I'm Back

I know it has been a while since I have written. I find I have so much to say, but no energy to write some days.

I survived my stats class with an A. I was so worried about this course, but it was all theory, and no math what so ever. I can memorize theory with the best of them. It made for an interesting course. It was made easier that the only other person from my program in there is a former math teacher.

On a happy note, I am 1-3 on proposals. The paper that I co-authored was accepted to be presented at a round table at a conference in San Diego. I get to spend a week in San Diego just as the Midwest is coming out of winter. I am looking forward to presenting the paper, as well as traveling. I hope that I can get some reimbursement from the university, but I know that travel budgets were one place where the university had to make cuts, rather than less financial assistance for studying.

Spring semester is starting to fill up already with projects. I am putting the finishing touches on my syllabus and preparing to order the books for my last two courses on my program. I am very much looking forward to my course work this semester, though slightly apprehensive in that I have not written an academic paper since the spring semester. Time to get back on the horse!

Where I'm At

0-2 So Far, But Spring is Looking Good

Well October was the month of proposals for me, and so far I am 0-2 with one still hanging out there in limbo. My proposal to teach the History of American Women was not accepted, and I am waiting to hear back from my chair to get some feedback. I told her I am in no rush, proposals for Fall 10 courses aren't due until February/March. The second proposal that I am still a little unhappy with was to spend a month teaching in Florence with a colleague of mine in the art history department. We worked our tails off to create a class down to the minute detail, but another thorough proposal was accepted. I was happy to see that it went to another pair that had a very clear aspect of what 4 weeks in Florence would entail. I think I wouldn't be as upset if I knew I would have a shot at wherever the location for summer 2011, but considering the hubby and I have put off having kids long enough, this was probably my last shot for the next 25 years to do something like this. I don't think he'll agree to me moving overseas for a month with a new born, maybe a small child, but we'll see. The last proposal that is hanging out there is to present a paper I co-authored at a conference in San Diego in March/April of 10. I would love to add that to my CV, but right now it seems like an after thought.

One good thing is that my spring semester is really falling into place. I have 2, count them, 1, 2 courses left to take in my program, and they are not being offered on the same day! I can actually finish my program without having to deal with trying to rearrange things like I was worried about for my current semester. As for teaching, I was only offered one course instead of two. I was a little upset with this at first until I remembered last spring I had the same offer. Our students don't take as many humanities/writing courses in the spring based on their schedules. I was able to pick up a second section days before the semester started. On the other hand spring means developing courses for our online summer group. I had two that were basically guaranteed for me. I went to the supervisor and selflessly offered myself up for a third course and she was thrilled! They have been trying to figure out how they were going to balance the courses with the handful of ID people that they use. Yeah me! This means, when I get the contracts, I will be a little bit a head monetarily this spring then I had anticipated. Spring should be interesting, and hopefully distract me for a while from trying to figure out what to do in the fall while writing my DQEs.

The Less I Have to Do, The Less I Get Done

This semester is rolling along pretty quickly. The school I teach at hits midterm break this weekend, and the school I attend has midterms next week. Things are moving along fairly well. I am a little behind in my grading, which I hate, but I am getting back to being only a week behind rather than almost three! I don't like holding on to students' work very long. I think that those who actually read the feedback appreciate it. I was even told this by former students of mine via comments on Facebook.

I put in a proposal to teach a course on Women in American History and I am hoping that it gets excited. I mean I won't mind teaching my traditional spring courses, but it would be nice to develop my own course. It would also be nice to put that on my CV.

I know you are all worried about my stats class this semester. The class is very dry. The instructor is nice, but I am very easily distracted in that course. I think most of the distraction comes from my unwillingness to believe that this is relevant to my research. That and the textbook is very well written. I took the first test, 100% online, 25 multiple choice questions. I did alright, but I was annoyed with the typos on the exam. It just distracted me. I am waiting until our next class to talk with the professor to see what can be done to prevent this from happening. Again, she is very easy-going, and I don't think she was aware of the typos. I thought about sending her an email, but could not figure out a way to phrase the thing without sounding like a whiner.

