one battered idealist

09:51 pm: kids today
Today I told one of my classes I was straight from the slums of shaolin. They had no idea what I was talking about.

11:49 pm: they read my email on the call yesterday.

i said this:

The person who said that merit pay would inspire teachers to be more committed is delusional. Teaching is one of the hardest and most under compensated jobs around; why would anyone do it if they were not already committed?
(I took a break from writing a test to write this email. Yes, I am still working past 9pm.)

11:33 am: SNOW DAY!!!
Woo Hoo!!1!1

11:17 am: quote of the thursday
re: twilight

"we shouldn't have been in the theater because we aren't 15 year old girls"

said by ....


wait for it


....


Rigel.

10:36 am: 16
Directions:
Once you’ve been tagged, you have to write a note with 16 random things, shortcomings, facts, habits or goals about you (if you want to). At the end choose 16 people to be tagged, listing their names and why you chose them (if you want). Tag the person who tagged you.


1. I am currently using the free wi-fi in the central jury room.

2. With the recent onset of cold weather, I have started year three of the same pair of earmuffs. They are very spiffy burberry earmuffs, obviously, i think, worth the price since i've never had a pair of earmuffs last more than a season before. I know this is year three because scott had his cousin buy them in manhattan and mail them to brooklyn during the transit strike. take that, attempted thwarters of capitalism ;P

3. Last Wednesday was my last day of physical therapy, at least for this round. It is probably perverse that i celebrated my impending decrease in activity by consuming chocolate.

4. Next year i'll be teaching AP calc. I am flattered, excited and a little scared.

5. sometimes, it seems like everyone in the world has a facebook except me. i might get one, but figured i should actually post here a little more before branching out.

6. After last year's surgery my legs were pretty much even in length, but after this year's they are again different - though not as different as they were originally. this is somewhat disappointing, but i have another one to go, so...

7. relatedly, i bought a pair of sneakers to get modified, it's got to be about a month ago, and they sit, unmodified, in their box, atop a pile of books.

8. semi-relatedly, last night i got down on the floor, crawled under the table to retrieve a book and got back up all by myself. incase it doesn't seem like it to you, this is super exciting.

9. I believe that not only does titanium weigh more than bone, but that over time it gradually increases in weight, you know, something related to half-lifes. It would not be respectful of you to question this belief.

10. I have a student teacher this semester. He is currently dealing with kids all by himself for the first time (with a licensed sub in the room). I'm sure everything is fine.

11. The TVs in central jury are tuned to msnbc. probably not a political statement.

12. I like the word empaneling. penultimate is also a good one. I have, on occasion, gone to look up a word and would up reading several pages of the dictionary.

13. Scott is using book cataloging as procrastination again, and last night we found my grandfather's ancient physics and chemistry reference book. we discussed how when civilization falls and there is no more electricity people who know how to read log tables will eventually be in demand again.

14. i am a many faceted geek/nerd (see 12, 13, possibly others.)

15. connecting 13 and 2, i actually taught kids how to use log tables when there were like 6 of them in my math b class during the transit strike. i had to find them first, in a rather old textbook, and then re-teach myself how to use them. i also showed them the slide rule i inherited from my grandfather, but i have very little idea how to use that.

16. around my birthday / the beginning of the school year / the jewish holidays - which i consider a newyearsy time - in light of the fact that so much had passed without much comment, i was considering doing a sort of year in review post. of course it's been a while since then. maybe this post will get me back in the habit, and that will be forthcoming. maybe.


I find it very unlikely that i could come up with 16 people who haven't been tagged already, so if you are reading this and haven't been tagged yet, and want to be, consider yourself tagged.

09:00 pm: OH-BAMA! to you too
So I get to tell my grandchildren that I voted for our first black president (elect, no jinxes from me).
(A pretty uneventful tale in and of itself - after mildly worrying about my inability to stand on line for hours it turned out, around 2:30pm in the Brooklyn Museum, there was absolutely no line at all. Everyone in the polling place, and on the way in and out, was very smiley.)

The thought made me smile last night, as did the cheers and honking from outside. But I didn't really feel any excitement until I got to school.
I don't know how long it will last but Obama's name has become a greeting of sorts. Kids were proclaiming it at each other in the hallways all day. Like a cadence, almost. Palpable energy, but also calm (this is a very rare thing for teenagers).

