The best thing about this job is the time off, no doubt about it. In the summer I have taken days off to golf and not had to log it down as actual "vacation days" and over the winter break when the college is closed all of those days off are not part of my 20 day vacation, but simply days off. What's not to love about going from Dec 22 to Jan 2 without working?
The last company I worked for made us work even the day after Christmas. Who gets business done on that day? No one, we sat around all day and talked about our holiday and what we did and got as gifts. All of our clients were off that day so we had nothing pressing to do. It would have been a nice gesture by the company to just give us that day and it would have saved them having to pay us to sit around that day.
Since the Christmas break starts we start our traveling tour again. Christmas day we are off to PA to visit Renea's family, then the next day (with the Steelers playing at 1:00 mind you) we will be traveling to Fairmont to do christmas with my Mom, then back home on the 27th. I just hope we can bring back all of the gifts for Owen or that someone gets us a car for Christmas.
Wednesday, December 22, 2004
Wednesday, December 15, 2004
My grad students
This semester I taught a graduate level course, MCM 541 for the Master of Corporate Media degree at Marietta. It was a desktop publishing elective course for those people in that masters program. I had 6 students this semester, 3 students from China and 3 students from the U.S. (specifically the surrounding Mid-Ohio Valley).
Now this class is not the hardest grad-level course there is out there. We met about 13 times and the class was held on Tuesday nights and we were supposed to meet from 7-10 (and that happened just a handful of times.) So anyway the week after Thanksgiving we go over the final project, a 24 page magazine and they can start that night. Plus I am giving them the next class period to work on their projects and I will be there so if they have any questions I can answer them for them. The projects are due on Dec 14 at 7:00 p.m., so essentially they have 2 full weeks and 2 3-hour class periods to do the projects. Pretty generious huh? They will all have their projects done on time, right?
Wrong.
First of all I go the class on Dec. 7 (the lab class where they have 3 hours to work on the project) and none of them have started. So basically they have wasted a week. For 3 hours I help them the best I can, and some even leave early.
I then expected to get calls and e-mail the next week leading up to the deadline. No calls, no e-mails, no one stops by my office for help. I am thinking, “I taught these kids so well that they don’t need my help. They are fine and completing the project with no problems.” Then I get an e-mail on Monday, Dec. 13 the day before the final is due (from one of my American students) asking if the final is due tomorrow and if it is she isn’t sure she can finish it on time. Are you kidding me? 2 weeks to do this project and then you don’t know when it is due. Now if one of my Chinese students came to me and weren’t sure when the project was due I could understand, the communication barrier, maybe they got confused, but the fact that all 3 Chinese students knew when it was due and my American student didn’t, now that’s just a simple case of wax in the ears and not paying attention.
Later on Monday I have 2 Chinese students stop by and ask for help (not a problem I expected that to happen).
I then have another American student stop by and have me help her with her project on Tuesday. She mentions that she thinks it won’t be done by 7:00 p.m. What the F---? If I even thought about being late for a project (let alone the final) I know it would have been at least a grade drop.
So I decide I will give them the last class period to finish up and that the projects will be due at 10 and not 7, and if they want to turn them in on Wed then the best they can do is a B. Turn it in on Thurs and the best you can do is a C.
That night no one had their project done at 7. They all had some work to do on it, some more than others. And one person didn’t show up at all. This kid had an A going all semester, thought there was no way he could turn in his project by 7 (little did he know I changed the guidelines to accommodate the lazy) and decided not to show.
My one student who e-mailed me about her project and claimed she didn’t know when it was due, lost her project on the computer and had to turn it in late. The other American student who didn’t think it would be done by 7 did a very good job on her project, and the 3 Chinese students turned all of theirs in on time and did well.
Overall I handed out 2 A-, 1 A, 2 B+, and 1 F. And when it came down to my 3 American students vs. my 3 Chinese I have to give the Chinese students the nod. They did a better job and they did the simplest job of all and actually followed directions.
Now this class is not the hardest grad-level course there is out there. We met about 13 times and the class was held on Tuesday nights and we were supposed to meet from 7-10 (and that happened just a handful of times.) So anyway the week after Thanksgiving we go over the final project, a 24 page magazine and they can start that night. Plus I am giving them the next class period to work on their projects and I will be there so if they have any questions I can answer them for them. The projects are due on Dec 14 at 7:00 p.m., so essentially they have 2 full weeks and 2 3-hour class periods to do the projects. Pretty generious huh? They will all have their projects done on time, right?
Wrong.
First of all I go the class on Dec. 7 (the lab class where they have 3 hours to work on the project) and none of them have started. So basically they have wasted a week. For 3 hours I help them the best I can, and some even leave early.