One thing that I am having the most trouble with this semester is that I lack pressure to force me to get things done efficiently. I get my work done, but knowing that I have more time available scares me. Will this be how I work when I am cut free to write my DQEs or dissertation? Next semester I have a killer one that I am looking forward to and dreading all in one. I have my last two classes, both very writing intensive, on top of my typical teaching and work load. I hopefully will also have two more classes to develop online for the summer. I can do it, but after a semester that has been pretty lazy in comparison, I am in deperate need of a kick in the arse.

Slacker...

Well I have been back at the old grind for a little while now. I have been back at "work" for three weeks, teaching for two, and a student for one. And so far, I am just not sure how to call this semester. Work has been very busy, but that is to be expected at the beginning and end of each semester. Of the three courses I was hired to design, one was up and running at the start of the semester. The other two have been postponed due to faculty issues. One is back on track, and isn't going to be offered until next summer, the other is really up in the air, but is supposed to be up this spring. We'll see, I just hope it doesn't prevent me from taking on more development courses this fall, and definitely in the Spring.

The courses I am teaching are running alright, it is still a little bumpy. I dislike not having the entire semester ready to roll before I started the semester, but I am getting there. My students seem really interesting, and I hope the courses really develop great conversations.

My dreaded stats class has started, and I don't quite know what to make of it just yet. The textbook is really quite funny, the author has a similar sense of humor to myself, so at least that is a plus. I am a little annoyed that the professor kept us 20 minutes longer than the class time. We shall see how this plays out.

One interesting discussion that has come up in my class that I am teaching is why women change their last name when they get married. I found a number of interesting responses on Facebook, primarily related to tradition, wanted to start a new chapter in life, or for people like me, not wanting to change for professional and personal reasons. What do you think? Why did you or did you not change your name?

It's the Most Wonderful Time....

Well you get the picture. It is back to school time. I don't know if it just that I am too comfortable being a student or just good at it, but I miss the routine of being in school. I do feel sad that I do not get to purchase any school supplies. I really don't need them, but that is my idea of heaven.

In the last month a number of things have happened, but most of what didn't was getting any further on my DQE readings. I am just not interested in these books. My course this fall starts on the 31st, and I am going to try to read books off of my DQE list this fall since I only have that one course. The two writing courses I am teaching start on the 24th, and though I spent the month of July trying to revamp my syllabus, last week I got the revamped curriculum from my chair. 65% of the readings I normally used were dropped and two of the three units were dropped in favor of new ones. I have hurried this week to try and develop a new course, and so far so good, but I will have to develop the assignments as we go, and I hate that feeling. Maybe I can get a chunk done this weekend.

I am also trying to finish up the courses I am developing online for faculty members. One class goes live on the 31st, and hopefully, after our meeting tomorrow, will be near completion. The other two courses I was assigned are not going live until January, but need to be finished soon so I can be assigned some new ones that come down the pipe line. One is about 1/4 the way done on my part. The other class has yet to begin, and I have not heard from that faculty member. I am keeping my fingers crossed that I can get two more assigned this fall. I really enjoy doing the development and I can't lie, the money is outstanding. I am a little concerned that this may dry up, due to a few moves going on at the university. Hopefully this just means that there will be more than enough courses to go around and they are getting serious about hiring a full-time instructional designer.

On that note, I had my first back to school meeting for the doc students in my program. I will finish my course work this year, and I have gotten very comfortable with my lifestyle as a student. I am a little nervous with how the next few years will pan out. I mean, I think I can maintain my status quo, but seeing the jobs opening up with the ID position, and a few others that I think I could do, I am afraid of being distracted from goals by these positions. I don't know why I am worried about the next school year, other than I am a planner and I worry about where the money is coming from and how to plan financially. If I took a full-time position, money and benefits like maternity leave would give me piece of mind, but leave less time for research and completing my dissertation on target. Staying put would give me the flexibility to continue to research and to not have to keep a child in day care 8 hours a day 5 days a week, but leave me no monetary security or benefits like maternity leave. It is one of the reasons why I have put off having children until I am done with my course work. I have very little time left on the agreement I have made with my husband.

Great Tweets of Science

I found this amusing and thought I would share: