Well. I think I might finally be on the mend from the sinus infection....but than again, I thought that a few days ago too. I have two and a half days of meds left. The mole removal went rather well methinks. Haven't heard anything from the doctor's office on the biopsy. The area is bruised and rather sore...underneath the arm isn't the greatest place to stab with needles and cut away things...but, it's a little better each day. Have to have stitches removed next week.
School is going rather well. I like not being in over my head...It's nice to be able to have leisure time to myself and for friends. I even learned a new game called Fluxx tonight. I played it with to crazy guys....Gallagher was in top form for insanity tonight. Scott was sane comparatively. Until they started working off one another...I was highly amused as I was grading and than playing the game.
Speaking of grading....yeah, apparently 0^2 + 0^2 = 4. Yup. you saw that right. the funny thing--4 was the answer in the back of the book that happened to be wrong.
I've started to see the light for catching up at work. Maybe by the end of next week even! (But than there's all those statements that are going to be going out in the next couple of weeks...) *sigh* It'll be better than it has been at least. It's nice and quiet in my office. I'd play music, but the speakers connected to my work computer do not work. oh well. It can be entertaining sometimes to listen to what's going on in the hall and various offices.
My tessellation drawing is coming close to done. I just need to color it now and name it. It's cool in that it looks like a few different things--descending angels, praying monks, morphed bunnies.... But that makes it hard to name. I'm sure some "inspiration" will strike from somewhere.
I have my first formal lesson next Tuesday. It'll be on point-slope.
I should probably consider starting to do some research on those two papers I'm doing this semester...one will be on phi and geometry, the other is a look at the historical, biblical, modern, and personal perspectives on the concept of the soul. I had started it last semester and it now continues on through the second part of the class. At least we aren't doing three topics with all four perspectives on each...
Well. I should really consider getting to bed soon. I don't need to oversleep tomorrow's class.
So go here and comment on the most recent post "Dearly Departed" if you want to see the play this Saturday. You have until tomorrow, rather, today Monday around lunch. Else, you had better inform me in person because I'm reserving seats on my way back from the doctor's office.
So I am now working on customizing my laptop settings and getting used to this new toy of mine. It's strange since the screen is smaller and it is XP. It's also strange to sit next to the desktop turned off. (So I don't go and use it and than have to move more things over.)
But anyways. I think the antibiotic is taking effect, and the stomach upset is a little less every-day. Although it still makes me really hungry and in need of more snacks... But I'm feeling a little bit better.
Arghhh! It's already midnight!
Whew. It's taking a bit to get used to new fonts and colors and things.... I do like this though. It's quite a bit faster than my other computer. and this keyboard seems to be quiet and not very annoying. Hehehe, I'll have to adjust my fun chair now so I don't kill my arms. The only pain right now is that my internet connection limits how far I can move it. Which isn't but a few inches.
Oh, I was talking about other things....Well. My sister is en route to Idaho, as in moving. My dad went out to help her with the kids and all. They're having the Navy move the stuff. But they haven't sold the house yet...so that's a prayer request. My older brother has a birthday tomorrow. I think both of the kids are in good shape. Caedin is attatched as ever to the blankie...apparently he was insisting on bringing it into his bath with him the other night... Funny Kid.
Life goes on around here...I put in a lot of grading hours this week! I wonder if that's how bad it'll be when I'm the teacher....
Amazingly, I keep coming up with these great ideas for lessons to teach and stuff. The others in my class liked the one I used for my practice model of direct instruction with slope-intercept form. Basically, there are groups of six who must find the equation of a graph and than demonstrate the equation in front of the rest of the class by either acting out the term or holding up a piece of paper with the term. So there'd be six pieces in a term: y, =, m, x, +-, b The rest of the class, while viewing the graph on the overhead, than must identify the person who holds slope, the person holding the intercept, and whether or not the equation is correct for the function graphed.
It seems to work rather well...I may have the opportunity to try it out in a couple of weeks on actual ninth grade algebra students. It depends. My lesson topic will probably change now that I have to do it on a different day than originally planned.
Well, I do have to get up early tomorrow morning. As much as I would like to play on this a little bit more, it isn't like I won't have plenty of opportunity....
Hence, goodnight world!
Now they look kind of down. At least from my perspective.
So after the realization that I had been sick for over 10 days between the headaches, coughing, congestion, sinus pressure, and more...I went to the doctor this afternoon. He agreed that it appeared I have a sinus infection. So he put me on some antibiotics in hopes that they help.
He also looked at some moles I have--I have a family history of melanoma, so I'm going for the better safe than sorry philosophy. He's going to remove one next week. He thought one of the others that still has me a little concerned looked innocuous. I'll keep an eye on it at least.
