Gettin’ in da groove…

 Going Mental  No Responses »
Sep 242011
 

So, despite my rather whiny-state the past couple of weeks, I do believe I’m over the shock.

However, not only have I had physical adjustment, but also there’s been a bit mulling through my head….

* I need a new job in the next 3-5 years. For now, I’m keeping my eyes peeled and deciding what exactly I am looking for, but it’s not what I’m doing at the moment. I need to be somewhere where my skills are appreciated and utilized. I need to be somewhere where I feel as if I am contributing to a greater change and not just another donkey making the mill go round…. So, I will work on my PhD. I will look to get involved in organizations and groups that will be relevant to my future goals. I will begin to seek out ways to make myself known and heard in venues that will be meaningful. Then, I will leave behind the zoo that I currently work in! πŸ˜€

* It may be time for me to travel less and save more money…. Dreaming of my retirement home in Hawaii and need to have these debts paid off to achieve that…. We’ll see as there are still a few more places to go before I’m totally content, but the time is comin’!

* Relationships…friends and lovers…

* Adoption/Being adopted/Writing about it all….

* If I die tomorrow, who will miss me and what will I have left behind…?

So, different topics all swimming around in my head. But, life could definitely be worse, so I’m trying to keep myself from falling into a low phase… Wish me luck!

 Posted by at 10:04

No time…

 Going Mental  No Responses »
Sep 192011
 

No time to think –

No time to sleep –

No time to dream –

No time to run –

No time to plan –

No time to eat –

No time to chat –

No time to be at peace –

No time….

and yet when we die we will have all the time in the world!

It wasn’t meant to sound like a poem when I quickly typed this out, but it has a bit of a poem-like quality. Truly, I’ve had very little time to do anything…work is taking more time to get adjusted to, but at least it is keeping me from being bored. πŸ˜‰

 Posted by at 18:11

With the bad, there is some good…

 Going Mental  No Responses »
Sep 162011
 

This week was not only long and tiring, but also eye-opening or perhaps confirming in many ways.

First, the extra physical exertion of walking 10-15 mins to class, 10-15 mins from class, 10-15 mins to a meeting, 10-15 mins to class, 10-15 mins from class and some days another 20-min roundtrip walk, plus any extra errands takes a toll when not used to such activity each day. I already have an exercise regimen, which makes me tired all by itself!

Second, the fact that nearly every day my roster changed, new students would arrive, diagnostics constantly needed to be given and not yet being able to start a normal teaching pattern starts to wear on an even the most flexible and easy-going of educators – of which I am not one… πŸ™

Finally, pmsing…need I say more?!

Thus, it was a week where I honestly felt a bit depressed that I am in this job with which I am not fully satisfied and feel a bit sad for the students who must go through the program set before them. Then, I found myself re-energized and motivated to keep making progress with my research projects and PhD work because with these going for me, I can only open up more doors of opportunity when I am ready to move on. Until then, I recall the lovely summer I had and look forward to the next vacation in another 48 days… πŸ˜€

 Posted by at 17:33

Zoo is really a zoo…

 Going Mental  No Responses »
Sep 132011
 

I’m totally wiped out from this week and it’s only half-way – well, thankfully it’s now down to the last two days!

It has been a nutty week at work with a new campus, new course, new managers and the same ol’ BS. πŸ˜›

Will update more later, but it’s time for me to veg out right now!

 

 Posted by at 20:59

Gardening – the beginnings

 Going Mental  No Responses »
Sep 122011
 

We tend to not buy a lot of vegetables and then when we do they go bad from sitting out too long or neglect of use. One reason is price, cheap vegetables tend to poor quality and I hate to pay a ton for good ones. Thus, I thought it would be great to 1) have some fresh home-grown ones and 2) force us to use them up as they grow!

My childhood friend is a Master Gardener and so I asked her advice about possible growing a garden in containers on our new balcony. I thought maybe it would add some much needed greenery and also be easy enough for lil’ ol’ me to manage. She has given me a few tips and so I have begun from the beginning.

A couple of weeks ago, I planted just a few seeds for carrots, tomatoes, herb mix and rosemary.

Here’s what they looked like after a week –

Carrots - one week after planting seeds

Close

Carrots – one week after planting seeds05-Sep-2011 21:45, NIKON COOLPIX S51, 3.3, 6.3mm, 0.033 sec, ISO 100

View at Picasa

Tomatoes - one week after planting seeds

Close

Tomatoes – one week after planting seeds05-Sep-2011 21:45, NIKON COOLPIX S51, 3.3, 6.3mm, 0.033 sec, ISO 100

View at Picasa

 
Herbs - one week after planting seeds

Close

Herbs – one week after planting seeds05-Sep-2011 21:45, NIKON COOLPIX S51, 3.3, 6.3mm, 0.033 sec, ISO 100

View at Picasa

Rosemary - one week after planting seeds :*(

Close

Rosemary – one week after planting seeds :*(05-Sep-2011 21:47, NIKON COOLPIX S51, 3.3, 6.3mm, 0.033 sec, ISO 100

