I sit in on weekly house meetings because I'm required to . . . I don't do it for fun!! I have to attend 80% of all meetings, including 1-hr public speaking sessions by house members (everyone presents once a year), 1-hr lectures by professors (about 7-8 of them this semester), interviews of applicants to the dorm, and the meetings in which we decide which applicants will be accepted to live in the dorm. And so on and so forth.
I will be going to Puebla, Mexico! Puebla is 7100 feet above sea level!
Some of my students are already improving!! One student went from a C- in her first paper to an A- in her second paper! Others are inching along, but at least they are inching forward. :)
Friday, September 22, 2006
Thursday, September 21, 2006
are you a student?
When I entered the classroom today, one of my students raised his hand and asked: "Are you a student?" I kinda looked down at my clothes (sneakers, 3/4-length pants, ratty t-shirt, and fleece vest), laughed, and said, yes, I'm a fifth year PhD student. They started laughing and said things like, oh, we didn't think you were a student, we thought you were a professor.
Most freshmen students will call their grad student instructors "professor" because they can't tell the difference, and it's nice when that happens. :) That means I'm doing something right!
I usually don't have disciplinary problems in the classroom, so I'm quite happy to be more or less informal with them. But right after that conversation, they were still chatting when I wanted to start class, so I grabbed my library book and slammed it on the table really, really hard. That got their attention alright. :):)
Most freshmen students will call their grad student instructors "professor" because they can't tell the difference, and it's nice when that happens. :) That means I'm doing something right!
I usually don't have disciplinary problems in the classroom, so I'm quite happy to be more or less informal with them. But right after that conversation, they were still chatting when I wanted to start class, so I grabbed my library book and slammed it on the table really, really hard. That got their attention alright. :):)
Saturday, September 16, 2006
travel dates
I just bought my plane ticket for winter break, and I leave NYC on Dec 4, and then depart from KL on Jan 11! I felt teary when I confirmed my KL-NYC departure date. But I'm thankful that I can even be home for that period of time.
Life here has continued to go well. I saw Prof 2 at a talk today, and we actually had a short, friendly, non-awkward conversation. My chair was a discussant at the talk so we didn't chat because I had to run off to meet a few of my over-anxious students who wanted me to look at their papers.
I will also be going to Mexico next April for the annual American Comparative Literature Association conference!!! Very excited about that!
Life here has continued to go well. I saw Prof 2 at a talk today, and we actually had a short, friendly, non-awkward conversation. My chair was a discussant at the talk so we didn't chat because I had to run off to meet a few of my over-anxious students who wanted me to look at their papers.
I will also be going to Mexico next April for the annual American Comparative Literature Association conference!!! Very excited about that!
Thursday, September 14, 2006
chaos revisited
I can't wait to get home for winter break this year. Ithaca's been really good so far, but I'm beginning to feel a little tired now. I'm leaving this weekend for a badminton tournament in Rochester, so I have to finish a whole bunch of work before I leave.
And when I get back on Monday, my kids will be turning in their second paper, so I'll be grading, grading, grading again! Still, they've been wonderful in class so far. I got a bunch of interested, responsible, and engaged students this semester, so teaching is fun and exciting.
The house is reading applications by high-schoolers applying to Cornell, and to live in the house, so I have to finish reading 42 application packages by this Fri. I've gone through about half, and they're pretty much all really brilliant and interesting. They've all gone through the summer version of what Telluride House is during the academic year, so I'm not surprised at the strength of their writing. And they all seem to be really nice human beings too.
Anyway.
And when I get back on Monday, my kids will be turning in their second paper, so I'll be grading, grading, grading again! Still, they've been wonderful in class so far. I got a bunch of interested, responsible, and engaged students this semester, so teaching is fun and exciting.
The house is reading applications by high-schoolers applying to Cornell, and to live in the house, so I have to finish reading 42 application packages by this Fri. I've gone through about half, and they're pretty much all really brilliant and interesting. They've all gone through the summer version of what Telluride House is during the academic year, so I'm not surprised at the strength of their writing. And they all seem to be really nice human beings too.
Anyway.
Wednesday, September 13, 2006
little steps
Just had a meeting with Prof No. 2 on my special committee (1 chair, 3 members), and am feeling really good about getting to work. Of course, I haven't actually done any work, but I did put out one of my ideas in our meeting, and Prof 2 thinks it might turn out to be a good way to get started.
Prof 2 also gave me a few tips on how to set daily writing routines, and even though Prof 2 made it clear that I can't actually choose not to do the writing, I'm okay with it and am glad that Prof 2 is invested in seeing me finish my project. And to think I began the semester intending to go it alone.
I'm actually excited about getting into the work again, isn't that surprising? I think it's also because Prof 2 helped me see it not as a huge monumental project, but as small bits of writing that does not have to be brilliant right away.
Well, it may not be brilliant at all, but I do have to finish this project. :)
Prof 2 also gave me a few tips on how to set daily writing routines, and even though Prof 2 made it clear that I can't actually choose not to do the writing, I'm okay with it and am glad that Prof 2 is invested in seeing me finish my project. And to think I began the semester intending to go it alone.
I'm actually excited about getting into the work again, isn't that surprising? I think it's also because Prof 2 helped me see it not as a huge monumental project, but as small bits of writing that does not have to be brilliant right away.
Well, it may not be brilliant at all, but I do have to finish this project. :)
Tuesday, September 12, 2006
Be It Resolved That . . . (BIRTs)
So far I don't think we've had a weekly house-meeting that ends in 2 hours. The first two weeks, our meetings were about 4 hours, and yesterday's meeting took three hours. What did we talk about for three hours?
Well, for TWO WHOLE HOURS, we talked about . . . magazines.
That's right. MAGAZINES. We debated which magazines we'll be buying for the house magazine rack. Magazines we can read while we're eating breakfast or midnight snacks. TWO HOURS.
I think we spent about 20 minutes on 3-4 other resolutions before coming to the last item which took up the rest of the meeting: GUITAR HERO.
GUITAR HERO, as I found out, is a computer game. We debated the merits of buying a computer game, and how it would foster social interaction in the house, and the academic vigors of studying how computer games are changing the terrain of human interaction.
The resolution narrowly passed, and the said computer game is on its way to our house.
See what happens when you give undergrads that much power? To find out more about the dorm I live in, please go to this website.
Well, for TWO WHOLE HOURS, we talked about . . . magazines.
That's right. MAGAZINES. We debated which magazines we'll be buying for the house magazine rack. Magazines we can read while we're eating breakfast or midnight snacks. TWO HOURS.
I think we spent about 20 minutes on 3-4 other resolutions before coming to the last item which took up the rest of the meeting: GUITAR HERO.
GUITAR HERO, as I found out, is a computer game. We debated the merits of buying a computer game, and how it would foster social interaction in the house, and the academic vigors of studying how computer games are changing the terrain of human interaction.
The resolution narrowly passed, and the said computer game is on its way to our house.
See what happens when you give undergrads that much power? To find out more about the dorm I live in, please go to this website.
Monday, September 11, 2006
fat-dom
The chefs (one for weekdays, and one for weekends) who work in our dorm kitchen are pretty amazing cooks. The pseudo-Asian (usually Thai-ish) dishes aren't that great, but everything else turns out really yummy.
I'm trying not to eat so much, but apparently all house members put on weight during their tenure at the house.
Today for brunch we had sweet potato home fries, vegan tofu scrambled eggs, vegan peach pancakes, buckwheat blueberry pancakes, and melon coconut smoothies.
I'm trying not to eat so much, but apparently all house members put on weight during their tenure at the house.
Today for brunch we had sweet potato home fries, vegan tofu scrambled eggs, vegan peach pancakes, buckwheat blueberry pancakes, and melon coconut smoothies.
Wednesday, September 06, 2006
apropos, given my meeting yesterday with my advisor
09/6/06
The Work of Faith
Jill Carattini
There are days when I wonder what it would be like to be a physician or aphoto journalist or a designer of advertisements. But these are almostalways days when I feel like I'm not cutting it as a writer. There areprobably men and women who feel they are always capable of the task beforethem. There are probably those who never feel as though the demands ofvocation and their supply of talent are at odds. There are perhaps even those among us who work and never grow weary--despite result or outcome. But I suspect many of us feel otherwise. No one ever tells you on careerday that the glove may fit, but the work of your hands may still cause calluses.
Over Labor Day weekend, I was reading about the making of the tabernacle. The instructions given to Moses were explicit, and excellence was clearly expected. "The work of a skilled craftsman" was demanded for everythingfrom the curtains and the woodwork to the oil and the incense. Much ofthe book of Exodus reads like an employee manual or a progress report inwhich "every skilled person to whom the LORD has given skill and ability"labors to do the work and completes each task just as the LORD commanded.
In a moment of defeat, it might make us feel all the more inadequate. Thework of skilled craftsmen appears everywhere. "For the entrance to thetent, they made a curtain of blue, purple, and scarlet yarn and finelytwisted linen--the work of a fine embroiderer" (Exodus 36:37). "They madethe sacred anointing oil and the pure, fragrant incense--the work of aperfumer" (37:29). "They hammered out thin sheets of gold and cut strandsto be worked into the blue, purple, and scarlet yarn and fine linen--thework of a skilled craftsman" (39:3). Everything they set out toaccomplish was completed exactly as the LORD commanded. There is noindication that the labor was easy, but the craftsmen of Israel walkedaway from their work knowing they had done well.
