And yeah, I just returned to campus to finish writing the damn paper.
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Mood buttons You Can’t Wear To Work: Part 3
I should be writing a paper but...
And yeah, I just returned to campus to finish writing the damn paper.
And yeah, I just returned to campus to finish writing the damn paper.
Monday, April 21, 2008
Ugh!
Isn't this semester over yet? Too much crap to do and not enough time. Especially when all I want to do is sleep.
Worked the late night program on Friday, spent Saturday making up for it. Fun times, drunk girl arrested, drunk guy got on the roof of a building and passed out..no kidding. Wonder if that will make the school newspaper....
Peace ya'll.
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Stood Up
I am beginning to feel like the ugly prom date. In the last two days, I have been stood up four times by other people for set appointments. One person missed a business meeting with me, twice! The other two were both interviews I had arranged for my class project. I spoke to one of them and have still not heard from the other but am trying to reschedule all three.
So frustrating!
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
From Crib to Cubicle, A Familiar Voice -- Our Own -- Reassures
(This article was on the intranet at work and a co-worker pointed it out to me...one who sits shares a cubicle wall with me. I wonder why..)
When a voice rises from a nearby cubicle, a better question than "You talking to me?" may be "You talking to you?"
Susan Shapiro, a business-technology consultant, talks to herself constantly in what amounts to auditory to-do lists and step-by-step instructions. She calls herself an "idiot" at times, "brilliant" at others and occasionally says things out loud such as, "I can't believe I'm talking to myself out loud." She once discovered a colleague hovering behind her, waiting for her and her cubemate to finish their conversation. "We weren't talking to each other," she says. "We were each talking to ourselves."
Self-talking starts early, beginning as crib speech for the fun of it and becoming toddlers' repetition of rules they're learning to live by, researchers say. Late in life, you might say to yourself, "Why am I looking for my eyeglasses in the refrigerator?" only to discover -- holy cow! -- that's where you left them.
In between, in your cubicle-bound life, researchers say as many as 96% of people talk to themselves aloud, and deaf people have been observed signing to themselves while answering test questions. It's believed that people primarily blather to themselves when alone so as not to appear nuts. But those of us in the cube farm know better.
The irony is that self-chatter, like sharp objects, is both most suited and least suited to the workplace. "At work where we would most benefit from talking out loud is also the place we are least likely to do so for social reasons," says Alain Morin, a professor of psychology at the Mount Royal College in Calgary, Alberta.
Among the things it's useful for is what's called self-regulation: goal-setting, problem-solving, decision-making and planning ("When she says, 'You already got a raise,' I'll say, 'Which didn't keep pace with inflation' "). These conversations with one's self tend to increase, research shows, with the complexity of tasks and when someone's having a bad day.
"There's not a lot you can say when things are going really well: 'I want to keep things as they are,' " notes Tom Brinthaupt, professor of psychology at Middle Tennessee State University. Self-talk is "not that different from a thermostat. It's one of the ways we monitor ourselves, control impulses and guide actions."
The downside: "It can very much be disruptive."
Self-talk, unscientifically, also seems to be the stuff in the noisy maelstrom of the mind that slips out. It's also ensures that at least one person is listening to you.
When the pressure's on before, say, a big presentation, there's a lot of anticipatory conversation -- a stress rehearsal. Evan Steingart, former head of sales at a consumer-products company, worked with a salesman who rehearsed his entire pitch the day before he met with clients, including their objections in a different voice.
"It was an extreme distraction to the rest of the group," says Mr. Steingart. "People were so mesmerized by it."
They couldn't stop themselves from secretly dialing into the conference-room phone and listening in whenever he went there to practice. "Fortunately, he would always make the sale, and he never got into an argument with himself," adds Mr. Steingart.
For some, talking to oneself is a way to reach group consensus, sans group. Chris Weyers, who works for a financial-services company, talks himself up all day, he says, "as if someone is helping you get the day organized, urging you on to get things done faster, telling you not to check email when you hear the ping."
He's more efficient, he adds, because "two heads are better than one." The problem is his assistant, whose hearing isn't what it once was, rushes in throughout the day, asking, "Are you talking to me?"
Many of us are as used to someone's self-chatter as we are to people with invisible cellphone headsets seemingly blathering on to themselves. J.P. Tristani, a former commercial-airline pilot, flew with a DC-8 captain who, whenever faced with bad weather on radar, would "consult" aloud with an Indian chief he pretended sat in the jump seat behind him.
"I didn't care who he was talking to back there," he says, "as long as I didn't hear a voice coming out of that black void."
Self-talk can be both a cause of distraction in the office and its cure. After a while, you listen to yourself think aloud so you don't have to listen to the soliloquy next to you.
"Talking to yourself eliminates some other distractions," says J.J. Stives, who sat next to an incessant self-talker. His partner, Christine Ascherman, a commercial photographer, talks to herself about exposure and aperture before and during her shoots. "It wards off conversation," she says.
Carli Entin, an associate magazine editor, loves talking to herself whether it's "appearing" as a panelist on "Meet the Press," narrating her imaginary cooking show ("replace some of the water with coffee for a tastier cupcake"), or blogging.
At work, even when a colleague told her she stopped listening, that didn't stop Ms. Entin's side of the conversation or the fun she had engaging in it. Besides, her self-chatter can be efficient. "By acting out the conversation," she says, "I no longer need to have it."
• By JARED SANDBERG.
URL for this article:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120640272238360897.html
When a voice rises from a nearby cubicle, a better question than "You talking to me?" may be "You talking to you?"
Susan Shapiro, a business-technology consultant, talks to herself constantly in what amounts to auditory to-do lists and step-by-step instructions. She calls herself an "idiot" at times, "brilliant" at others and occasionally says things out loud such as, "I can't believe I'm talking to myself out loud." She once discovered a colleague hovering behind her, waiting for her and her cubemate to finish their conversation. "We weren't talking to each other," she says. "We were each talking to ourselves."
Self-talking starts early, beginning as crib speech for the fun of it and becoming toddlers' repetition of rules they're learning to live by, researchers say. Late in life, you might say to yourself, "Why am I looking for my eyeglasses in the refrigerator?" only to discover -- holy cow! -- that's where you left them.
In between, in your cubicle-bound life, researchers say as many as 96% of people talk to themselves aloud, and deaf people have been observed signing to themselves while answering test questions. It's believed that people primarily blather to themselves when alone so as not to appear nuts. But those of us in the cube farm know better.
The irony is that self-chatter, like sharp objects, is both most suited and least suited to the workplace. "At work where we would most benefit from talking out loud is also the place we are least likely to do so for social reasons," says Alain Morin, a professor of psychology at the Mount Royal College in Calgary, Alberta.
Among the things it's useful for is what's called self-regulation: goal-setting, problem-solving, decision-making and planning ("When she says, 'You already got a raise,' I'll say, 'Which didn't keep pace with inflation' "). These conversations with one's self tend to increase, research shows, with the complexity of tasks and when someone's having a bad day.
"There's not a lot you can say when things are going really well: 'I want to keep things as they are,' " notes Tom Brinthaupt, professor of psychology at Middle Tennessee State University. Self-talk is "not that different from a thermostat. It's one of the ways we monitor ourselves, control impulses and guide actions."
The downside: "It can very much be disruptive."
Self-talk, unscientifically, also seems to be the stuff in the noisy maelstrom of the mind that slips out. It's also ensures that at least one person is listening to you.
When the pressure's on before, say, a big presentation, there's a lot of anticipatory conversation -- a stress rehearsal. Evan Steingart, former head of sales at a consumer-products company, worked with a salesman who rehearsed his entire pitch the day before he met with clients, including their objections in a different voice.
"It was an extreme distraction to the rest of the group," says Mr. Steingart. "People were so mesmerized by it."
They couldn't stop themselves from secretly dialing into the conference-room phone and listening in whenever he went there to practice. "Fortunately, he would always make the sale, and he never got into an argument with himself," adds Mr. Steingart.
For some, talking to oneself is a way to reach group consensus, sans group. Chris Weyers, who works for a financial-services company, talks himself up all day, he says, "as if someone is helping you get the day organized, urging you on to get things done faster, telling you not to check email when you hear the ping."
He's more efficient, he adds, because "two heads are better than one." The problem is his assistant, whose hearing isn't what it once was, rushes in throughout the day, asking, "Are you talking to me?"
Many of us are as used to someone's self-chatter as we are to people with invisible cellphone headsets seemingly blathering on to themselves. J.P. Tristani, a former commercial-airline pilot, flew with a DC-8 captain who, whenever faced with bad weather on radar, would "consult" aloud with an Indian chief he pretended sat in the jump seat behind him.
"I didn't care who he was talking to back there," he says, "as long as I didn't hear a voice coming out of that black void."
Self-talk can be both a cause of distraction in the office and its cure. After a while, you listen to yourself think aloud so you don't have to listen to the soliloquy next to you.
"Talking to yourself eliminates some other distractions," says J.J. Stives, who sat next to an incessant self-talker. His partner, Christine Ascherman, a commercial photographer, talks to herself about exposure and aperture before and during her shoots. "It wards off conversation," she says.
Carli Entin, an associate magazine editor, loves talking to herself whether it's "appearing" as a panelist on "Meet the Press," narrating her imaginary cooking show ("replace some of the water with coffee for a tastier cupcake"), or blogging.
At work, even when a colleague told her she stopped listening, that didn't stop Ms. Entin's side of the conversation or the fun she had engaging in it. Besides, her self-chatter can be efficient. "By acting out the conversation," she says, "I no longer need to have it."
• By JARED SANDBERG.
URL for this article:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120640272238360897.html
Sunday, April 13, 2008
Friday, April 11, 2008
Monday, April 07, 2008
Thursday, April 03, 2008
Umm...
Went to bed at 11:00, got up at 2:00 to work on a position paper due at 7 p.m. tonight. Taking a break right now. I have a long way to go, including finishing my research on the topic. Was very depressed at 10:30 when I realized that I left the textbook that is the basic text I was going to use for this paper at school tonight. While my brother generously offered to drive me to school since I was so tired (Really, Zipper, I can't thank you enough), I declined and went to take a nap stating that I would figure something out.