There has been talk about the youth of america transcending race. For me, in relation to this election anyway, and even though i'm to old for the category, it's true. I would have picked Obama if all the information i got prior to the election was a personality-free written summary of the candidates' positions. My only concern about race was hoping that other people would not be too racist to vote against their own best interests.
That's white, private liberal arts college alumna, well above median income (as disturbing as that is), raised by hippies, me. Black kids in Brooklyn, not so much. I am happy for them.




also, I feel the current irc topic needs a wider audience:
< cd > now that america's gone black ... I fear it may never go back

06:08 pm: some words i found
"Those of us who are both very wounded and very competent sometimes have the gift of appearing well when we are not. ... Seek joy in beauty and in experiences that stay fresh and sharp in memory; fill your memory with art and music and light, to compete with those other memories that perch like ravens, eyeing your carcass, waiting for you to slip. Take an averaging approach; seek to increase the joy in your life in as many ways as you know how."

- Cary Tennis, Salon's "advice" columnist

11:25 pm: Things I Saw on the InterWeb Today That Made Me Smile, and Further Ramblings
1. "A girl named Gareth told my son he had girl glasses, where to begin."

2. "I've also been prescribed vicodin during pregnancy."


In other news, I, despite being quite full of zombies on Thursday, did not fall down. I actually haven't fallen since the surgery, but I feel that is more attributable to being paranoid-ily careful than to better balance. Drinking more than two zombies, however, could hardly be classified as careful by anyone.

Other surgery benefits: I enjoy being able to touch my toes with ease - to the point that I'll do it randomly, standing around in the kitchen waiting for toast. (I then decide that counts toward keeping up with physical therapy so I am not a horrible slacker.) My last gynecologist visit, stirrups, slightly but noticeably easier. A somewhat irrational pleasure when I get twinges of pain only on the right side.
So, nothing nearly miraculous enough to appease my perfectionist sensibilities, but enough to make me go ahead with scheduling the next one. Hip Replacement 2: The Right Side, 7/8/08.

Other zombie, err, benefits: a proposal to call "The Government" and make them make Steph stay. Now, in all soberness, I still declare her presence here wonderful. Zombies don't make you feel things, they just inspire the occasional irrationality in their quest to keep their recent resurgence of popularity. Tricksy, they are - with that and the only making people fall down who would never be discouraged by such a thing (cough_Mikhail_cough.)

On Friday I did have lowered patience for student bullshit, but i did manage to refrain from declaring out loud that their behavior was not helping my arguments against social darwinism.

07:17 pm: I did it mostly because i was curious about what the questions would be.

I would rather spend 2 hrs at a) the gym
b) church

geez. i don't even remember what i picked.



I Am A: Chaotic Good Elf Wizard (4th Level)


Ability Scores:

Strength-11

Dexterity-10

Constitution-11

Intelligence-16

Wisdom-12

Charisma-13


Alignment:
Chaotic Good A chaotic good character acts as his conscience directs him with little regard for what others expect of him. He makes his own way, but he's kind and benevolent. He believes in goodness and right but has little use for laws and regulations. He hates it when people try to intimidate others and tell them what to do. He follows his own moral compass, which, although good, may not agree with that of society. Chaotic good is the best alignment you can be because it combines a good heart with a free spirit. However, chaotic good can be a dangerous alignment because it disrupts the order of society and punishes those who do well for themselves.


Race:
Elves are known for their poetry, song, and magical arts, but when danger threatens they show great skill with weapons and strategy. Elves can live to be over 700 years old and, by human standards, are slow to make friends and enemies, and even slower to forget them. Elves are slim and stand 4.5 to 5.5 feet tall. They have no facial or body hair, prefer comfortable clothes, and possess unearthly grace. Many others races find them hauntingly beautiful.


Class:
Wizards are arcane spellcasters who depend on intensive study to create their magic. To wizards, magic is not a talent but a difficult, rewarding art. When they are prepared for battle, wizards can use their spells to devastating effect. When caught by surprise, they are vulnerable. The wizard's strength is her spells, everything else is secondary. She learns new spells as she experiments and grows in experience, and she can also learn them from other wizards. In addition, over time a wizard learns to manipulate her spells so they go farther, work better, or are improved in some other way. A wizard can call a familiar- a small, magical, animal companion that serves her. With a high Intelligence, wizards are capable of casting very high levels of spells.