Hopefully there are days when this can be said of the work of our ownhands--that we are craftsmen accomplishing what God would have us toaccomplish, men and women using the skills and abilities God has given forthe tasks He has placed before us. But chances are this isn't always thecase. We may very well labor with the skills God has given, and yet bewithout the affirmation of any sort of accomplishment. We may even walkaway with a sense of defeat, the fatigue of callused hands, or thecomplaint of unclear instruction. Perhaps for good reason, it is notalways his way to make clear the weight of our labor.
In his letter to the Corinthians, Paul insists, "For we are God's fellowworkers; you are God's field, God's building. By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should be careful how he builds" (1 Corinthians3:9-10). Our work is undergirded by a builder whose plans we don't yet see. Nonetheless, we are called to build. It is reminiscent of the line in C.S. Lewis's Perelanda: "One never can see, or not till long afterwards, why any one was selected for any job. And when one does, it is usually some reason that leaves no room for vanity. Certainly, it is never for what the man himself would have regarded as his chief qualifications."
Standing before the completed tabernacle, Moses inspected the work and saw that they had done it just as the LORD had commanded. So he blessed them and then set to work himself. When Moses finished everything God had instructed of him and all the labor was finished on the tabernacle, the completed work of the skilled craftsmen was transfigured by the arrival ofGod's glory: "Then the cloud covered the Tent of Meeting, and the glory ofthe LORD filled the tabernacle" (Exodus 40:34). The work of our hands has no better end.
Jill Carattini is senior associate writer at Ravi Zacharias International Ministries in Atlanta, Georgia.
The Work of Faith
Jill Carattini
There are days when I wonder what it would be like to be a physician or aphoto journalist or a designer of advertisements. But these are almostalways days when I feel like I'm not cutting it as a writer. There areprobably men and women who feel they are always capable of the task beforethem. There are probably those who never feel as though the demands ofvocation and their supply of talent are at odds. There are perhaps even those among us who work and never grow weary--despite result or outcome. But I suspect many of us feel otherwise. No one ever tells you on careerday that the glove may fit, but the work of your hands may still cause calluses.
Over Labor Day weekend, I was reading about the making of the tabernacle. The instructions given to Moses were explicit, and excellence was clearly expected. "The work of a skilled craftsman" was demanded for everythingfrom the curtains and the woodwork to the oil and the incense. Much ofthe book of Exodus reads like an employee manual or a progress report inwhich "every skilled person to whom the LORD has given skill and ability"labors to do the work and completes each task just as the LORD commanded.
In a moment of defeat, it might make us feel all the more inadequate. Thework of skilled craftsmen appears everywhere. "For the entrance to thetent, they made a curtain of blue, purple, and scarlet yarn and finelytwisted linen--the work of a fine embroiderer" (Exodus 36:37). "They madethe sacred anointing oil and the pure, fragrant incense--the work of aperfumer" (37:29). "They hammered out thin sheets of gold and cut strandsto be worked into the blue, purple, and scarlet yarn and fine linen--thework of a skilled craftsman" (39:3). Everything they set out toaccomplish was completed exactly as the LORD commanded. There is noindication that the labor was easy, but the craftsmen of Israel walkedaway from their work knowing they had done well.
Hopefully there are days when this can be said of the work of our ownhands--that we are craftsmen accomplishing what God would have us toaccomplish, men and women using the skills and abilities God has given forthe tasks He has placed before us. But chances are this isn't always thecase. We may very well labor with the skills God has given, and yet bewithout the affirmation of any sort of accomplishment. We may even walkaway with a sense of defeat, the fatigue of callused hands, or thecomplaint of unclear instruction. Perhaps for good reason, it is notalways his way to make clear the weight of our labor.
In his letter to the Corinthians, Paul insists, "For we are God's fellowworkers; you are God's field, God's building. By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should be careful how he builds" (1 Corinthians3:9-10). Our work is undergirded by a builder whose plans we don't yet see. Nonetheless, we are called to build. It is reminiscent of the line in C.S. Lewis's Perelanda: "One never can see, or not till long afterwards, why any one was selected for any job. And when one does, it is usually some reason that leaves no room for vanity. Certainly, it is never for what the man himself would have regarded as his chief qualifications."
Standing before the completed tabernacle, Moses inspected the work and saw that they had done it just as the LORD had commanded. So he blessed them and then set to work himself. When Moses finished everything God had instructed of him and all the labor was finished on the tabernacle, the completed work of the skilled craftsmen was transfigured by the arrival ofGod's glory: "Then the cloud covered the Tent of Meeting, and the glory ofthe LORD filled the tabernacle" (Exodus 40:34). The work of our hands has no better end.
Jill Carattini is senior associate writer at Ravi Zacharias International Ministries in Atlanta, Georgia.
here we go, here we go again
The very first sentence of the very first student-paper I graded this semester:
"War is a final plight by cultures for the protection of theories and observances."
Help me.
Help me.
Help me.
Please.
"War is a final plight by cultures for the protection of theories and observances."
Help me.
Help me.
Help me.
Please.
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