Thank goodness it is a well known text and a simple google search brought up a teaching outline of the chapter I needed from the publisher. Really a shorthand but when you have a lot to write, hey - you take what you can get. I found a couple other articles I can pull from although I have a bunch I can add to the essay once I get it completed. Three sources is a little light for a graduate paper but I have to get the dang thing written first. I have written the introduction, the conclusion and the transition paragraph between the second and third main point to the paper (boy, teaching outlining has really helped my scholarship...). Now I just have to read and write the body of the essay! The syllabus gives us a length of 4-5 pages, I am about 2 in already. My goal is to have a complete draft done by the time I have to get ready for work so that in my break from 12-2 today, I can proofread a final draft. That is my goal, fingers crossed.
During my study break, besides taking a moment to vent in this space, I also emptied and refilled the ice cub trays in the (brand new) freezer while getting myself a glass of water, repacked my backpack for tomorrow so I am not carrying a million things I don't need to, wrote a speaking outline for my 3:30 presentation in my last request for funding for my service assignment (Not to brag but I have managed to secure $3,200 of the $4,900 needed - in contrast to the $1,000 that the faculty advisor brought in). The request is for $1,000 although at this point, all we really need to fully fund the event without department funds is $700. So even if they only give us $100, I pulled it off. All I have to do is generate some publicity in the next three weeks (event is April 22), write up event reports for the sponsors and this monkey is off my back. Believe me, I am counting the days....
Everything is actually going well for me, with the exception of being a student. I am really struggling with that part of my life. And on that note, my break is over.
Ciao!
Thank goodness it is a well known text and a simple google search brought up a teaching outline of the chapter I needed from the publisher. Really a shorthand but when you have a lot to write, hey - you take what you can get. I found a couple other articles I can pull from although I have a bunch I can add to the essay once I get it completed. Three sources is a little light for a graduate paper but I have to get the dang thing written first. I have written the introduction, the conclusion and the transition paragraph between the second and third main point to the paper (boy, teaching outlining has really helped my scholarship...). Now I just have to read and write the body of the essay! The syllabus gives us a length of 4-5 pages, I am about 2 in already. My goal is to have a complete draft done by the time I have to get ready for work so that in my break from 12-2 today, I can proofread a final draft. That is my goal, fingers crossed.
During my study break, besides taking a moment to vent in this space, I also emptied and refilled the ice cub trays in the (brand new) freezer while getting myself a glass of water, repacked my backpack for tomorrow so I am not carrying a million things I don't need to, wrote a speaking outline for my 3:30 presentation in my last request for funding for my service assignment (Not to brag but I have managed to secure $3,200 of the $4,900 needed - in contrast to the $1,000 that the faculty advisor brought in). The request is for $1,000 although at this point, all we really need to fully fund the event without department funds is $700. So even if they only give us $100, I pulled it off. All I have to do is generate some publicity in the next three weeks (event is April 22), write up event reports for the sponsors and this monkey is off my back. Believe me, I am counting the days....
Everything is actually going well for me, with the exception of being a student. I am really struggling with that part of my life. And on that note, my break is over.
Ciao!
Monday, March 31, 2008
Off the Face of the
So April is going to be very busy for me. I managed to post at least three times in March but I will probably be silent all this coming month.
Friday, March 14, 2008
Countdown
Spring Break is almost here. I get off work around 5 p.m. today and am counting down the minutes. 7 hrs, 25 min and too many seconds between me and time off.
There is a bottle of vodka calling my name...
