In an Instant

My tendency when I have a book to read is to either read a couple of chapters and then never finish it, or devour the entire thing in a day or two.  Rarely is there any in between with me.

This weekend I devoured “In an Instant”, the story of Bob Woodruff’s traumatic brain injury in Iraq and how that affected his family and others.  I thought it was excellent.  And being so engrossed in the book kept me from turning on the TV for 48 hours, so that’s always a good thing!  (Two researchers who study mental fatigue said the number one way to lessen fatigue is to turn off the TV.  Amen to that!)

Medical Update #65,108

I saw my pulmonologist this morning.  I have not taken any asthma meds for almost a year now, and I thoroughly convinced myself that I was going to be released from pulmonary follow-up forever.  And ever and ever.  But, I wasn’t.  My pulmonary issues, and perhaps more importantly, the odd combination of medical problems I have, still raise some red flags.  The oxygen saturation in my blood is also lower than it’s ever been (though still within the normal range).  And though I don’t take medicine for my breathing symptoms anymore, I do still have issues from time to time.  So, we’re going to keep an eye on things for now.  I’ll have a complete pulmonary function test on August 10 and see my pulmonologist again right after that.  So, as things look now, I’ll probably have another big slew of medical appts between mid-July and mid-August and then hopefully be able to avoid doctor-types again during the fall semester.

So, I was a little disappointed with the outcome of that visit, but only because the eternal optimist in me wanted to paint a rosier picture than what was.  The universe again threw me a bone after my appointment – ”Black Horse & the Cherry Tree” was playing on the radio when I got back in my car to go home.  That’s my favorite cheer-me-up song right now!

In other medical news… My blood tests were mostly OK.  Good electrolytes, good general body stuff (liver function, etc.).  My red blood cell count, crit, hemoglobin were all low earlier this week (probably explains why I’m so tired) but I was bleeding a lot so hopefully they’ll come back up without intervention.

Next week:  NO medical appts or tests.  And I’m escaping to the country to visit a friend for the day on Wednesday.  We’re both SO excited to chat non-stop for many hours!

Teaching Thursdays #33

In the first few days after a semester ends, I always feel like I’m forgetting to do something.  I should be working, working, working all day and evening long, right?  Surely I’m forgetting some grading?  Preparing a lecture?  Getting an activity ready?  But no, I don’t need to do any of those things on these days.  I watched a movie last night, on a school night!  Except it wasn’t a school night this week, just a Wednesday.  (The movie, by the way, was “Must Love Dogs”, which I thought was really cute.)

I will be teaching during one of the summer sessions.  I may put Teaching Thursdays on hiatus until fall though because it’s possible all you’d get from me is how much I hate the accelerated pace semesters!  Seriously!  I complain a lot during the 7 week terms.  Crabby, crabby, crabby.  *laughs*

One of my missions over the next six to eight months is to find some way into an actual public school to do some work or volunteering or tutoring or something.  The education folks tell me that’s the one thing that will be glaringly deficient in my applications for a graduate program in education.  So I hope to entertain some actual schoolchildren with my math shenanigans!

Over and over

My criteria for whether I buy a movie on DVD is whether it is an “over and over” movie — something that I will practically wear out because I watch it so often.  I love movies, so I actually have a lot of over and over movies, like Sleepless in Seattle, You’ve Got Mail, While You Were Sleeping, and Runaway Bride.

The first time I saw “Because of Winn Dixie,” I thought it was incredibly cute but not necessarily one to buy.  Then we had a movie day at work and our choices were that movie or a very scary one.  Scary movies and I do not get along!  So I watched Winn Dixie again.  It grew on me even more.  Then one day, I was just browsing at the library, really wanting something sweet and reassuring, and I saw Winn Dixie on the DVD shelf and knew that was exactly the movie I needed.  And that was it — it has officially become an over and over movie for me!

What are your over and over movies?

Two kinds of finals

My students had their final exams today.  I got the exams graded very quickly, tabulated final grades, got the grades posted, and e-mailed the students who requested to know how they did on the exam.   The semester is over!  *falls over in a heap of exhaustion*

I received my final kidney ultrasound report today, and all was as expected.  The mass (an angiomyolipoma) in my left kidney is the same size it was last summer at NIH, and there was a visible cyst in my other kidney (which is a very common finding and not anything to worry about unless I have symptoms).  So, that’s one test down.  Still waiting on two sets of blood test results, and three more appointments coming up.  Woohoo?

Conversations with an almost 2 year old

It really is amazing to have an up-close view of a child’s growth and progress.  I visited last night with my cousin and her son Lucas, who will be two in June.  He talks a lot now and repeats every word he hears and action he sees.  When I fake cried, he fake cried too and did that repeatedly while I was there.  (I apologized to his Mom for teaching him that one!)  If you end a sentence with “…right?”, he says “Right!” back at ya.  It’s amazing to me how much they learn and can mimic at such a young age.

I watched Lucas act out an entire episode of Blue’s Clues with the biggest grin on his face.  If you’ve seen the show, you know that one of the repeating themes is that the hosts need to know which way to go (usually to find the dog Blue).  So Lucas says, “What way?” just like they do.  We had been through a few rounds of this last night with his Mom and I sometimes both pointing in some direction.  I wondered what he’d do with some kind of crazy direction.  So on the next round of “What way?”, I pointed up and said, “That way!”  He looked at the ceiling for a second and then said, “Exactly!”

Let there be Film!

I have been film-less since late December because it’s getting so hard to get the film I use (pro Fuji film).  I use my little pocket digital camera in a pinch but much prefer film for photographing anything important, like darling children who belong to my cousins!  So, I was jumping for joy when I got an e-mail from the photo store that my film is in!  Woohoo!  I can now resume my photography duties.  Finally.

Other random good news of the week…

A big Olympic-level gymnastics meet is going to be in Battle Creek, Michigan in July.  I sooooo want to go to that, and it’s maybe an hour or so away from here.  Yay!

The U.S. has decided to nominate Chicago as host for the 2016 Summer Olympics.  I seriously doubt Chicago will be chosen in the end, but wouldn’t that be cool?  It’s so close to here.  Of course, by then, perhaps I’ll be living in Venice and teaching math to cute Italian guys!  Ah, a girl can dream, can’t she?!

Nubbin

I had my kidney ultrasound this morning, and the little mass in there (which I call Nubbin — hey, don’t laugh!) is still a tiny thing, which was totally expected but it’s always a relief to know these things for sure.  The ultrasound tech didn’t actually tell me anything, but I can read ultrasounds pretty well and saw when she was measuring and what the measurements were.  She also took pictures of my other kidney, my bladder, and the aorta going down my midsection.  I suspect all was well there, but my doctor will get the final report in about a week.

Teaching Thursdays #32

My eighth semester of teaching is just about over.  Hard to believe.  I remember my first day of teaching so well that it seems impossible that so much time has passed and that I’ve now given something like 300 lectures.  Who knew I had so much to say?!  *laughs*

Some things I’ve learned during the last three years…

1.  I’ve learned that it helps a lot to have older students who ask questions in class and who calm down the younger students.

2.  I’ve learned that students like to have an instructor who is really organized.

3.  I’ve learned that being 80 percent prepared for class is not enough and that the 20 percent unpreparedness will come back to bite you.

4.  I’ve learned that I can get my students to do just about anything if I call it extra credit!

5.  I’ve learned to never assume that a student is not enjoying the class just because they never say anything.

6.  I’ve learned that I can’t make up the 90 percent difference for a student who is only putting in 10 percent effort.

 7.  I’ve learned that teachers can master some freaky things, like when I think “I need to make 24 copies of this” and I grab a stack of paper to put in the copy machine and it turns out to be exactly the right number.  (This happens a lot…and it’s pretty freaky!)

8.  I’ve learned that I absolutely love to teach students who are afraid of or anxious about math.

9.  I’ve learned that students really like to hear about the things their teacher is enjoying about them and their work, and it’s important to say those things in class.

10.  I’ve learned that through all the frustrating days and the students who drive you nuts, and all the days that you really, really want to quit this crazy and demanding job, there’s something about the “aha!” moments and the insightful questions and the great discussions (or even the silly ones!) that keeps you going back every day.

Va Tech

My heart goes out to all the folks at Virginia Tech who are dealing with a horrific and unexplainable tragedy on their campus this week.  There just aren’t any words…but many prayers for the campus community and family and friends of everyone involved.