Here's an e-mail interchange between Hub and I. You need
to know a few things:
1. I love pierogies
2. I hurt my ankle the day before and called him crying
from pain and frustration the night before
3. I have started to give a morning report by e-mail about
how Boy does in the AM; this was a particularly bad morning
in which Boy threw a huge fit and could only be "reset" by
using Daddy's trick of giving him a bath
Hub: How are you?
Me: I'm very tired. My ankle turned overnight from very
painful and immobile to tender and annoying. If I am
concentrating on taking care of the boy, then I don't
feel it. If I am walking alone with my thoughts, it hurts.
I'm still walking slowly, but I am relatively functional
today.
Boy took to the bath, not instantly, but after a brief soak.
You saw (cell phone pic) that he insisted on having his sippy
cup in the bath with him (!). After, he his normal human self.
The only problem with this whole deal is that "hysteria
interventions" take TIME, so even though we woke up at a
(un)reasonable time (5:15) we were still rushed getting out
(7:30). He fell asleep in the car on the way to day care,
and as far as I know he may still be sleeping in one of
those pack-n-plays.
Hub: Since I woke up earlier than usual this morning
(I called at 6:00a), I am a little tired. I did manage
a brief morning nap. In the end, I needed to skip my
shower and just slap a hat in in order to gain momentum
for getting out of the apartment.
That bruised skier apparently placed cheese on her shins
in preparation for the Olympics. Perhaps a pierogie or
two would help?
Me: On my shin?!?!? WASTE A PIEROGIE?!?!?!!? I'd rather
suffer. Where's my husband? I want him back!
Daycare just called: 3 runny poos in his diaper in a very
short time. If he doesn't eat well, I will have to pick
him up. (Then what??!?!)
Hub: Are there any available babysitter that you can locate
on short notice?
Me: They haven't called back yet.
BTW what I meant by "Where's my husband" was "Aliens have
abducted my husband that he would think I would waste a
pierogie for my shin" vs. "I want my husband here at home
to help me!"
Didn't think how that could be misinterpreted by a guy
who feels a little guilty about being away! Sorry.
Spoiler alert: I did have to get Boy from the daycare
and then couldn't bring him back the next day... the
subject of my next post, BUT the ankle healed rather
quickly. I'm starting to get my energy back, too. Yay.
Saturday, March 20, 2010
Feeling Guilty?
Monday, March 15, 2010
Calling in favors
Donors are touring my lab in two weeks, which could be problematic since the lab is getting a bit dusty these days.
My research student returned today looking really peaked, obviously not back to his regular vim and vigor. In addition, he has weeks of makeup work for his classes to do. I said, "I need your help for the next two weeks to prep for this donors tour, then we can relax a little and you can make up your research project time in the summer term." He was pretty agreeable. He's highly motivated to do the donor tour since one of the honorees is the exec. director of a company he wants to apply to.
The second favor I called in was of my old research student who no longer works in the lab, and I proposed that her extra time would be back-applied to the semester she didn't work very hard (in the lab) and got a lower research grade. Since I can go back and change her grade, if she does put in the extra work, I will retroactively bump her grade up by the appropriate amount according to the research rubric.
So I have a fully powered lab, at least for two weeks.
My research student returned today looking really peaked, obviously not back to his regular vim and vigor. In addition, he has weeks of makeup work for his classes to do. I said, "I need your help for the next two weeks to prep for this donors tour, then we can relax a little and you can make up your research project time in the summer term." He was pretty agreeable. He's highly motivated to do the donor tour since one of the honorees is the exec. director of a company he wants to apply to.
The second favor I called in was of my old research student who no longer works in the lab, and I proposed that her extra time would be back-applied to the semester she didn't work very hard (in the lab) and got a lower research grade. Since I can go back and change her grade, if she does put in the extra work, I will retroactively bump her grade up by the appropriate amount according to the research rubric.
So I have a fully powered lab, at least for two weeks.
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Donors to tour my lab
AUUUGH!
Like many schools, our facilities are outdated. Wayyy outdated. We are in a campaign to raise money for a new science center. It will be so expensive, that our fundraising department is not even bothering us peons yet, they are spending all their effort on people who can make a substantial contribution. A goodly portion of these people will be touring the facility in a few weeks. I've been asked to give a demonstration of my research- complete with student doing experiment and all. There are a few concerns about this. 1. The student hasn't been in the lab for weeks and has yet to get a successful experiment. I'm very nervous about the success of this "demo" experiment. 2. The list of donors, once I looked over them, were not wealthy alum business owners as I expected, but heads of research corporations and science bigwigs including a name you know. Yes, I know you know this name. That big.
*#^*#@*$^!*@!!!!! What have I gotten myself into?!?!?
I wish I could put aside all my teaching responsibilities and just perfect the lab for the next few weeks, but I can't. Moreover, I wish the student was available for that full time, too, so I could assure myself that he really knows what he was talking about. He likes to speak with confidence about everything, no matter whether he knows his stuff or not. Wealthy businessperson alumni could be fooled. These people absolutely cannot.