I then expected to get calls and e-mail the next week leading up to the deadline. No calls, no e-mails, no one stops by my office for help. I am thinking, “I taught these kids so well that they don’t need my help. They are fine and completing the project with no problems.” Then I get an e-mail on Monday, Dec. 13 the day before the final is due (from one of my American students) asking if the final is due tomorrow and if it is she isn’t sure she can finish it on time. Are you kidding me? 2 weeks to do this project and then you don’t know when it is due. Now if one of my Chinese students came to me and weren’t sure when the project was due I could understand, the communication barrier, maybe they got confused, but the fact that all 3 Chinese students knew when it was due and my American student didn’t, now that’s just a simple case of wax in the ears and not paying attention.
Later on Monday I have 2 Chinese students stop by and ask for help (not a problem I expected that to happen).
I then have another American student stop by and have me help her with her project on Tuesday. She mentions that she thinks it won’t be done by 7:00 p.m. What the F---? If I even thought about being late for a project (let alone the final) I know it would have been at least a grade drop.
So I decide I will give them the last class period to finish up and that the projects will be due at 10 and not 7, and if they want to turn them in on Wed then the best they can do is a B. Turn it in on Thurs and the best you can do is a C.
That night no one had their project done at 7. They all had some work to do on it, some more than others. And one person didn’t show up at all. This kid had an A going all semester, thought there was no way he could turn in his project by 7 (little did he know I changed the guidelines to accommodate the lazy) and decided not to show.
My one student who e-mailed me about her project and claimed she didn’t know when it was due, lost her project on the computer and had to turn it in late. The other American student who didn’t think it would be done by 7 did a very good job on her project, and the 3 Chinese students turned all of theirs in on time and did well.
Overall I handed out 2 A-, 1 A, 2 B+, and 1 F. And when it came down to my 3 American students vs. my 3 Chinese I have to give the Chinese students the nod. They did a better job and they did the simplest job of all and actually followed directions.
Monday, December 13, 2004
g'day mate
Renea and I went to the Outback on Friday and I have to tell you this restaurant chain is a license to print money. I have never been to one that is not busy and I have never been to one that I had some sort of wait to be seated because it was so busy. I have never had a bad experience at an Outback, ever. I am not sure how these people are trained or who does the training, but all the employees seem top notch. Not one has been snooty, rude, obnoxious or unwilling to help make our dining experience the best.
When we got the Outback, and went to sit at the bar (there was a 45 minute wait) it was still happy hour (buy one, get one free) and we ordered our Fosters and then had 2 more coming. Then we moved to our table and the waitress said, it’s just past 7:30 (when happy ends) and she said she would try to get our next round in for Happy Hour and we could get our next round of drinks for buy one, get one free.
Of course we had to order the cheesy fries, excellent, then we got our salads, always big and fresh, then we got our steaks, the same, always big and fresh. Service was excellent, drinks were always refilled and it was a great dining experience.
There was only one time we had bad steaks that had sat under the heat lamp too long. The manager came, asked if we were happy, we said no, and then they gave us new steaks (no charge) and free desserts. All of a sudden the bad memory of dried out steaks turns into a story I am still telling 3 years later about my excellent service. If only more places would adopt this philosophy of service and food quality then most places would have a 45-minute wait.
When we got the Outback, and went to sit at the bar (there was a 45 minute wait) it was still happy hour (buy one, get one free) and we ordered our Fosters and then had 2 more coming. Then we moved to our table and the waitress said, it’s just past 7:30 (when happy ends) and she said she would try to get our next round in for Happy Hour and we could get our next round of drinks for buy one, get one free.
Of course we had to order the cheesy fries, excellent, then we got our salads, always big and fresh, then we got our steaks, the same, always big and fresh. Service was excellent, drinks were always refilled and it was a great dining experience.
There was only one time we had bad steaks that had sat under the heat lamp too long. The manager came, asked if we were happy, we said no, and then they gave us new steaks (no charge) and free desserts. All of a sudden the bad memory of dried out steaks turns into a story I am still telling 3 years later about my excellent service. If only more places would adopt this philosophy of service and food quality then most places would have a 45-minute wait.
Wednesday, December 08, 2004
Towels from the Hilton
This morning I put the towel back. I decided that it is better for someone to think I broke in to use it then break back in and replace it than rather thinking that someone stole it. Kinda restores your faith in the modern man eh? Oh well it was the right thing to do, and besides leaving a note saying "thank you" that is about the best a man can do.