Wednesday, March 05, 2008
Soundtrack of my life
So, here's how it works:
1. Open your music library (iTunes, Winamp, Media Player, iPod, etc)
2. Put it on shuffle
3. Press play
4. For every question, type the song that's playing
5. When you go to a new question, press the next button
6. Don't lie and try to pretend you're cool
1. Opening Credits: Makes No Sense at All/ Andre 3000
2. Waking Up: Apparently Nothin’/Young Disciplines
3.First Day At School: Espacio Sideral/Jesse & Joy
4.Falling In Love: Sexx Laws/Beck
5.Fight Song: Where’s the Love/Hanson
6.Breaking Up: Don’t Make Me Come to Vegas/Tori Amos
7.Prom: World Go ‘Round/No Doubt
8.Life: Love is Stronger Than Justice/Sting
9.Mental breakdown: La Unica/Juanes
10.Driving: Hey Jupiter/Tori Amos
11.Flashback: You Had Me, You Lost Me/Eve
12.Getting back together: Altisimo/Hector Buitrago
13.Wedding: Let Love Rule/Lenny Kravitz
14.Birth of Child: No, You Don’t/NIN
15.Final Battle: I Begin to Wonder/Danni Minogue
16.Death Scene: Glitz Rock/Felix da Housecat
17.Funeral Song: I’m Not In Love/Tori Amos
18.End Credits: Your Joy/Chrisette Michele
1. Open your music library (iTunes, Winamp, Media Player, iPod, etc)
2. Put it on shuffle
3. Press play
4. For every question, type the song that's playing
5. When you go to a new question, press the next button
6. Don't lie and try to pretend you're cool
1. Opening Credits: Makes No Sense at All/ Andre 3000
2. Waking Up: Apparently Nothin’/Young Disciplines
3.First Day At School: Espacio Sideral/Jesse & Joy
4.Falling In Love: Sexx Laws/Beck
5.Fight Song: Where’s the Love/Hanson
6.Breaking Up: Don’t Make Me Come to Vegas/Tori Amos
7.Prom: World Go ‘Round/No Doubt
8.Life: Love is Stronger Than Justice/Sting
9.Mental breakdown: La Unica/Juanes
10.Driving: Hey Jupiter/Tori Amos
11.Flashback: You Had Me, You Lost Me/Eve
12.Getting back together: Altisimo/Hector Buitrago
13.Wedding: Let Love Rule/Lenny Kravitz
14.Birth of Child: No, You Don’t/NIN
15.Final Battle: I Begin to Wonder/Danni Minogue
16.Death Scene: Glitz Rock/Felix da Housecat
17.Funeral Song: I’m Not In Love/Tori Amos
18.End Credits: Your Joy/Chrisette Michele
Monday, February 18, 2008
Ready to come home
I should probably use this time to tell you about my adventures in CO but I'm tired of sitting in the lobby of the hotel by myself to use the free wifi. Which I didn't learn about until today, the day before I leave for home. Some random thoughts regarding this trip:
Traveling alone sucks. JW got sick and stayed in LA at the last minute.
The Omni Interlocken hotel either must be the best job in the world in CO or else they drug all the employees with Prozac daily. They are way too happy. And I mean Waaaaay too happy. All the time.
I am not a fan of housekeeping trying to open my door before 8:30 on a Monday morning,
New American Cuisine is not as scary as it may sound. It's actually quite tasty.
When flying, be sure to stock up on cold meds. Especially if your hotel is in the middle of BFE.
Read the entertainment and info guide they send out before going somewhere. That way you won't pay $87 for a taxi ride instead of $22 for the super shuttle.
Going to a conference by yourself sucks.
I love my discipline. Where else can someone talk about Spiderman and 9/11 and Jem and the Holograms all in the same day. And be taken seriously. (Meesh, i wish you were here). There was also a paper titled, "What would Jesus Smoke?" about freedom of speech. And that one comes out of my department too.
Alright, thats enough for now. I am counting down the minutes until I can come home safe and sound. Fingers crossed, no delays and I land in LAX at 4:00 p.m.
Ciao bella.
Traveling alone sucks. JW got sick and stayed in LA at the last minute.
The Omni Interlocken hotel either must be the best job in the world in CO or else they drug all the employees with Prozac daily. They are way too happy. And I mean Waaaaay too happy. All the time.
I am not a fan of housekeeping trying to open my door before 8:30 on a Monday morning,
New American Cuisine is not as scary as it may sound. It's actually quite tasty.
When flying, be sure to stock up on cold meds. Especially if your hotel is in the middle of BFE.
Read the entertainment and info guide they send out before going somewhere. That way you won't pay $87 for a taxi ride instead of $22 for the super shuttle.
Going to a conference by yourself sucks.
I love my discipline. Where else can someone talk about Spiderman and 9/11 and Jem and the Holograms all in the same day. And be taken seriously. (Meesh, i wish you were here). There was also a paper titled, "What would Jesus Smoke?" about freedom of speech. And that one comes out of my department too.
Alright, thats enough for now. I am counting down the minutes until I can come home safe and sound. Fingers crossed, no delays and I land in LAX at 4:00 p.m.
Ciao bella.
Friday, February 15, 2008
Goin' to CO
Yup, that's right. My flight leaves at 4:35 for Denver, Colorado. Gonna participate in the Western State Communication Association conference. Gonna be on a panel about teachin'. Cuz its all about the teachin'.
I had a funny blog planned about my recent (and first) bout with the flu but I don't have the energy. I am hoping that my decision to go on this trip does not turn out to be a bad one.
Oh, and I got my first semester teaching evals back. One of my classes thought I was a good teacher, the other class though my lectures came across as condescending. I haven't finished reading that class' eval yet, I have to teach at 12 and I can't let it mess with my head. Ah well, win some, lose some.
Signing off, Marz.
I had a funny blog planned about my recent (and first) bout with the flu but I don't have the energy. I am hoping that my decision to go on this trip does not turn out to be a bad one.
Oh, and I got my first semester teaching evals back. One of my classes thought I was a good teacher, the other class though my lectures came across as condescending. I haven't finished reading that class' eval yet, I have to teach at 12 and I can't let it mess with my head. Ah well, win some, lose some.
Signing off, Marz.
Monday, February 11, 2008
Sunday, February 10, 2008
Sometimes...
something just jumps out at you when it is least expected.
