Alex and I woke early this morning to get a good jump on our pressing homework. It is getting close to the end of the term for us both and we're struggling to get our final assignments done (Alex more than me), and its times like these that you wonder what life will be like without homework.
I guarantee you that each and every student dreams of the day when homework will go away. They conjure up a magical world of rest and relaxation at 5pm everyday and playful weekends with no responsibilities. Perhaps some people find this dream more so than others, but I'm almost certain that the dream, in one way or another, is a lie.
Homework is just another word for chores, projects, and responsibility (and sometimes work). I suppose some people magically stop using dishes when they start work in the real world, but I guarantee you that none of them stop using their shower or toilet or tracking dirt in on their floor. We don't stop sweating when we sleep or needing to do our laundry. We just don't stop making messes.
The only remedy I can imagine would be living in a hotel with a complimentary laundry service. I suppose this would be equivalent to a maid, but my idea sounds more exciting (and horrible).
Suffice it say that I'd take the homework. I'm pretty sure Alex would too. I'm not sure this is a good sign for our joint cleanliness.
Well, I have gotten one assignment done today, and I should probably try to keep myself moving forward at this point. When Sam gets up we're going to work on the couch again (projects...).
Have a lovely Sunday!
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Friday, May 22, 2009
Just My Size
I can't say that much has changed from last week's update, aside from the weather. Though I do have a small bit of exciting news.
You all may or may not know that my good friend Debra is getting married in August, and I am her maid of honor. That is exciting news, of course, but its not the exciting news. The exciting news has to do with what I will be wearing. Deb could have picked one dress for all of us, but instead she just chose a color and set us out to search for a dress that we liked in her hue. And wouldn't you know it, but she chose green, and granted its a bright green, but it would make quite the lovely cocktail dress that I could see myself wearing for decades to come.
But where would I find such a frock?! Where else but my new favorite site, etsy.com. But before you go exploring the creative reservoir that is etsy, let me tell you why it is that I like etsy so much.
As my grandmother and sister know based on the purses they have given me, I like things that are made by artists or craftsmen that are paid a fair wage. Etsy is a site for craftsmen of all creeds to post their handmade goods for sale. Call it an online craftsfair if you will.
In addition to the aspect of a fair wage, buying from small artist retailers usually means that you are getting something terribly unique. I have always had a unique sense of style, even if "unique" is not necessarily what you would have called it when I was a child. I love that I have a parachute purse that is only owned by a handful of other people in the world, and a seatbelt purse that is unique not only in style but in that no two that were made are alike. The dress that I am purchasing will be the same.
Lastly, while etsy is a global forum for sellers, each seller lists their location and it is wonderfully easy to find someone in your area to handcraft whatever wonderful thing you might desire.
Liza Rietz is a designer and seamstress and posted a lovely "ruffle dress" on etsy that I felt would be perfect for Deb's wedding. Low and behold, she is also located in Portland. The wonderful thing about etsy is that many of their sellers make custom wares and a simple message to them is all it takes to start a conversation. Liza and I are meeting next Friday so that I can be measured and choose a fabric in the green that Deb so desires.
Perhaps the biggest plus is how long it has been since something has been made for me. I still remember my grandmother measuring me to make me the dresses I had picked out from the patterns in the fabric store. I loved seeing the dress in pieces while she made it and how exciting it was to receive the soft and bright, frilly dresses made just my size. Even if you grow out of the styles that are prevalent in the fabric store, you never grow out of feeling special to have something made just for you. To this day I would prefer a gift that was made as opposed to anything bought, but I cut most people some slack since not everyone feels confident in making things.
If you would like to see the dress follow this link: http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=25243968
Yes, its pricey. This is why I usually buy used clothing instead.
Happy Etsy-ing!
You all may or may not know that my good friend Debra is getting married in August, and I am her maid of honor. That is exciting news, of course, but its not the exciting news. The exciting news has to do with what I will be wearing. Deb could have picked one dress for all of us, but instead she just chose a color and set us out to search for a dress that we liked in her hue. And wouldn't you know it, but she chose green, and granted its a bright green, but it would make quite the lovely cocktail dress that I could see myself wearing for decades to come.
But where would I find such a frock?! Where else but my new favorite site, etsy.com. But before you go exploring the creative reservoir that is etsy, let me tell you why it is that I like etsy so much.
As my grandmother and sister know based on the purses they have given me, I like things that are made by artists or craftsmen that are paid a fair wage. Etsy is a site for craftsmen of all creeds to post their handmade goods for sale. Call it an online craftsfair if you will.