Ok I am sick of Paris "the woman who won a VH1 award for saying That's Hot." Hilton. I mean is it possible to actually be popular by being Joey Tribiani in real life? That is what this woman has done. I seriously doubt she has one intelligent thought in her brain and for some reason she is all over TV and the magazines. If she had no money she would be the slut girl from high school. You all know the one, she's a little skanky and dresses so you can tell what kind of underwear she is wearing. Everyone knows who she's been with and what she will do in bed. That's Paris. I guess I can say I might be jealous that a moron with not an ounce of talent or smarts is worth more than I will ever see in a lifetime, but aren't we all. I mean don't we all want to see her fall on her surgically enhanced face? I guess I can take it I mean really she is 15 years from being Bridget Nielsen anyway. Drunk, fat and stupid. I can't wait until that Surreal Life.
Ok I am sick of Paris "the woman who won a VH1 award for saying That's Hot." Hilton. I mean is it possible to actually be popular by being Joey Tribiani in real life? That is what this woman has done. I seriously doubt she has one intelligent thought in her brain and for some reason she is all over TV and the magazines. If she had no money she would be the slut girl from high school. You all know the one, she's a little skanky and dresses so you can tell what kind of underwear she is wearing. Everyone knows who she's been with and what she will do in bed. That's Paris. I guess I can say I might be jealous that a moron with not an ounce of talent or smarts is worth more than I will ever see in a lifetime, but aren't we all. I mean don't we all want to see her fall on her surgically enhanced face? I guess I can take it I mean really she is 15 years from being Bridget Nielsen anyway. Drunk, fat and stupid. I can't wait until that Surreal Life.
Tuesday, December 07, 2004
something witty and towels
I started this blog because a lot of the time I feel that I have funny things to say or commentary to add, but as I sit down to compose this blog entry I realize that I am blank. I have no funny thoughts. Nothing funny to comment on. Until now (I knew if I just started to ramble something would come to me):
A funny thing happened to me yesterday, it is either funny or gross, you be the judge. I work out here at the college over at the rec center and I usually go in the mornings at 7am. I work out, shower in the locker room and then get dressed for work, so I take all of that stuff with me on a daily basis, occasionally on Mondays I forget to pack something in my workout bag, cause it's Monday and I usually am packing in a hurry or I forget on Friday that I ran out of shampoo or forgot my shoes for work and have to wear running shoes all day, or something like that.
Well yesterday I workout, go down to the locker room and unpack my bag and get ready to go to the shower and realize I forgot my towel. There are some things I can make do without, I can wash my hair with soap if I forget my shampoo, and I can use soap to replace my shaving cream, wet paper towel to replace my Q-tips, I am the freakin' McGyver of toiletry items, but I can't find anything to replace my towel. Not paper towels, not toilet paper. So I had to weigh my options.
Do I get dressed and go back home to shower? No, that would take too much time and I would be late for work. Do I go upstairs and get about 10 little workout towels and use them? No, I have to get dressed again and I don't want to be walking out of the workout room with 10 little towels. People would stare. So, last resort. I know that I keep the combination for my locker on the back of my lock. I would never remember it otherwise and there is nothing kept in my locker that anyone would want to steal unless someone is really hard up for cologne and I have a bottle of Liz Claiborne Sport in there. So I though let's look around the locker room find a locker with a towel and then see if they do what I do and keep the combination on the back.
I search the room for lockers with towels. I find one, no combination on the back, I find another, damn, it's a key lock, another, no combination on the back. I am down to my last one, it has 2 towels, now hopefully A. It has the combination on the back and B. No one walks in and sees me breaking into someone else's locker, YES! It has the combination. So I frantically dial up the combination, once, won't open, twice, won't open. You would think I was on a big bank heist nervously opening the vault that contained all the gold you could carry. I tell myself "Ok slow down and get it right." I slow down entering in the numbers and presto open locker. I quickly pull out what looks to be the cleanest towel. I give it a sniff check and surprisingly it is fine. I don't mean like it's bearable, I mean it actually seems like a newly clean one, one not previously used (at least that is what I believe and I will believe it forever). I quickly close the locker and grab up my newly acquired towel and head to the shower. I sniff the towel at least 3-4 more times just to make sure it's ok, and use it dry off after my shower.
Now if I could put a face on the towel, no matter who's towel it was, if the owner had a face I don't think I could have used it. It would have been me and a roll of paper towels drying off, but because it was a little towel stuck in a locker with no owner I was able to put my fears aside and use the towel, and no I didn't put it back in the locker after I used it. I am taking it home and washing it, then putting it back.
The next question is, do I fold it up and put it back like I am saying, "Someone broke into your locker, not only to steal this towel and use it, but broke back in later to put it back." Or do I make it look like it was never taken? I will keep you posted.