"What we experience is most often whatever needed to be expressed, whether through story, gossip, or humor on the one end, or poetry, novels, or films on the other"
- D. Soyini Madison, Critical Ethnography: Method, Ethics, and Performance
This is the book I am reading for my Performance Studies class. I really like the readings for this class, even as I am concerned about keeping up with the assignments.
Better go, more writing and grading to do. Happy Sunday night!
"What we experience is most often whatever needed to be expressed, whether through story, gossip, or humor on the one end, or poetry, novels, or films on the other"
- D. Soyini Madison, Critical Ethnography: Method, Ethics, and Performance
This is the book I am reading for my Performance Studies class. I really like the readings for this class, even as I am concerned about keeping up with the assignments.
Better go, more writing and grading to do. Happy Sunday night!
Tuesday, February 05, 2008
A House Divided
After Super Tuesday, our Democratic household is split down the middle. I'll let you guess which generation voted for which candidate.
Monday, February 04, 2008
Oh...
I'm still at school. For that damn class I assist with as my service assignment to my department. The above picture is how I feel about it all.
Either shoot me or let me gouge my eyes out. *sigh*
Sunday, February 03, 2008
Sigh...
So, I guess posting once a month is the best we can hope for. Some things that have happened in the last few weeks:
*Had my first assignment for my Performance Studies Class - go to a bar and perform a ethnographic study. Gotta love graduate school.
*Got some great news, a paper I submitted for my conference in March was accepted! Yay! Another thing to my CV. Also, I think I forgot to mention that I am attending a conference in a couple weeks in which I will be on a roundtable discussion about teaching. Slowly but surely, I move towards the future.
*My new boss still rocks. We had a organizing/calendering 'party' on Friday. She loves office supplies as much as I do. I get to order more office supplies in fact. He he he. The GAs are still trying to schedule a coffee hour. We are aiming for Thursdays but we are all still creating our schedules for this semester. We moved our team meeting so things are still in flux.
*As for the student leaders I work with, the candidate we had couldn't accept the position after all and the other two stepped down before the retreat so we now have 4 open spots to fill. But everyone has been pitching in and we have some candidates to consider. The interview committee has been created (yes, I am on it) and I will be calling to set up appointments this week. We are on a roll.
*The retreat went well. A couple of rough spots and we forgot a couple things but we were able to take care of it at the last moment. Some of the young men make my blood pressure rise, part of the job.
*Things are not looking great for my girl Hillary. Super Tuesdays is this week, my fingers are crossed for her.
I have to go to bed but I will post again soon.
Oh - and if I do say so myself, I made a kick ass flier for the Barbie Chronicles. Getting it printed was another story but it looks awesome. One down, 5 flier to go.
*Had my first assignment for my Performance Studies Class - go to a bar and perform a ethnographic study. Gotta love graduate school.
*Got some great news, a paper I submitted for my conference in March was accepted! Yay! Another thing to my CV. Also, I think I forgot to mention that I am attending a conference in a couple weeks in which I will be on a roundtable discussion about teaching. Slowly but surely, I move towards the future.
*My new boss still rocks. We had a organizing/calendering 'party' on Friday. She loves office supplies as much as I do. I get to order more office supplies in fact. He he he. The GAs are still trying to schedule a coffee hour. We are aiming for Thursdays but we are all still creating our schedules for this semester. We moved our team meeting so things are still in flux.
*As for the student leaders I work with, the candidate we had couldn't accept the position after all and the other two stepped down before the retreat so we now have 4 open spots to fill. But everyone has been pitching in and we have some candidates to consider. The interview committee has been created (yes, I am on it) and I will be calling to set up appointments this week. We are on a roll.
*The retreat went well. A couple of rough spots and we forgot a couple things but we were able to take care of it at the last moment. Some of the young men make my blood pressure rise, part of the job.
*Things are not looking great for my girl Hillary. Super Tuesdays is this week, my fingers are crossed for her.
I have to go to bed but I will post again soon.
Oh - and if I do say so myself, I made a kick ass flier for the Barbie Chronicles. Getting it printed was another story but it looks awesome. One down, 5 flier to go.
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Beginning 2008
Hi there, my three loyal readers!
Sorry for my long absence, I have not had much time/been in the mood to blog lately but I though I should fill you in on my corner of the world before the semester gets crazy and I cannot keep up with anything. I have a lot to say that I have been storing up so I apologize in advance for the really, really long post.
First, to follow up on my last post, check this out, upper right hand corner:
Caption: Presidential hopeful Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton gets a kiss from a supporter as Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa takes their photo after her speech at California State University Northridge, Thursday January, 17, 2008, in Northridge CA. (Hans Gutknecht/LA Daily News)
It was so exciting and fun and thrilling. Also tiring, 5 ½ hours on bleachers waiting for Senator Clinton to arrive with stage lights glaring down on you is really tough. And you know what? Even if you are not a Hillary fan, it is still really cool to be a part of the political action. There is even footage from the event on TMZ. Wish I could send you the link but I can't figure out the html to make it work.
So, that is that adventure. If you will indulge me, lets jump back in time so I can share what I did during winter break.