I have my first big education project/presentation tomorrow. I'm trying to keep that stuff tied very strongly to my formal lesson in three weeks during observations, so tomorrow will be a test run of an idea.
Our A/C is still experience problems. the A/C guy gave us the cell phone number to call the next time we had major issues. This morning, we were woken up around 620 by what sounded like a sheet of metal being chopped to bits by the fan blades in the unit thing outside. Yeah. it scared the living daylights out of me--not that I had many at that hour of the morning.
*sigh* but hey, I'm still living and the weather still is warm. and I have my friends and God is getting me through the week.
What I did in class today: An ABC Poem
Pi
Quirky Irrationality
Random Number Arrangement
Symbolic of Unmeasurable Ratios
Transcendental
We also had an Active Learning Activity on Emily Dickinson and one of her poems (Part One: Life XXVII) about being a nobody and how somebodies are like frogs in admiring bogs. The activity was to read it and come up with question we would like to ask the poet. I had two questions: What made you think of a frog? and If you know a nobody are they really still a nobody? Lily came up with four silly questions about depression and prozac, and also what is an admiring bog?
Alright, so the class sounds more goofy than it really is. The whole point right now is to practice "Active Learning Activities" and the stuff from the poem was part of a model of direct instruction. It could be worse. The class could be all lecture.
So I received another email today from an LU person trying to send something to Dr. Olson. This time, it was something humorous as it was a simple forward. Grammar Gestapo, this is more for your amusement although I was amused too (after reading it a second time :-p)
To: College & University Editors Subject: a new languageOK, this is not an editorial question ... but this was too good of an editorial slip-up to keep to myself.
>From a flyer I just received announcing the Ellmann Lectures in Modern
Literature, featuring Salman Rushdie:"He was educated there, at Rugby School, and at Cambridge University before beginning a television career in Karachi, Pakistan, and then a professional writing career, first in English and now in New York."
New York: a new language? Discuss.
It just seemed long. and our A/C is out again. There's a bad part that is causing it to freeze. so tonight, we sleep without A/C. and I have a test first thing tomorrow morning. not real worried though.
I could just generally use some prayer. I'm in one of those funks that come from time to time. I think it's been building. There could be any number of contributing factors--one that weighs heavy is a sort of spiritual funk. It's a time of doubt and what-not. I'll be okay eventually. Just don't know how long it'll take or what it'll take to pull me out (rather, what God will have to do to pull me out of this pit or make me climb out of it myself.)
My life really is great. It makes it harder because I see God's blessing on me so much these last few months and yet I can't seem to appreciate them. I think I have this selfishness and a dusty servant's attitude.
Well, it's about that bed time. God bless.
Time = 2(Pi)/3
I guess it's probably as good as time as any to post. Classes seem to be going rather well and I think I've got a routine mostly figured out.
Mondays and Wednesdays start out with Instructional Methods at 7:50 a.m. Not too bad a class considering they use the teaching methods that they are teaching us. Try to make things fun and what not and Dr. E likes discussion.
After I get out of class, I head down to MSC-1 for something to drink and a bit of time to read the newspaper or do homework before I go to chapel if it doesn't sound dull. Lunch is next at the Hive where I enjoy much liberty of our flex money and conversion meals. It makes me happy. I work from 1 to 5 in the afternoons and head to supper at Saga to meet the crew up there and find out what is happening. Oh yeah, I will now be auditing the Honors capstone 1 class on Monday nights from 6-7 and I think I'll be chilling in my apt with the roomies for a bit of time after that. :-)
Tuesdays and Thursdays also start out nice and early with College Geometry at 8 followed by Trig (in which I just do the hw) until 10:30. Again I had down to MSC--probably to do a little grading and grab lunch until I decided to go back to the apt and get ready for Abstract Math at 130. On Tuesdays I'll work from 330 to 5 and on Thursdays I'll have a little bit of free time for errands and rest and such if I don't have a meeting. It looks like I'll also have 1100 meetings with Dr Roden and fellow Math Ed's for TeXES content mastery review.
Fridays, for at least the next four weeks and hopefully again the five weeks after that, begin for me with a drive to Pine Tree Jr High (and in a few weeks high school). I aim to be at the school by 745 and stay there until 1145. I get back, grab a bite to eat and head to work again for the afternoon.
Saturday mornings are for sleeping in. Sundays will now also consist of Sunday School with Dr. Watson for the next two months along with church.
That's mostly my week. My life really isn't all that entertaining. Well, there are those "you had to be there" moments, like tonight with the vowel-sound only language. Or Waffle Shoppe runs. At any rate. I need to shower and get some sleep. I haven't been getting to bed early enough lately. Actually, I've gotten to bed a lot later than is acceptable. So. off I go.
So as we were singing in chapel this morning ("I Surrender All"), I was struck by a thought.