In addition to the aspect of a fair wage, buying from small artist retailers usually means that you are getting something terribly unique. I have always had a unique sense of style, even if "unique" is not necessarily what you would have called it when I was a child. I love that I have a parachute purse that is only owned by a handful of other people in the world, and a seatbelt purse that is unique not only in style but in that no two that were made are alike. The dress that I am purchasing will be the same.
Lastly, while etsy is a global forum for sellers, each seller lists their location and it is wonderfully easy to find someone in your area to handcraft whatever wonderful thing you might desire.
Liza Rietz is a designer and seamstress and posted a lovely "ruffle dress" on etsy that I felt would be perfect for Deb's wedding. Low and behold, she is also located in Portland. The wonderful thing about etsy is that many of their sellers make custom wares and a simple message to them is all it takes to start a conversation. Liza and I are meeting next Friday so that I can be measured and choose a fabric in the green that Deb so desires.
Perhaps the biggest plus is how long it has been since something has been made for me. I still remember my grandmother measuring me to make me the dresses I had picked out from the patterns in the fabric store. I loved seeing the dress in pieces while she made it and how exciting it was to receive the soft and bright, frilly dresses made just my size. Even if you grow out of the styles that are prevalent in the fabric store, you never grow out of feeling special to have something made just for you. To this day I would prefer a gift that was made as opposed to anything bought, but I cut most people some slack since not everyone feels confident in making things.
If you would like to see the dress follow this link: http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=25243968
Yes, its pricey. This is why I usually buy used clothing instead.
Happy Etsy-ing!
Friday, May 15, 2009
Sleep, Eat, Research
I can't say I've done a whole lot to warrant feeling this exhausted.
I've slept a lot this week. I came to the conclusion that I was tired and that perhaps I merely needed more sleep. After a week of sleeping in, I can't say I feel any better than I did getting up at 6:30am. I might even feel worse.
On the other hand, another experiment seems to be going better for me. Last week I decided that eating past about 4pm makes my stomach upset, and so I've significantly decreased my eating in the evenings and it seems to be working. I know it sounds weird, but I think I really need this much time before bed for everything to settle (and it makes me drink more water, which could be the real reason I feel better).
In the realm of food, I've been finding it increasingly difficult to stick to weight watchers for more than a few weeks at a time. I'm not exactly sure what is holding me back, but I need to figure that out before I can move forward with weight loss. I can't say I see this as a problem. For me, this is about a healthy lifestyle and my goal is really to figure out a way to maintain living healthy. Right now, I think there might be some other things holding me back from this that I need to iron out.
As far as these experiments go, I've concluded that getting up early and not eating late are probably best for me.
I suppose the only other thing to catch you up on is perhaps school/professional goals. Really, there has been a lull in the activity for me, however, I do have a bit more direction. On a drive back from viewing a transition to proof course at one of the local community colleges, I was asking the woman I've mentioned in my previous blogs about her dissertation which she will be working on in the following months. Her goal is to evaluate adult students' existing real world mathematical knowledge and to devise an assessment for this knowledge and perhaps a method of integrating this way of thinking into curriculum for adults.
I suppose to understand the importance of this to me, you might need to know why I am even pursuing my master's degree.
While I was working in Eugene at the community college there, I worked one on one with a number of adult mathematics students, and what I often observed was a language barrier between how these students would and could speak about their common or existing knowledge and how they could (if they could) speak about they classroom knowledge. And I say if they could, because often, they couldn't. In fact, when these students struggled with a problem, more often than not they couldn't even articulate what it was they didn't understand because they simply didn't have the language to do it.
So, as you might see, my goals lie in a desire to decrease this gap for adult students, whether it be through a transition course to re-learn the language of school mathematics, or a curriculum that simply uses real world language. And thus, the dissertation of this instructor that I have come into contact with, is very important to me and my future work.
Now, if I haven't bored the hell out of you, that's good. If I have, well, better luck next week, eh?
For now, I should be moving on to getting some much needed reading done.
I've slept a lot this week. I came to the conclusion that I was tired and that perhaps I merely needed more sleep. After a week of sleeping in, I can't say I feel any better than I did getting up at 6:30am. I might even feel worse.
On the other hand, another experiment seems to be going better for me. Last week I decided that eating past about 4pm makes my stomach upset, and so I've significantly decreased my eating in the evenings and it seems to be working. I know it sounds weird, but I think I really need this much time before bed for everything to settle (and it makes me drink more water, which could be the real reason I feel better).
In the realm of food, I've been finding it increasingly difficult to stick to weight watchers for more than a few weeks at a time. I'm not exactly sure what is holding me back, but I need to figure that out before I can move forward with weight loss. I can't say I see this as a problem. For me, this is about a healthy lifestyle and my goal is really to figure out a way to maintain living healthy. Right now, I think there might be some other things holding me back from this that I need to iron out.