I had the chance to do some cooking and baking. From Vive La Vegan I have cooked the Lemon-Herb Tofu (p.65 and in the oven right now), Three-Bean Curry Tomato Soup (p.79), Roasted Tomato Bean Stew (p.78), and the Chipotle Corn Black Bean Soup (p. 74). All have been yummy and all way too much food if I were on my own. When I am out in my own place, I will have to invest in some Tupperware to freeze portions of these dishes for later use.
From Vegan With a Vengeance, I have baked Sparkling Ginger Cookies (p.192), Crunchy Peanut Butter-Oatmeal Cookies (p.199), Buttery Lemon Cutout Cookies (p.201), Chocolate Thumbprint Cookies (p205), and Raspberry-Chocolate Chip Blondie Bars (p.210).
See, I had this brilliant idea that I would bake and put together Christmas baskets since for the first year ever, I have more couple friends that single friends. I am not sure how I feel about that BTW… Any who, I think that I got good reviews on all the goodies although I was not happy with the blondie bars. I need to try that one again with the correct dish size. I don’t think it baked all the way through. Still, I have two baskets left to deliver, although I think I would need to rebake the goodies as I do not know if they are still good. All the recipes make a lot of goodies. The only one I would not retry is the Lemony cutout cookies, I could barely roll them out and I followed directions. Although the feedback I got was positive, I though they were rather gross and wouldn’t inflict them on anyone.
I also made a double batch of Red Velvet cupcakes for a pot luck that didn’t happen due to a power outage in December at the University that cancelled the event and Mint Chocolate Chip cupcakes for the rescheduled event in January. Both from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World (VCTOW).
Sorry, I have no pictures. I thought I had at least taken pictures of the Mint Chocolate Cupcakes at least but apparently not. The cupcakes were yummy and eaten up quickly. Here is a gratuitous Cupcake picture to tide you over.
In school news, I got the grades I expected but worse that I had wanted to get last semester. Does that make sense? I also discovered that even if I got straight A’s from here on out, I will not be able to graduate with honors. I just can’t get to the GPA that is required. Ah well.
I got a new boss at the Union in the beginning of December and let me tell you, she is awesome. We have the same sense of humor, the same response to what is going on and even though I am her employee, in many ways she treats me like an equal, which, as great as my previous boss was – I never got the same feeling. She is really trying to bring the department together as a team and to make our processes as smooth and collaborative as possible. She has us each meeting and networking on campus at least one person a month. Pretty cool, even when I think – ‘gee, I have the time for this.’ I have one more week to meet with someone. Thank goodness I have to do outreach for my other job and can combine these efforts.
We are a better team already. We have expanded the team to include the 3 graduate assistants and we meet once a week to share and trouble shoot and check in with everyone. The GA’s also are going to meet for a coffee half hour, on the clock, to form our own support group to discuss the challenges that we face as para-professional staff and graduate students as well. Organized by me so we have not met yet. Next week I think we will start.
I also am now going to be supervising two undergraduate workers. One is still to be hired but I helped streamline the job description and get the interview questions over to HR for approval before we start posting. I will be involved in the job search. I like the job search stuff, I did several last semester and over the summer.
I am also on four committees at the union, working on creating the 08-09 budget for the department and planning a day long training for the BOD this Saturday. This is on top of my usual duties, which include paying invoices, requesting checks for the BOD, clerical work, scheduling meetings and managing the turn over on the BOD. Yeah, we have one new member joining us this week, an official resignation of another today and two more people whose status is up in the air. Yay! All my job to manage the revolving personnel.
Speaking of my other job (several paragraphs ago), today was the first day that I taught. I have the same schedule, as last semester so in some ways this is old hat. In other ways, it is a brand new adventure. I am still playing catch up although now that I have done it once, it is a little easier. I wasn’t shaking in front of the class nearly as much as I was at the beginning of last semester. It’s crazy, I have 25 students per class and a waiting list of at least 6 for each class. And everyone showed up today. Man I am hitting the ground running.
I also had my first class on Tuesday night, Performance Studies Seminar. It is going to be a lot of work but very informative. I have to conduct an ethnographic study this semester in a community. I plan on either working with Dress for Success or MEND (Meet Each Need with Dignity). Both are awesome charities and Dress for Success is something I have wanted to get involved with for a couple years now. It will have to depend where they are located, when they operate and who is open to allowing me to participate in their community. I shall let you know how that goes. Also, our first assignment, which is due next Tuesday, is to go to a bar to conduct an ethnographic study. You have to love Graduate School. Now if only I could figure out a way to make cupcakes for a class project…
For my department service department, we met today to divvy up the work that needs to be done. We have two- three performances to publicize and get money for this semester. I fear that I will be screwed because the new TA who shared this assignment is notorious for allowing others to do her work and being real cozy with the instructors. And she is very close with both the head of our department and the advisor for the performance group. She is doing an independent study with the advisor to adapt
“The Barbie Chronicles” as the show for the group to perform this semester. She is going to adapt and direct the show. So guess who will get to take care of all the publicity and logistics for the visiting artists and all events? Yup, lit’ ol’ me. She already tried to say that she would put up the new display case by herself and leave all the flier work to me.