The song is sung from the individual perspective--"I". But what about a community, a church--a body of believers? How often does a "body" surrender all to God--with everyone's participation in prayers?
I was thinking specifically about our school. Is the surrender something more subtle than I catch? Is that what communion is about at the beginning? or maybe what convocation should be? I'm not sure.
As I sit here, (should be working) I consider where in the Bible I might find answers and I remember something about Paul's letters, and how often he uses "you" to encompass an entire church. I think of one of my favorite passages, Phillipians 2:11-18 and Ephesians. I'll have to try and study this one out some more.
It just seems to me that a community's relationship with God probably works along the same lines as an individual's relationship with God and so I wonder how far the parallels extend...and more importantly, what things in a relationship with God as a community do we miss on because we focus more on individuals or other things?
Maybe it's because this time of my life is surrounded by relationships--including my very own--and maybe it's as a result of reviewing Gardner's Multiple Intelligence theory. At any rate, I was pondering the wide world of love. I recently went read through The Five Love Languages /i> with Josh. and while the theory made sense and works for much, something about listing five ways in which a person best loves and is loved didn't seem to cover it all. So I was pondering tonight amidst this insomnia the relationship of love to multiple intelligences and wondering how well the love languages connect. Is it possible to have 8 "intelligences" of love? I wouldn't even begin to argue that a person's "love intelligence" is necessarily the same as one's best learning intelligence and such. But it is giving me much thought.
Particularly as I pondered a question for determining one's love language, way, or whatever you may call it. I think I'll just use the word language for now. The question entered my mind: "How would I want someone to reach out to me in a time of hurting?" "How am I comforted by another person?" Some people are comforted by touch. Others can be comforted through words. I could see even still others who find their comfort through service. Others have an inward journey.
I also thought about different people I know. I know of one person who goes about love in a more logical way it seems. Others might go off more of a friendship level. Still others might distinguish a special person through touch.
I'm being amused at myself right now because I seem to keep limiting to just a few...particularly the five. Let me try to get back on track.
It's very obvious to an observer of relationships (at least I would think so) that all relationships ahve their own unique personality and way. No one couple has the same story. There might be similarities, but there is something definitively unique about all--some are shorter in time between meeting and marriage, others are longer. People relate to one another differently.
*sighs* The time of this thoughtfulness is now catching up to me. I tried to be coherent here. I'm going to say that I'll approach this theory of mine again about the multiple intelligences and love languages. We'll see. Life might get in the way :-) Anyways. Feel free to leave your own thoughts if you have any that relate to the theory. Observations, experiences, connections and such are welcome.
A week is done of my senior year of college. Barring any major setbacks, I will leave this school with a diploma in hand next May. This is a year of lasts for me...last times to attend chapels and participate in various activities. The last year I can spend under lighter responsibilities as an adult. This is really the last year I'll be able to claim a college student schedule--and not much at that considering my early classes this semester and student teaching next spring.
Something keeps hitting me again and again...and more so since Wheeler made mention of how he valued this summer for being able to spend time with the three of us who graduate (hopefully) in May. That something is that this is the last year I'll have to spend with the dear friends I've made...this is the last year of Waffle Shoppe runs for me and weekly Bode trips. of Friday night Bible studies. and Thursday night plays.
I know not what this year holds but I do know it is in God's hands. I know we'll have many many happy times, but we'll probably also continue to struggle and share in one another's trials. I'm sure the year will probably fly by and I'll be saying some bittersweet goodbyes sooner than I could have imagined.
Here's a prayer to these last 9-10 months...
So I made a trip to my CPO today to pick up my meager paycheck for the last two weeks...most of which I had spent in Nebraska helping out my sister. Having only put in 16 hours total, I didn't expect much.
Imagine my surprise to open up my check and discover a check for over $300 with this extra line noting an "earnings" of $360 in addition to the $100 for working 16 hours. I was scared. I thought it might be some kinda bonus, so as I walked in wonderment back to work and made a trip by Payroll.
i was informed, that yes, it indeed was a summer plus bonus. I didn't think I was going to have enough weeks to qualify for anything although I had averaged a good chunk of hours working full time when I was here.
I had worried about those 8 days of not working and thus no money, but I reminded myself that helping my sister was more important. and God was faithful. that bonus basically covers what I would have earned those 8 days had I been working.
Well, classes have started and it looks to be a fairly decent semester for me this last year...LAST year....wow. So that's kept my busy with work along with the normal kick-off stuff of meetings and things. and being social like.
I'll tell you more about my classes later. I'm right now distracted by my spiffy new laptop and getting things ready with that since this desktop of mine will be going home to the family.
Please pray for my sister and kids....Sarah has been running a fever and thus been in the hospital because of her newborn age. Caedin's surgery was looking good...but something now appears not to be right.....:-/
So yeah...
I'll try and update soon.