January 14
Snow, like many things, is more fun with a younger person around.
1965
I went to Wykeham and I guess I'll stay - at least give it a chance. I went to the talent show rehearsal but S wasn't there so we couldn't sing. I started singing crazy songs while waiting for T’s father and before I knew it, everyone was listening. P fell and I think she broke her arm. V was there, but he didn't do anything. He left before I made a fool of myself. I thought of a GREAT theme for the show - My Favorite Things. The chorus could dance to the theme song. I'll tell D tomorrow.
Comment 2006
At my small rural high school, each class had a designated fund-raising event. The Freshman Social (a dance), Sophomore Talent Show, Junior Prom and Senior Play were attended by the entire school, but planned and run by a committee from a single class. I worked on the first two, but pretty much dropped out of the active "in crowd" by junior year.
My secret ambition was to sing at the talent show, which I finally did the next year. In 1965, I was on the planning committee, helped write the script, and accompanied two singers on the piano. A group of us were supposed to sing "Merry Minuet", a little anti-nuke ditty recorded by the Kingston Trio, but I think one by one girls dropped out until the group was gone.
Comment 2023
Isn’t it interesting that seventeen years ago I could remember all four fund-raisers but in 2023 I couldn’t? Gotta make room in the brain for new stuff, apparently.
1979
Figured I should boil down my student evaluation from Spring 1975 (my first). It takes up too much room to be in a file at home (they put it on a computer printout).
My weak points were “conveying enthusiasm” and “Respecting disagreement”. Both were functions of my fear, as I remember. I felt and acted stiff, and would freeze up of asked a question. There is a lot of acting to be done in teaching. Not pretending purse, but selectively exaggerating or suppressing feelings.
1997
“Fulfillment is gratitude at work.”
Well, I like that, because (a) I believe it is true and (b) I don’t feel very grateful or fulfilled right now. So here I sit, having had a good, vigorous workout which felt calming while I was doing it, but inside I am still churning. But I will try.
I am thankful for these things that happened yesterday:
1) I had a nice lunch with Mom. It is good that she lives close enough for us to visit often.
2) I had a very good meeting about my upcoming sabbatical.
3) Kiddo 2 is into being read to again. I missed it!
4) I got some interesting work done.
5) We had an excellent conversation about left and right brain activity AND THE KIDS CLEARED THEIR OWN DISHES!
1998
Having a glass of wine before bedtime is a bad idea. I nearly always wake up with a headache. Not worth it. Today I will go to the athletic center to work out, hot tub it and shower, then into the office to do my sabbatical plan and meet with students. For all that I made a wonderful to do list yesterday, I threw it all over to watch Pride and Prejudice and knit, then take a short nap. When I started working I got a lot done, and the sensation of being relaxed was tremendous!
I just had a flashback to AZ, and how inferior I felt to her. I have always deferred to people from other (“real”) disciplines. So it shouldn’t be surprising that moving to American Studies — where I am surrounded by people from different (“real”) backgrounds turned out to be an intimidating experience. Like graduate school! Is my own preparation so terrible? In some ways, yes. I hid from challenging work and have a degree in apparel design which in no way prepared me for what I do now. I wrote few papers and read very little in any other area. Had I emerged a competent designer, I would’ve at least had that. But I did not. My graduate research was strong, but essentially self-directed. I read enough to feel stupid but never enough to feel competent. My competence is based on my research – –original and insightful, ’tis true, but not always aware of other disciplines. My undergraduate teaching has been excellent, but I feel insecure in my graduate seminars, either worrying that they know more than I do or that I will have nothing to offer them. This is not improving the headache!
2003
It dawns on me that I am teaching research methods this semester, or at least guiding inquiry. In CPSP118R, I can use the teaching platform to run 65 simultaneous tutorials with the students, as I did three years ago with the question experiment. In CPSP259R we are doing discovery research, basically a small group tutorial. In UNIV359 I want them to use their service learning project as a springboard for inquiry, going beyond reflection. Gilbert Hyatt’s description of the tutorial method was very useful. I hadn’t thought about what I was doing as Socratic in nature. Duh. His comments about student writing were also good. Interesting that short writing assignments require more time than long ones if the total number of page is written is held constant.
So I need to revisit the plans for all three courses and make sure that inquiry and critical thinking. Are embedded in each one
2004
Snow is on the way (hooray!!!). We bought a new car last night to replace the Prism. Now we have a gray Toyota Matrix with a sunroof. Lots of headroom and legroom. And grocery room. It’s going to cost about $100 more a month to own. But since Jim is no longer commuting to Baltimore, that’s ok. The insurance will kill us, thanks to having a young male driver. But this, too shall pass.
I am getting the ditzy saggy stuff done but not the big things. Again. As usual. Why O why O why O?
Because I don’t look at my project list enough and I don’t have next steps for many of my projects.
Comment 2024
The benefit of all the reading I have done on time and project management is that I know exactly what I am doing wrong, in excruciating detail.
2005
At the VKP (Virtual Knowledge Project) Writing Residency. Now this is living/working. I am in a cushy room in a B and B near Dupont Circle, being mentored, wined and dined by the lovely folks from Randy Bass’s Georgetown shop. Now if I can only get some actual work done!
2024
We are still active in our local Unitarian Universalist congregation, despite having a sizable UU community here at Riderwood. What’s missing here is everyone under the age of 60. I was fortunate this morning to be enlisted as a helper to a couple of youngers who were learning to embroider. (That’s not a typo; “younger” in balance to “elder” or “older”. I like the implied relativity.) While we were working and listening to the worship service, it began to snow. Another of the youngers rushed outside to try to catch the fluffy flakes on their tongue. It reminded me of the year - long, long ago - that I resolved to look up the next time it snowed, to see where it comes from.
Snow, like many things, is more fun with a younger person around.