Nuh uh, no way chica. I said I would work on the fliers, yes but I very calmly said that I would like to help on the display as well. I phrased it as two sets of hands are better than one to help her vision come to life and made a decorative suggestion which she likes. She agreed that we should decorate the board together and then started complimenting me on how creative I am and how great a project I created last semester, so detailed, blah blah blah. Yeah, I am proud of my project and am creative but she laid it on a little thick. She is known for this kind of behavior. I hate to be this suspicious but I have to CYA this semester. I am going to start logging the hours I work on this service assignment so that if anyone tries to say I have not worked my max 5 hours each week, I can prove I did. And I know that I can’t say that Chica is not pulling her weight, she is much beloved by the staff involved. I just have to keep in mind and always phrase it as we are both so busy and could really need an extra set of hands. I can’t ever let anyone hear me say that she isn’t doing her job. I just think that the lines between her independent study and this service assignment will conveniently blur.
Oh and the kicker? The advisor is finishing her thesis this semester, trying to graduate with her PhD. So there is a lot that I think will be allowed to slide here. Whoopie.
This will be my last Wednesday night home for a while. The group will met at 7 on Wednesday nights. Ah well, no one else is home. Mi hermano is visiting with the cousins, mom will be out to dinner with a colleague each week and Pops is teaching a night class on Wednesdays this semester. He is going to be so tired but maybe we can figure out a way to carpool so he is not driving home by himself at 10 each week.
I have a Comm Theory class Tomorrow night which is going to be intense. I also am coding responses for a professor on campus for a research project. Paid and a good Curriculum Vitae builder.
I have a lot on my plate this semester, all this and two very intense classes. I really have to be on the top of my game. But I survived last semester, so I know I can do it. So if you don’t hear from me often, all of the above is the reason. Can you say:
Sorry for my long absence, I have not had much time/been in the mood to blog lately but I though I should fill you in on my corner of the world before the semester gets crazy and I cannot keep up with anything. I have a lot to say that I have been storing up so I apologize in advance for the really, really long post.
First, to follow up on my last post, check this out, upper right hand corner:
Caption: Presidential hopeful Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton gets a kiss from a supporter as Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa takes their photo after her speech at California State University Northridge, Thursday January, 17, 2008, in Northridge CA. (Hans Gutknecht/LA Daily News)
It was so exciting and fun and thrilling. Also tiring, 5 ½ hours on bleachers waiting for Senator Clinton to arrive with stage lights glaring down on you is really tough. And you know what? Even if you are not a Hillary fan, it is still really cool to be a part of the political action. There is even footage from the event on TMZ. Wish I could send you the link but I can't figure out the html to make it work.
So, that is that adventure. If you will indulge me, lets jump back in time so I can share what I did during winter break.
I had the chance to do some cooking and baking. From Vive La Vegan I have cooked the Lemon-Herb Tofu (p.65 and in the oven right now), Three-Bean Curry Tomato Soup (p.79), Roasted Tomato Bean Stew (p.78), and the Chipotle Corn Black Bean Soup (p. 74). All have been yummy and all way too much food if I were on my own. When I am out in my own place, I will have to invest in some Tupperware to freeze portions of these dishes for later use.
From Vegan With a Vengeance, I have baked Sparkling Ginger Cookies (p.192), Crunchy Peanut Butter-Oatmeal Cookies (p.199), Buttery Lemon Cutout Cookies (p.201), Chocolate Thumbprint Cookies (p205), and Raspberry-Chocolate Chip Blondie Bars (p.210).
See, I had this brilliant idea that I would bake and put together Christmas baskets since for the first year ever, I have more couple friends that single friends. I am not sure how I feel about that BTW… Any who, I think that I got good reviews on all the goodies although I was not happy with the blondie bars. I need to try that one again with the correct dish size. I don’t think it baked all the way through. Still, I have two baskets left to deliver, although I think I would need to rebake the goodies as I do not know if they are still good. All the recipes make a lot of goodies. The only one I would not retry is the Lemony cutout cookies, I could barely roll them out and I followed directions. Although the feedback I got was positive, I though they were rather gross and wouldn’t inflict them on anyone.
I also made a double batch of Red Velvet cupcakes for a pot luck that didn’t happen due to a power outage in December at the University that cancelled the event and Mint Chocolate Chip cupcakes for the rescheduled event in January. Both from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World (VCTOW).
Sorry, I have no pictures. I thought I had at least taken pictures of the Mint Chocolate Cupcakes at least but apparently not. The cupcakes were yummy and eaten up quickly. Here is a gratuitous Cupcake picture to tide you over.
In school news, I got the grades I expected but worse that I had wanted to get last semester. Does that make sense? I also discovered that even if I got straight A’s from here on out, I will not be able to graduate with honors. I just can’t get to the GPA that is required. Ah well.
I got a new boss at the Union in the beginning of December and let me tell you, she is awesome. We have the same sense of humor, the same response to what is going on and even though I am her employee, in many ways she treats me like an equal, which, as great as my previous boss was – I never got the same feeling. She is really trying to bring the department together as a team and to make our processes as smooth and collaborative as possible. She has us each meeting and networking on campus at least one person a month. Pretty cool, even when I think – ‘gee, I have the time for this.’ I have one more week to meet with someone. Thank goodness I have to do outreach for my other job and can combine these efforts.