Like many schools, our facilities are outdated. Wayyy outdated. We are in a campaign to raise money for a new science center. It will be so expensive, that our fundraising department is not even bothering us peons yet, they are spending all their effort on people who can make a substantial contribution. A goodly portion of these people will be touring the facility in a few weeks. I've been asked to give a demonstration of my research- complete with student doing experiment and all. There are a few concerns about this. 1. The student hasn't been in the lab for weeks and has yet to get a successful experiment. I'm very nervous about the success of this "demo" experiment. 2. The list of donors, once I looked over them, were not wealthy alum business owners as I expected, but heads of research corporations and science bigwigs including a name you know. Yes, I know you know this name. That big.
*#^*#@*$^!*@!!!!! What have I gotten myself into?!?!?
I wish I could put aside all my teaching responsibilities and just perfect the lab for the next few weeks, but I can't. Moreover, I wish the student was available for that full time, too, so I could assure myself that he really knows what he was talking about. He likes to speak with confidence about everything, no matter whether he knows his stuff or not. Wealthy businessperson alumni could be fooled. These people absolutely cannot.
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Lazy Bum, Good Dad
Spring Break, ahhhh...
Big plans to get all the grading done and get all the equipment ordered and tested for upcoming labs. Oh, yeah, and go the gym more. Oh, yeah, and organize the office and, and, and...
This morning I had a glucose tolerance test that they give to old preggos like me to make sure I don't have gestational diabetes. So, Boy woke up as normal at 5:30 am and I got him ready for the day care. I found it very difficult to go for 2 hours with nothing to eat until 7:30 when I was to drink the magic orange drink, then make my way to the Dr.'s office to have blood drawn at 8:30.
Well, I passed with flying colors, so my ice-cream rich diet is not in danger, but I was starving to deff! So I took myself to a diner and had a good-ol' American breakfast of eggs and hashbrowns. When I got home at 10a, I was pretty sleepy and took a wee nap - UNTIL 3pm!!!
Egads! I hope that this was refreshing and will "reset" me for several days, and not just indulging my fatigue while getting no benefits (BTW, still anemic; Hb 10.7). If I benefit from the rest, hallelujah. If I don't, I just wasted a huge chunk of a good day in which I could have gotten something significant done. Auuuugh!
_________________
Last night, the Boy was having a major meltdown while we were Skyping with Hub. He wouldn't allow himself to be set down, but wriggled out of being held. There was much screaming and crying, all visible to his Dad on the Skype screen. I said: I've fed him- I don't think he's hungry, maybe he's overtired- but there's no way I can get him to sleep like this- help! I'm exasperated and desperate!
Hub thought for a second, "try putting him in the bath" (not an every night occurrence for us, but one that Boy really enjoys). There mere mention of "bath" was enough to bring some sanity to the scene, and by the time Boy was surrounded by suds, he had returned to his human, happy self. The rest of the bedtime went perfectly.
The significance of this is that Hub 1) Misses boy terribly while away at his job and 2) feels guilty about not being able to help parent while away. There are 3)-10), but we will focus on 2). The fact that Hub could come up with a creative parenting solution from far away made him feel great. And of course I pointed out how helpful and insightful it was (I never would have thought, "I know! Let's try a bath!"). Apparently Hub felt so good about this that he e-mailed his parents about it. :) Well, that makes us all feel great.
Big plans to get all the grading done and get all the equipment ordered and tested for upcoming labs. Oh, yeah, and go the gym more. Oh, yeah, and organize the office and, and, and...
This morning I had a glucose tolerance test that they give to old preggos like me to make sure I don't have gestational diabetes. So, Boy woke up as normal at 5:30 am and I got him ready for the day care. I found it very difficult to go for 2 hours with nothing to eat until 7:30 when I was to drink the magic orange drink, then make my way to the Dr.'s office to have blood drawn at 8:30.
Well, I passed with flying colors, so my ice-cream rich diet is not in danger, but I was starving to deff! So I took myself to a diner and had a good-ol' American breakfast of eggs and hashbrowns. When I got home at 10a, I was pretty sleepy and took a wee nap - UNTIL 3pm!!!
Egads! I hope that this was refreshing and will "reset" me for several days, and not just indulging my fatigue while getting no benefits (BTW, still anemic; Hb 10.7). If I benefit from the rest, hallelujah. If I don't, I just wasted a huge chunk of a good day in which I could have gotten something significant done. Auuuugh!
_________________
Last night, the Boy was having a major meltdown while we were Skyping with Hub. He wouldn't allow himself to be set down, but wriggled out of being held. There was much screaming and crying, all visible to his Dad on the Skype screen. I said: I've fed him- I don't think he's hungry, maybe he's overtired- but there's no way I can get him to sleep like this- help! I'm exasperated and desperate!
Hub thought for a second, "try putting him in the bath" (not an every night occurrence for us, but one that Boy really enjoys). There mere mention of "bath" was enough to bring some sanity to the scene, and by the time Boy was surrounded by suds, he had returned to his human, happy self. The rest of the bedtime went perfectly.