As far as these experiments go, I've concluded that getting up early and not eating late are probably best for me.
I suppose the only other thing to catch you up on is perhaps school/professional goals. Really, there has been a lull in the activity for me, however, I do have a bit more direction. On a drive back from viewing a transition to proof course at one of the local community colleges, I was asking the woman I've mentioned in my previous blogs about her dissertation which she will be working on in the following months. Her goal is to evaluate adult students' existing real world mathematical knowledge and to devise an assessment for this knowledge and perhaps a method of integrating this way of thinking into curriculum for adults.
I suppose to understand the importance of this to me, you might need to know why I am even pursuing my master's degree.
While I was working in Eugene at the community college there, I worked one on one with a number of adult mathematics students, and what I often observed was a language barrier between how these students would and could speak about their common or existing knowledge and how they could (if they could) speak about they classroom knowledge. And I say if they could, because often, they couldn't. In fact, when these students struggled with a problem, more often than not they couldn't even articulate what it was they didn't understand because they simply didn't have the language to do it.
So, as you might see, my goals lie in a desire to decrease this gap for adult students, whether it be through a transition course to re-learn the language of school mathematics, or a curriculum that simply uses real world language. And thus, the dissertation of this instructor that I have come into contact with, is very important to me and my future work.
Now, if I haven't bored the hell out of you, that's good. If I have, well, better luck next week, eh?
For now, I should be moving on to getting some much needed reading done.
Saturday, May 2, 2009
Join the Make a Bed Foundation Today
Long ago and far away, I made a post about the desire for a new and improved bed. It was, to say the least, a sort of "in a perfect world" blog. I am, however and once again, determined to make some improvements on my sleeping arrangements.
Namely:
- I don't want to have my bed on or within a foot of the floor. This may just be my mind jumping to illogical conclusions, but I feel that this encourages my dust allergies to flare up and my night's rest to be less fulfilling.
- Really, I guess that the allergies and lack of a productive night's rest are the two main areas of improvements that I wish to address.
I've given up on a new mattress for now, as I believe that what the mattress sits on is more important. I've given up on anything too fancy, because it just makes no sense. IKEA works just fine for me. So, I'm likely going with a solid pine bed frame with solid pine drawers (all except for the bottoms of the drawers, and I'm okay with that). I don't bother with anything from IKEA that isn't solid anymore; particleboard IKEA furniture breaks within a year (usually less). I'm actually a bigger fan of this other bed without drawers and its less expensive which is a plus, but drawers are in very short supply and I'm tired of clothing being stacked in every inconvenient place possible.
Namely:
- I don't want to have my bed on or within a foot of the floor. This may just be my mind jumping to illogical conclusions, but I feel that this encourages my dust allergies to flare up and my night's rest to be less fulfilling.
- Really, I guess that the allergies and lack of a productive night's rest are the two main areas of improvements that I wish to address.
I've given up on a new mattress for now, as I believe that what the mattress sits on is more important. I've given up on anything too fancy, because it just makes no sense. IKEA works just fine for me. So, I'm likely going with a solid pine bed frame with solid pine drawers (all except for the bottoms of the drawers, and I'm okay with that). I don't bother with anything from IKEA that isn't solid anymore; particleboard IKEA furniture breaks within a year (usually less). I'm actually a bigger fan of this other bed without drawers and its less expensive which is a plus, but drawers are in very short supply and I'm tired of clothing being stacked in every inconvenient place possible.
In addition, I'm looking at a slatted bed base to help with the comfort of the bed. I wouldn't mind a wall mounted head board, but I can live without it.
I was mostly inspired by the fact that I seem to have contracted some form of an infection from my coworker, and when you sleep in a bad bed after already feeling achy, you wake up rather angrily inspired to have a comfortable night's rest. I've also been toying with the idea that I don't get a good enough night's sleep every night and that days in which I am prone to be irritable become exponentially worse as a result. It's just a hypothesis, I don't have any desire to undergo sleep studies to find out if that's why I feel like crap when I wake up or not.
Speaking of sleep, however, I think I am going to try and get some more.
I was mostly inspired by the fact that I seem to have contracted some form of an infection from my coworker, and when you sleep in a bad bed after already feeling achy, you wake up rather angrily inspired to have a comfortable night's rest. I've also been toying with the idea that I don't get a good enough night's sleep every night and that days in which I am prone to be irritable become exponentially worse as a result. It's just a hypothesis, I don't have any desire to undergo sleep studies to find out if that's why I feel like crap when I wake up or not.
Speaking of sleep, however, I think I am going to try and get some more.
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