We are a better team already. We have expanded the team to include the 3 graduate assistants and we meet once a week to share and trouble shoot and check in with everyone. The GA’s also are going to meet for a coffee half hour, on the clock, to form our own support group to discuss the challenges that we face as para-professional staff and graduate students as well. Organized by me so we have not met yet. Next week I think we will start.
I also am now going to be supervising two undergraduate workers. One is still to be hired but I helped streamline the job description and get the interview questions over to HR for approval before we start posting. I will be involved in the job search. I like the job search stuff, I did several last semester and over the summer.
I am also on four committees at the union, working on creating the 08-09 budget for the department and planning a day long training for the BOD this Saturday. This is on top of my usual duties, which include paying invoices, requesting checks for the BOD, clerical work, scheduling meetings and managing the turn over on the BOD. Yeah, we have one new member joining us this week, an official resignation of another today and two more people whose status is up in the air. Yay! All my job to manage the revolving personnel.
Speaking of my other job (several paragraphs ago), today was the first day that I taught. I have the same schedule, as last semester so in some ways this is old hat. In other ways, it is a brand new adventure. I am still playing catch up although now that I have done it once, it is a little easier. I wasn’t shaking in front of the class nearly as much as I was at the beginning of last semester. It’s crazy, I have 25 students per class and a waiting list of at least 6 for each class. And everyone showed up today. Man I am hitting the ground running.
I also had my first class on Tuesday night, Performance Studies Seminar. It is going to be a lot of work but very informative. I have to conduct an ethnographic study this semester in a community. I plan on either working with Dress for Success or MEND (Meet Each Need with Dignity). Both are awesome charities and Dress for Success is something I have wanted to get involved with for a couple years now. It will have to depend where they are located, when they operate and who is open to allowing me to participate in their community. I shall let you know how that goes. Also, our first assignment, which is due next Tuesday, is to go to a bar to conduct an ethnographic study. You have to love Graduate School. Now if only I could figure out a way to make cupcakes for a class project…
For my department service department, we met today to divvy up the work that needs to be done. We have two- three performances to publicize and get money for this semester. I fear that I will be screwed because the new TA who shared this assignment is notorious for allowing others to do her work and being real cozy with the instructors. And she is very close with both the head of our department and the advisor for the performance group. She is doing an independent study with the advisor to adapt
“The Barbie Chronicles” as the show for the group to perform this semester. She is going to adapt and direct the show. So guess who will get to take care of all the publicity and logistics for the visiting artists and all events? Yup, lit’ ol’ me. She already tried to say that she would put up the new display case by herself and leave all the flier work to me.
Nuh uh, no way chica. I said I would work on the fliers, yes but I very calmly said that I would like to help on the display as well. I phrased it as two sets of hands are better than one to help her vision come to life and made a decorative suggestion which she likes. She agreed that we should decorate the board together and then started complimenting me on how creative I am and how great a project I created last semester, so detailed, blah blah blah. Yeah, I am proud of my project and am creative but she laid it on a little thick. She is known for this kind of behavior. I hate to be this suspicious but I have to CYA this semester. I am going to start logging the hours I work on this service assignment so that if anyone tries to say I have not worked my max 5 hours each week, I can prove I did. And I know that I can’t say that Chica is not pulling her weight, she is much beloved by the staff involved. I just have to keep in mind and always phrase it as we are both so busy and could really need an extra set of hands. I can’t ever let anyone hear me say that she isn’t doing her job. I just think that the lines between her independent study and this service assignment will conveniently blur.
Oh and the kicker? The advisor is finishing her thesis this semester, trying to graduate with her PhD. So there is a lot that I think will be allowed to slide here. Whoopie.
This will be my last Wednesday night home for a while. The group will met at 7 on Wednesday nights. Ah well, no one else is home. Mi hermano is visiting with the cousins, mom will be out to dinner with a colleague each week and Pops is teaching a night class on Wednesdays this semester. He is going to be so tired but maybe we can figure out a way to carpool so he is not driving home by himself at 10 each week.
I have a Comm Theory class Tomorrow night which is going to be intense. I also am coding responses for a professor on campus for a research project. Paid and a good Curriculum Vitae builder.
I have a lot on my plate this semester, all this and two very intense classes. I really have to be on the top of my game. But I survived last semester, so I know I can do it. So if you don’t hear from me often, all of the above is the reason. Can you say:
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Whoa Becky!
Okay, first I finished my paper I last wrote about on time and got the grade I expected in the class.
Second, I plan on writing more later but in the meantime....
Tomorrow I am vying for one of 56 spots to be on stage with
I kid you not. I promise I will let you all know what happens and why I have this opportunity. So excited!
Second, I plan on writing more later but in the meantime....
Tomorrow I am vying for one of 56 spots to be on stage with
I kid you not. I promise I will let you all know what happens and why I have this opportunity. So excited!
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