Leapin’ Snow

Happy Leap Day!  I have the day off work and had planned to leap out of town today to visit a friend (sooooo looking forward to that), but guess what — we got more snow!  Just what we needed!  *laughs*  And this is an Alberta Clipper storm, which is serious business.  You don’t mess with Alberta.

So, I’m home for the day today.  I will finish watching “It Happened One Night” (checking another Oscar winner off my list — and it’s a good one!) and finish reading a book and hopefully catch up on some e-mail that is long overdue to be answered.  So, it is a day of rest at the end of a very busy, big month and before another busy month ahead.  Hope your Leap Day is great!

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Edited to add:  My friend who I was supposed to visit today (who lives about 40 minutes away in a rural area) called me this afternoon, and we talked for 4.5 hours on the phone!  It was wonderful to get to visit with her anyway even though we couldn’t actually be together because of the weather.  We made a plan for me to visit her in April, and she wants to cook me soup and make me a cake and send me home with oodles of food for my freezer.  So, I’ll look forward to that!

Teaching Thursdays #68

My students had mid-terms last Thursday (which went great!) and then I sent them on their way to enjoy a glorious spring break!  We’ve been having a good semester but I think we were all ready for this break.

So, what does the teacher do on spring break?  Let’s see.  I graded midterms, did some extra laundry, picked up some freelance stats work, and worked at my research job.  (Between the two jobs, I have made 237 bar graphs this week — I kid you not!  237!!)  Oh, and I gave you all homework two posts in the row (gotta keep those teaching instincts sharp!).  As you can see, I really know how to put the “break” in spring break.  Ha!

But, after 3 o’clock today, I’m putting myself on break for about 48 hours — no work tomorrow on Leap Day!  Over the weekend, I’ll need to get ready for the second half of the semester.  One of my classes just finished a probability unit, and the other class will now start their probability unit.  So I see more dice in my future!  Let the good times roll.

Two lies and the truth

A lot of people do this blog meme where they offer two statements that are lies and one truth, and then people have to guess which is the true statement.  So, here are my three.  (And no fair cheating if you actually KNOW the true story, which would be if you are my Mom and possibly Lindsay.)

1.  I once got kicked out of McDonalds for doing a science experiment with their food and freaking out the cashier.

2.  I once got kicked out of ballet class for (accidentally) flinging my ballet slipper at the teacher’s head and knocking her glasses off.

3.  I once got kicked out of swim class for trying to kiss a boy in the class who I guess didn’t really want to be kissed.

And your guess is?

Best Picture Movies

One really neat part of the Academy Awards last night was that they showed clips (in sequence) from every movie that has won Best Picture.  I couldn’t resist counting how many I’m sure that I’ve seen.  It was 23.  Not bad, but not great either, and I immediately decided that I’ll make a goal to watch five to ten more of them this year.  There are a LOT of classic movies on the list that I haven’t seen and have been meaning to watch forever, so this is a great excuse!  (And I do love movies!)  I will not make a goal to see all of them because I know there are some that would not sit well with me.  But I certainly should see a whole lot more than I’ve seen.

I made a new page on this blog (link above) for the list of all of the Best Picture award winners, and I bolded all the ones I’ve seen.  I have two homework assignments for you.   Yes, YOU!  (And yes, I can give you homework since I’m a teacher.  Ha!).

1.  How many of the Best Picture winners have you seen?

2.  If you had to recommend one (or maybe two) to someone who hadn’t seen a lot of these movies, which one would you recommend?

(My answer to question 2 is Kramer vs Kramer.)

Oscar Night

I’m getting ready to watch the Oscars!  I’ll probably do some grading while I’m watching (during the parts where they insist on showing weird things for an hour!), but I’m looking forward to most of it.  The only movie I’ve seen that got a nod for anything, I think, is “Juno” which my Mom and I saw last weekend and both liked.  Oh, I suppose Ratatouille was nominated for animated film, and I saw that.  So that’s two!

I watch the Oscars mostly because I like ceremonies and formalities.  I like to see what the people are wearing, and what they say.  There is always a good acceptance speech or two.  Who can forget Roberto Benini climbing over the seats!  And Anna Paquin gasping as a very young girl when she won for “The Piano.”  It’s a big night.  I like being witness to that.

So, hooray for Oscar Night!  I’m ready.

Happy Daze

An hour or so after I received word that I got into grad school last week, I had an e-mail from the professor who will be my advisor for the next four (five? six…?) years.  I had actually met her last summer and spoke to her again in October, and she’s a wonderfully kind person who listens well and is so encouraging.  I’m so glad that she’s the one who I get to work with.  Anyway, she just wanted to say congratulations and to open the lines of communications for any questions that I have.  She said, “Seriously, ask me anything.”  At that moment, I could hardly think straight and wrote back to her saying, “I’m sure I’ll have questions, but right now I’m just in this very happy daze!”

The daze has cleared a little bit now, as I begin to wonder about logistics.  I’m a logistics person, almost to an extreme.  I want to know how everything is going to work, and the sooner I know that information, the better!  And it will be no surprise to people who have known me a long time that the very first thing I want to know is what my class schedule will be in the fall.  (Side story:  I always want to know everyone’s class schedule — not just what classes they are taking, but when they meet and what buildings they are in and how is the climate in those buildings, by the way.  I have a friend who sent me a spreadsheet with all this information when she was finally convinced that I really did want to know her schedule — hundreds of miles away — in that much detail!  I loved that!)

The weird thing about grad school at this level (well, one weird thing, I’m sure I’ll find out others) is that you don’t really get to pick your schedule.  They don’t have anywhere near enough students to run multiple sections of classes, or to even run more than a couple of classes that are required by the same group of students in one semester.  So, my schedule will be determined for me by what is offered, and each class apparently just meets once per week in a three hour block.  So I could have Research Methods Monday, Teaching Math Tuesday, and Foundations Friday.  Or something like that.  The schedules will be posted in March, so I’ll know in about a month what my days will be like.  And I’ll, no doubt, carry my little printed schedule around in my purse for six months because I’m just that weird.

Teaching Thursdays #67

I always tell my students on the first day of class that they should please interrupt me if something isn’t making sense, especially if it seems that I made an error.  I want them to take ownership of the class, to get what they need out of it.  I don’t want them to feel awkward in suggesting that I made a mistake.  And I always add,  “I don’t have any delusions that I’m perfect!”  And they laugh, but they get the point, and usually a couple of students are consistently willing to correct me.  Not that I make a thousand errors a day, but in every lecture, there are some errors.

Well, both of my classes are keeping me completely on my toes this semester!  They pay such close attention that the very moment that I make an error (maybe writing “x” but saying “y”) and turn around, eight hands are already in the air and six of them start saying, “But you said…and you wrote…!”  And I just have to laugh appreciatively at their eagerness and how incredibly well they are following the lecture, despite my errors.  And they are asking questions — oh boy, the tough questions they ask, wanting to be sure every nuance is accounted for and explained.  It’s been a long time since I’ve had one class that was this attentive and inquisitive.  And now to have two of them!  It’s quite a treat.

Schuyler’s Monster

What are you doing reading my blog when “Schuyler’s Monster” is now published and ready for purchase and reading?  Huh?!

I bought my copy in person today and told everyone at the store what a complete thrill and honor it is to buy a book written by someone who I know and have spent time with (years ago) in real life.

I got home with The Book at 4:15 p.m. and didn’t move out of my rocker-recliner for six chapters.

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Edited on 2/21 to add:  I finished the book last night.  It’s wonderful and heartbreaking and honest.

Slip sliding away

I had my first experience trying to drive up a hill that was solid ice this morning.  I didn’t make it.  Near the top of the hill, my car would no longer move forward, and after I had put the gas pedal to the floor as hard as I could (note: don’t do that), the car stalled and it took me forever to figure out what was going on.  The paperboy, who was trying to walk on the ice, just kind of laughed.  I ended up backing all the way back down the hill (note: don’t try this at home) and taking a different route.  Fun times, I tell ya.

The other highlight of my weekend was having 50,000 people ask me what I’m going to do to celebrate my grad school admission.  I don’t know!  I can’t drink alcohol, and sadly, that’s the only thing that came to mind.  *laughs*  It occurred to me to take my colleagues out for a round of drinks, and then it occurred to me that I have never in my life actually purchased alcohol.  At age 34.  *shakes head*  And then I wondered if I buy a drink for somebody else, who do they card?  Clearly I need to go back to school so I can learn these things.

Observations from this week

This week, I learned… 

1.  It is incredibly fun to share good news!  I haven’t had e-mail from so many people in a day…ever!

2.  There must be a Murphy’s Law of Waiting that says, “If you go to a medical appointment prepared with something to do while you wait, the doctor will be running early and you’ll get right in.”  It happens every time!

3.  Having a day completely off from work in the middle of the week is very nice.  I vote for mid-week weekends — anyone with me?!