Graf #8

You can really learn a lot about people by reading their essays. So many different lives and personalities make for some interesting stories. Some students are so descriptive in their writings - I wish that I had some of their talent. Whether I'm of their caliber or not, at least I'm enjoying myself. This class has been good therapy -- where else can you get stuff "off your chest", put it in writing, and call it homework?

Graf #7

One of the most cherished people in my life successfully battled stage III cancer 18 months ago, and her will to fight was amazing. I was with Dallas when she got the call. Her body shook. "It's cancer!" she sobbed. Her mom and aunt had both died of cancer. I held her and kissed her head. "It will be ok, Dallas. It's just a bump in the road." She cried. "It's a pretty big bump, Marj." I just held her and said that yes, it was more like a pothole, but we'd all get through it. My brave friend hit the ground running. The very next day she was in Boston seeing a specialist for her type of cancer. She started an aggressive routine of chemotherapy and radiation the following week, and cut her hair short so the cancer couldn't take it.I cut mine as well, and vowed that if she lost the rest of her hair to radiation, then I would shave my head as well. In addition, she went to Boston for two 50 hour treatments of brachytherapy, two weeks apart. "I've got to do it Marj." she said. "I've got weddings to attend and grandbabies to see someday." Her children were 7 and 10. Dallas has been cancer free for almost a year now. Her fight definitely puts things in perspective. Whenever I'm feeling down or going through a rough patch, my beautiful friend hugs me and says "It will be ok, Marj. It's just a bump in the road.". If she can fight for her life and win, I guess my minor problems can be overcome, too.

Graf #6

Wow - in my opinion, the best I-search was saved for last! Wedding cakes, weightlifting, geneology, bullet loading, but what do I want to do my I-search on? As a rule, if something affects my life and interests me I research it on my own. You've gotta love the internet! My topic choice was narrowed down to school consolidation (lame and boring) and man vs. woman (too personal). I've got one day to decide - hopefully it will be more interesting than how to bake the perect wedding cake.

Blog #5 Things

In my bedside table is a banner. It is about three feet long and reads "Thanks Mom for a great summer!". My son PJ made this for me in August of 2005, a month before he turned 12. He also made me a personalized calendar for the coming year with August 19 designated "Mom's special day", and a certificate, which I framed, that I was awarded "for being the best mom a kid could ever have". The certificate hangs on the wall on my side of the bed.



I always made sure summers were full of fun for my boys. The summer of 2005 was great. The summer of 2006 was good, but not as fun as I had just started my job at EMMC and didn't have as much time to spend with them. The summer of 2007 was boring for my boys as I was gone 50 hours a week between school and work. I did it for them, but it was hard for them to understand when they were sitting home, bored. Needless to say, I didn't earn any banners or certificates either summer, and had to work on my designated "mom's special day."



The summer of 2007 is pretty much over, and a new school year has begun. When this school year ends, I can't wait for summer of 2008 to come. I'm going to earn myself another banner and certificate.

Graf #4

I cut my hair with a Flowbee, have short, unpolished nails and wear prescription glasses I paid $8 for at Zennioptical.com. I buy my clothes at yard sales and on clearance. I drive a 4 door red Dodge Ram truck. I live in a large colonial with a three car garage. Summers I drive my Jeep Wrangler with the top off every chance I get. Most summers I spend with my two boys by our pool, alternating swimming and reading. I love dogs and cats and have one of each. I love birds and have birdfeeders set up by a living room window so I can watch them close up. I hate politics and dislike listening to anything remotely political. My idea of a good time is staying home, either watching a movie or playing outside with the boys. I have a flower garden that is pretty in June and usually choked with weeds by August. I'm much better with vegetables. There are three seasons in my life -- soccer season, basketball season, and baseball season. I love watching CSI and Survivor. I read books by Dean Koontz, Stephen King, and any good murder mystery.

Graf # 3

Inventory of cabinet that I use as a nightstand --

on top -- alarm clock, telephone, eyeglasses, and glass of water

inside--

earplugs
video Monopoly
hand lotion
2 partial bags of bite sized dark chocolate
trazadone and melatonin
Advil, Tylenol, and aspirin
Benadryl
Sam's brand multi-sympton allergy medecine
decongestant, nose strips, and nasal spray
strap on headlight for reading while Paul is sleeping
letter from teenage son stating the many reasons why he needs a new cell phone
notes for a thank you speech I tearfully gave same son's 4/5 multiage teachers
Tums
more lotion
1 Robin Cook novel
1 Stephen King novel
dog nail trimmers
bag of Canine Cuts dog treats
Mother's Day cards
newspaper clippings on "Cosmic Bob", a Downeast transient hit by a car
Appointment card to check younger son's broken wrist on August 18, 2006
a "Thank You Mom" banner PJ made me 3 summers ago
1 crossword book
1 sudoku book with a mechanical pencil inside
Aspercreme, Tiger Balm and Icy-Hot




This person must have problems sleeping -- maybe someone should tell her that chocolate contains CAFFEINE! What is she, a walking pharmacy? She must have a few aches and pains, along with allergies. She probably needs the Tums to help her poor stomach recover from all her OTC meds. Hopefully she doesn't take them all at the same time. Maybe she's smart and she alternates them. She is definitely sentimental, and she must enjoy reading. She must look like a miner when she reads in the dark. Sudoku and crosswords -- maybe she's trying to hold off Alzheimer's. Hopefully, she has a dog and doesn't eat the dog treats herself.

Graf 2

In Calculus I, I studied hard, memorized formulas, and earned a B. Calculus II brought a different professor and an unusual teaching style.

How hard can Calculus II be if you have memorized the formulas and know how to work the word problems? I sat down to the exam and stared. The three questions on the test were vague and evasive. After reading and rereading them over again I still hadn't the faintest idea what he wanted us to do. I got up and spoke to him. His reply? "If you don't understand what I want then maybe you shouldn't be in this class." Needless to say, I got the worst grade of my life -- a 38. In tears I went to my senior advisor, an electrical engineering student getting ready for graduate school. She didn't understand the exam either, and took it to the Dean of Mathematics, who didn't get it, but all this hullabaloo got me NOWHERE. The asshole had TENURE. I dropped the class and felt like a complete loser until I moved to Oregon and retook the class out there. I got a B.

I would have loved to tell him, but I know he wouldn't have cared -- however I would like to know how you can fail 20 students and still consider yourself a good instructor?