Find out What Kind of Dungeons and Dragons Character Would You Be?, courtesy of Easydamus (e-mail)

10:43 pm: love
basically, what rob said:
let me just say this: to all my friends, cohorts, companions, and confidants out there, I hope my nigh-absence doesn't cast major doubt on my feelings toward y'all.

i've had occasions - some quite awful - to realize how much people mean to me over this past year. and, well, my heart just swells.
i love you guys.

10:47 pm: Re: Super Bowl
The only thing that would have made it slightly better was if the score had been 19 - 0 and the Giants had patented that.

10:18 pm: Not too many left in academia but perhaps the flee-ers would appreciate it more anyway:

http://www.insidehighered.com/views/2007/08/28/ford

09:19 am: Today is Scott's birthday, and I think he deserves an especially good one, so all you people should say something nice to him or something.  He has been - sappy tears coming to my eyes as I write this level - wonderful through out this whole surgery thing, including being too busy to get into his normal pre-birthday doldrums as much as usual.  the lack of whinyness adds to my feeling bad about not being up to planning something.  I'm pretty sure I've convinced him to go out on Thursday, so it would be much appreciated if people would encourage this and show up.  There will most likely be cake and you might even get to do birthday punches :)

In other news, I got my staples out and a vicodin refill - woohoo!

01:22 am: ( Who Shot Who in the What Now? Samantha’s Surgery FAQ: A Guide for the Shocked and Mystified. )

01:34 am: Surgery-related
http://gmonger.livejournal.com/44835.html

12:18 am: So, umm ... yeah.
I have once again gotten into one of these posting slumps where so much life passes uncommented upon that it seems necessary to have something really important with which to break the silence.
There has been such an important thing going on, but i went all inward-focused/spout only at scott with it, mostly only talking about it in response to people's unsuspecting direct questions - What are you doing this summer? So, I'll see you on thursday? - which has resulted in a very uneven distribution of information.
So, for those of you who don't know (which is all about my not happening to be in your physical presence lately and not at all about how close i consider you)
the thing that is happening is that today/tomorrow (depending on your definition of such words, tues 7/3 to be specific) i will be having hip replacement surgery.
It feels so abrupt to say that and then end this post, but i feel that if i start to get into the details now i'll wind up staying up until i'm supposed to leave.
mostly i just wanted to get this out there, because despite my sometimes pathological introversion i have really appreciated everybody with the human-kindness and all.

There will be updates from Scott and, once i'm home, plenty of immobilization and pain killer fueled babbling posts.

06:23 pm: I find Steph's version far superior, so I stole it.
This meme has been going around and I keep wanting people to "do me", but I'm horrendously insecure so I haven't had the guts to ask anyone. So, I'm adding a twist: answer the questions for me and I'll do the same for you. I'm so tricksy. :p

1) Tell you why I friended you.
2) Associate you with a song/film.
3) Tell a random fact about you.
4) Tell a first memory about you.
5) Associate you with a character/pairing.
6) Ask something I've always wanted to know about you.
7) Tell you my favorite user pic of yours.

06:54 pm: this quiz is obviously flawed

How White and Nerdy Are You?


i noticed a couple of questions that definitely skew things. i was not top of my class and my friends do not ask me for code help. but that means i'm 30% when compared to you people. If i was in a normal class and had normal friends then i'd be much nerdier in comparison.

perhaps there should be a question "do you like to deconstruct and challenge web quizzes?"

(and just maybe this post will get me back in a posting pattern and i'll say something about the various thoughts bouncing around my head.)

01:26 pm: flower power
in the freedom of retirement, my dad's political passions stir again. he rants. he sends me links:

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/30/opinion/30harris.html

the aging hippies, with free time on their hands now, with their mortgages paid off so they have less need to conform now than when they were originally rebellious, we could rile them up. and the idealistic disaffected youth on the other side. and squeeze.

i, unfortunately, am now in the age range not to be trusted ;)

01:15 am: self plagarism
my comment here turned out longer than i thought it would when i started rambling, so i thought i'd sort of make a post out of it/make it easier to find if i wanted to reflect on it more.

also, come to think of it, my thoughts may be somewhat influenced by having just finished reading Ender's Game and Ender's Shadow right in a row in under a week.