The significance of this is that Hub 1) Misses boy terribly while away at his job and 2) feels guilty about not being able to help parent while away. There are 3)-10), but we will focus on 2). The fact that Hub could come up with a creative parenting solution from far away made him feel great. And of course I pointed out how helpful and insightful it was (I never would have thought, "I know! Let's try a bath!"). Apparently Hub felt so good about this that he e-mailed his parents about it. :) Well, that makes us all feel great.
Monday, March 8, 2010
Give 'em essay tests?
Yes, another grade-turn-in-deadline has passed. And No, I did not make the deadline today. Just like always. But at least I didn't get the call from the registrar.
Its seems only last Fall that I was lamenting about how I really need to change my tests to something easier to grade. In Pet Class (60 students) I give 150 point tests, 20 points of which are an essay question- of which they know in advance. I tell them I give the essay question because their future will always involve explaining the subject to others, and that I want them to get good at formulating their thoughts in a clear and succinct manner. Mainly, they learn to write in the manner I like. Judge for yourself by this blog...
2/3 of the tests are multiple choice and I go back and forth between having them do a scantron (bubble) sheet and computer grade it, or just grade it myself. I'm equivocal on this.
The other portion is generally short answer or labeling, and I give a reasoning question as extra credit, often requiring a written response.
In any case, it takes me VERY LONG to grade these tests. Every time I grade these tests, I grumble about making things hard for myself and being inefficient, wasting my own time. OTOH, I do believe they learn from the writing, and if they wanted to take all scantron tests, they could have gone to a much larger school. I'm still convinced that this is one of the things I can do here at a small liberal arts school where they pay more tuition to get more of my time and consideration.
But is it sustainable for me?? Can I get my tests back in enough time for there to be good feedback? Or are the students "so over" the material by the time I get their test graded that it's all for naught? And why do I have this debate with myself at minimum 4 times per year, and I am still not be able to change?!?!?!?
Its seems only last Fall that I was lamenting about how I really need to change my tests to something easier to grade. In Pet Class (60 students) I give 150 point tests, 20 points of which are an essay question- of which they know in advance. I tell them I give the essay question because their future will always involve explaining the subject to others, and that I want them to get good at formulating their thoughts in a clear and succinct manner. Mainly, they learn to write in the manner I like. Judge for yourself by this blog...
2/3 of the tests are multiple choice and I go back and forth between having them do a scantron (bubble) sheet and computer grade it, or just grade it myself. I'm equivocal on this.
The other portion is generally short answer or labeling, and I give a reasoning question as extra credit, often requiring a written response.
In any case, it takes me VERY LONG to grade these tests. Every time I grade these tests, I grumble about making things hard for myself and being inefficient, wasting my own time. OTOH, I do believe they learn from the writing, and if they wanted to take all scantron tests, they could have gone to a much larger school. I'm still convinced that this is one of the things I can do here at a small liberal arts school where they pay more tuition to get more of my time and consideration.
But is it sustainable for me?? Can I get my tests back in enough time for there to be good feedback? Or are the students "so over" the material by the time I get their test graded that it's all for naught? And why do I have this debate with myself at minimum 4 times per year, and I am still not be able to change?!?!?!?
Friday, March 5, 2010
Missing the cheerleaders.
One of our athletic teams is doing particularly well, going to a national tournament. We actually got tickets to a tourney game, hired a bbsitter and went. Before moving to Small Religious U, I had always been involved in a Division I school (international readers: for athletics purposes these are the largest schools; the smallest are division III). Athletic events, the few we went to, took a long time to get into, were in huge stadiums and arenas, had either a marching or pep band, and quite a big show during half time. When the game was over, there was a throng of people exiting so it took a while to get out.
The game we went to tonight had only recorded music, no cheerleaders to watch, and no half-time show. This was particularly noticeable to me since I was on the dance/drill team in HS. No half time show? You're kidding?!?! Nonetheless, the game was exciting and the small arena was packed. It was fun, and our team won. And we got home within 10 minutes.
Update on the health: I bought an iron supplement and with great hopes started taking it (Floradix). I couldn't keep it down, so when I took it, not only did I NOT get iron, but also wasted the meal I took it with. I bought another supplement, a big slice of beef liver, a bunch of beans and some iron fortified cereal. I'm hoping this combo will work. I'm just disappointed because my fatigue recovery will be delayed further.
The game we went to tonight had only recorded music, no cheerleaders to watch, and no half-time show. This was particularly noticeable to me since I was on the dance/drill team in HS. No half time show? You're kidding?!?! Nonetheless, the game was exciting and the small arena was packed. It was fun, and our team won. And we got home within 10 minutes.
Update on the health: I bought an iron supplement and with great hopes started taking it (Floradix). I couldn't keep it down, so when I took it, not only did I NOT get iron, but also wasted the meal I took it with. I bought another supplement, a big slice of beef liver, a bunch of beans and some iron fortified cereal. I'm hoping this combo will work. I'm just disappointed because my fatigue recovery will be delayed further.
Monday, March 1, 2010
Is that IT???
You can't tell me that I've been absolutely defeated in the evenings for the last month was because I'm anemic! All I need is an iron supplement? Let's hope you're right.
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