professorial confessions (Free subscription) | 10 hours ago
I'm in the middle of summer, and yet I don't feel like I am having a summer. Here is the list of things I am dealing with on any given day: * reading applications, calling for references, having discussions about the 1-year job we've posted to temporarily fill the shoes of Recently Deceased Colleague (RDC); * putting together a proposal for a TT line to replace RDC, posting that position, and starting...
professorial confessions (Free subscription) | 07/07/2008
One of the highlights of the trip was that I got to see actual, live wild horses: One night we went to a fantastic restaurant in a tiny little town and saw flamenco dancing: The dancing and the guitar almost made me think I was back in al-Andalus: We also did some hiking. I was a bit worried about the hiking because of the state of my knees. But the knees held up just fine, and I got to gaze down over...
professorial confessions (Free subscription) | 07/03/2008
In six short days, my car will be officially paid off. I bought my car in 2003. It's the first new car I've ever owned. Being the nerd that I am, I spent months beforehand doing research on what car was Meant for Me. I looked at all kinds of vehicles, read countless reviews, and tried my very best to like something that was way cute or sporty or impractical . But I'm me, and the car I kept coming back...
professorial confessions (Free subscription) | 07/02/2008
Given how often my mother-in-law nags me about providing her with grandchildren, I may just need to buy her one of these . According to the article: Bandai's Purimopueru, whose name combines the Italian for "first" and the Latin for "boy," is touted as a new family member that can be taught to talk and sing. The doll can "master" up to five songs and 380 words in the course of a year, provided it gets...
Descriptive-Essays (Free subscription) | 06/30/2008
Writing a descriptive mood requires being aware of exact differentiation between simple narration and description. When you write a descriptive essay, you describe, compare, use metaphors and epithets, etc. In order to create a good descriptive essay, you should choose an effective topic for it, if, of course, you are not given the topic beforehand. Human [...]
professorial confessions (Free subscription) | 06/29/2008
Photos and such from the trip to come, but for now, some reflections. * It never occurred to me until this trip that most of my visits to my dad's place, from the age of 11 on, essentially involve walking into my own version of the film " Laurel Canyon ." Perhaps it's because Dad is now officially "out west" (my visits to him from ages 12-30 were visits to the East Coast) that this impression was so...
Descriptive-Essays (Free subscription) | 06/26/2008
Blue whale seems to be the best topic for the descriptive essays. Do you remember your main task while writing the descriptive essays? Right, giving the details on your subject. Blue whale is an animal that can give you a lot of those details, which will make the descriptive essays catchy and amazing. What is more, [...]
professorial confessions (Free subscription) | 06/24/2008
Tomorrow I'm leaving for another family visit out west. Honestly, I've kind of had it with family visits at this point, especially when they take the place of bona fide vacations. New Kid posted about this recently, and I couldn't agree more. Unfortunately my budget prevents me from taking a real vacation, as does the obligation to visit my dad. I haven't been to see him since 2006, and long-time readers...
professorial confessions (Free subscription) | 06/21/2008
I've been tagged by the captivating caroline for a meme. I can't thank her enough, because I have no ability to blog anything by whiny complaints right now, and I've haven't done a meme in forever. So here are the rules: List seven songs you are into right now. No matter what the genre, whether they have words, or even if they’re not any good, but they must be songs you’re really enjoying now, shaping...
professorial confessions (Free subscription) | 06/19/2008
So, I have submitted an article, after a great deal of angst. You, my fortunate blogfriends, get to hear about angst! The article is a revision of this : the paper for Sunny West Coast Conference. Presenting that paper was nerve-wracking for a lot of reasons, but mainly because it's the start of my First Big Project after my book. (I've worked on several other "little" projects, but none that I've...
professorial confessions (Free subscription) | 06/19/2008
[said in sputtering exasperation]: Goddamn bullshit online submission crap with 18 million dumb-ass steps and a touchy fucking system makes me want to punch my goddamn computer right now goddamn BULLshit nonsense...
professorial confessions (Free subscription) | 06/17/2008
revising a conference paper for submission to a journal right now? Or preparing anything for publication? Because I am chained to my chair writing, and (1) writing is hard; and (2) I need moral support. Please leave comments to let me know I am not alone in my labors.
professorial confessions (Free subscription) | 06/15/2008
... while simultaneously being a tough grader: it's easier than you think! I decided early on in my teaching career (i.e., in graduate school) that dealing with grade challenges was something I disliked intensely. When I was younger, this was because I was still unsure about exercising my own authority, and so I wasn't eager to have confrontations with students. As I got older, I understood that dealing...
professorial confessions (Free subscription) | 06/13/2008
Interesting (and hilarious) development #1: Because of my colleague's death, I spent a week grading his assignments and calculating final grades. He was a, shall we say, "light touch" in regards to grading, and so I tried to be generous in assigning final grades, given the unusual and distressing circumstances. But MANY of my grades ended up being far lower than grades he might have given, because...
CollegeLifeTips (Free subscription) | 06/11/2008
When a person enrolls college, the whole way of his or her life changes in a great deal. Very often, it happens so, that a person is not able to find a contact with the surrounding people, he or she goes into one’s shell. If you do not want to be afraid of the college life, [...]