A funny thing happened to me yesterday, it is either funny or gross, you be the judge. I work out here at the college over at the rec center and I usually go in the mornings at 7am. I work out, shower in the locker room and then get dressed for work, so I take all of that stuff with me on a daily basis, occasionally on Mondays I forget to pack something in my workout bag, cause it's Monday and I usually am packing in a hurry or I forget on Friday that I ran out of shampoo or forgot my shoes for work and have to wear running shoes all day, or something like that.
Well yesterday I workout, go down to the locker room and unpack my bag and get ready to go to the shower and realize I forgot my towel. There are some things I can make do without, I can wash my hair with soap if I forget my shampoo, and I can use soap to replace my shaving cream, wet paper towel to replace my Q-tips, I am the freakin' McGyver of toiletry items, but I can't find anything to replace my towel. Not paper towels, not toilet paper. So I had to weigh my options.
Do I get dressed and go back home to shower? No, that would take too much time and I would be late for work. Do I go upstairs and get about 10 little workout towels and use them? No, I have to get dressed again and I don't want to be walking out of the workout room with 10 little towels. People would stare. So, last resort. I know that I keep the combination for my locker on the back of my lock. I would never remember it otherwise and there is nothing kept in my locker that anyone would want to steal unless someone is really hard up for cologne and I have a bottle of Liz Claiborne Sport in there. So I though let's look around the locker room find a locker with a towel and then see if they do what I do and keep the combination on the back.
I search the room for lockers with towels. I find one, no combination on the back, I find another, damn, it's a key lock, another, no combination on the back. I am down to my last one, it has 2 towels, now hopefully A. It has the combination on the back and B. No one walks in and sees me breaking into someone else's locker, YES! It has the combination. So I frantically dial up the combination, once, won't open, twice, won't open. You would think I was on a big bank heist nervously opening the vault that contained all the gold you could carry. I tell myself "Ok slow down and get it right." I slow down entering in the numbers and presto open locker. I quickly pull out what looks to be the cleanest towel. I give it a sniff check and surprisingly it is fine. I don't mean like it's bearable, I mean it actually seems like a newly clean one, one not previously used (at least that is what I believe and I will believe it forever). I quickly close the locker and grab up my newly acquired towel and head to the shower. I sniff the towel at least 3-4 more times just to make sure it's ok, and use it dry off after my shower.
Now if I could put a face on the towel, no matter who's towel it was, if the owner had a face I don't think I could have used it. It would have been me and a roll of paper towels drying off, but because it was a little towel stuck in a locker with no owner I was able to put my fears aside and use the towel, and no I didn't put it back in the locker after I used it. I am taking it home and washing it, then putting it back.
The next question is, do I fold it up and put it back like I am saying, "Someone broke into your locker, not only to steal this towel and use it, but broke back in later to put it back." Or do I make it look like it was never taken? I will keep you posted.
Monday, December 06, 2004
Basketball Hoops and Steelers
Did something that was so much fun this past weekend. I shopped for my son. He is a year and a half and should really enjoy Christmas this year. One thing I wanted to buy him (from Santa of course) was a basketball hoop. No, not a real one, just one of those little ones you can set up in the living room or in our case one that you can also set up outside or the living room. I had to choose between the 4ft. adjustable or the 6ft. adjustable basketball hoop, and of course me being the positive thinking father I thought to myself "He will grow out of the 4ft. hoop in a year so we better go with the bigger one so it will last longer." So that is how I justified getting the larger hoop because I am confident that my 1 and a half year old son will out grow his 4 ft. hoop in a year. Just watch, he will spend about 20 minutes with it on Christmas Day and then forget about it and go spend 4 hours with the $4 tonka truck.
I am a big Steelers fan and if they were going to lose a game this year it would have been that game last night, but something strange is happening with this team. We drove down the field and scored the game winning field goal like we were supposed to do that. As a Steeler fan, that doesn't always happen. Usually someone drops a pass or fumbles or we have to try a 60 yard FG or something, but last night Big Ben drove us right down the field got us in field goal range and kicked the winner with 18 sec left. All like this is the way it was supposed to go. Strange I have to get used to this.
I am a big Steelers fan and if they were going to lose a game this year it would have been that game last night, but something strange is happening with this team. We drove down the field and scored the game winning field goal like we were supposed to do that. As a Steeler fan, that doesn't always happen. Usually someone drops a pass or fumbles or we have to try a 60 yard FG or something, but last night Big Ben drove us right down the field got us in field goal range and kicked the winner with 18 sec left. All like this is the way it was supposed to go. Strange I have to get used to this.
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