I have been collecting information and going to meetings to contribute to those plans. We're also interested in making a private classroom just for us out of some under-used space in our building. That required talking to the foundation about raising private funds. It looks like all of this is coming together which is very exciting!
Then there was the decisions about switching to the new text book, which I was in charge of - meeting with the publishers was really annoying.
And teaching only 3 hours per week does not take into account that I have 4 TAs to train and about 250 students who all have individual needs and issues. Then there's preparing for teaching the next term. That took a lot of time before the holidays because I only had 4 days where the person I'm team teaching with and I could work together on it.
I'm probably forgetting various and sundry things I did, but you get the picture... I'm trying to get caught up over the holidays so I can have a less stressed quarter when school starts back Jan 7th. I don't want to loose the free-spirit I cultivated this summer!
What, you may ask, can be keeping me so busy when I only teach for 3 hours per week? Wow - makes me feel like I can't manage my time well putting it that way! But then we should keep in mind that I also have a research project going on (the one I stared in Cape Town) - and a masters student to manage who is working on that data. I'm also leading a journal club with faculty and grad students reading about my research area. Then there is my committee work. I'm in charge of the women in physics committee, and am working on taking charge of the service course committee which fortunately has been lead so far by a senior faculty member while I get situated. I was hired to take charge of service course (large introductory course) reform, so this is a very important committee.
This course reform work is what is taking the bulk of my time lately. A week after Thanksgiving I went to Illinois and Indiana to visit two schools who have done course reform work we'd like to borrow from. That was a very hectic but useful trip. Even more exciting than that is the classroom remodel work that is going on. The public classrooms in our building are being remodeled and I have been collecting information and going to meetings to contribute to those plans. We're also interested in making a private classroom just for us out of some under-used space in our building. That required talking to the foundation about raising private funds. It looks like all of this is coming together which is very exciting!
Then there was the decisions about switching to the new text book, which I was in charge of - meeting with the publishers was really annoying.
And teaching only 3 hours per week does not take into account that I have 4 TAs to train and about 250 students who all have individual needs and issues. Then there's preparing for teaching the next term. That took a lot of time before the holidays because I only had 4 days where the person I'm team teaching with and I could work together on it.
I'm probably forgetting various and sundry things I did, but you get the picture... I'm trying to get caught up over the holidays so I can have a less stressed quarter when school starts back Jan 7th. I don't want to loose the free-spirit I cultivated this summer!
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