View at Picasa

 

I realized that I needed to thin the tomatoes and carrots out before I buy some bigger pots to transplant them in. So, I thinned the tomato plants –

Tomatoes - 2 weeks after seeding and thinned

Close

Tomatoes – 2 weeks after seeding and thinned11-Sep-2011 10:17, NIKON COOLPIX S51, 3.3, 6.3mm, 0.033 sec, ISO 100

View at Picasa

 

However, I’m hesitant to thin out the carrots too much as we want lots of carrots…So, I’m keeping my fingers crossed that I can transplant them as a large group and hope to not totally destroy the root system…. Here’s how the plants look as of last night –

Carrots - 2 weeks after seeding, but needs to be thinned

Close

Carrots – 2 weeks after seeding, but needs to be thinned11-Sep-2011 10:18, NIKON COOLPIX S51, 3.3, 6.3mm, 0.033 sec, ISO 100

View at Picasa

 
Herbs - 2 weeks after seeding

Close

Herbs – 2 weeks after seeding11-Sep-2011 10:18, NIKON COOLPIX S51, 3.3, 6.3mm, 0.033 sec, ISO 100

View at Picasa

 
Rosemary - 2 weeks after seeding - finally! :)

Close

Rosemary – 2 weeks after seeding – finally! πŸ™‚11-Sep-2011 10:18, NIKON COOLPIX S51, 3.3, 6.3mm, 0.033 sec, ISO 100

View at Picasa

 

This weekend, I will try to get proper sized pots for them and see if I can transplant. If that works, then I will plant some new seeds for other vegetables!

Stay tuned….

Attempt at creativity with ZOO animals….

 Going Mental  No Responses »
Sep 112011
 

Close

11-Sep-2011 05:52, NIKON COOLPIX S51, 3.3, 6.3mm, 0.033 sec, ISO 100

View at Picasa

Close

11-Sep-2011 05:52, NIKON COOLPIX S51, 3.3, 6.3mm, 0.033 sec, ISO 100

View at Picasa

Close

11-Sep-2011 05:52, NIKON COOLPIX S51, 3.3, 6.3mm, 0.033 sec, ISO 100

View at Picasa

 

Close

11-Sep-2011 05:51, NIKON COOLPIX S51, 3.3, 6.3mm, 0.033 sec, ISO 100

View at Picasa

Close

11-Sep-2011 05:51, NIKON COOLPIX S51, 3.3, 6.3mm, 0.033 sec, ISO 100

View at Picasa

Close

11-Sep-2011 05:51, NIKON COOLPIX S51, 3.3, 6.3mm, 0.033 sec, ISO 100

View at Picasa

 

Close

11-Sep-2011 05:50, NIKON COOLPIX S51, 3.3, 6.3mm, 0.033 sec, ISO 100

View at Picasa

Close

11-Sep-2011 05:50, NIKON COOLPIX S51, 3.3, 6.3mm, 0.033 sec, ISO 100

View at Picasa

Close

11-Sep-2011 05:48, NIKON COOLPIX S51, 3.3, 6.3mm, 0.033 sec, ISO 100

View at Picasa

 

Close

11-Sep-2011 05:48, NIKON COOLPIX S51, 3.3, 6.3mm, 0.033 sec, ISO 100

View at Picasa

Close

11-Sep-2011 05:48, NIKON COOLPIX S51, 3.3, 6.3mm, 0.033 sec, ISO 100

View at Picasa

Close

11-Sep-2011 05:49, NIKON COOLPIX S51, 3.3, 6.3mm, 0.033 sec, ISO 100

View at Picasa

 

Close

11-Sep-2011 05:49, NIKON COOLPIX S51, 3.3, 6.3mm, 0.033 sec, ISO 100

View at Picasa

Close

11-Sep-2011 05:50, NIKON COOLPIX S51, 3.3, 6.3mm, 0.033 sec, ISO 100

View at Picasa

Close

11-Sep-2011 05:50, NIKON COOLPIX S51, 3.3, 6.3mm, 0.033 sec, ISO 100

View at Picasa

 
Day 1 Activity with Students - design a T-shirt using three adjectives that describe you...

Close

Day 1 Activity with Students – design a T-shirt using three adjectives that describe you…11-Sep-2011 05:47, NIKON COOLPIX S51, 3.3, 6.3mm, 0.033 sec, ISO 100

View at Picasa

 

Phew…

 Going Mental  No Responses »
Sep 092011
 

It’s been a busy week. My posting run has slowed down considerably…not sure if I will be able to keep up as regularly, but we shall see.

Anyway, spent most of the week wondering what to prepare and catching up with people. Plus, getting used to the new campus has been tiring….

It takes 20 minutes from end-to-end. Average time to a meeting from my office takes anywhere from 2minutes (down the hall) to 15minutes (on the women’s campus). So, I am getting a lot of walking in and am going to be wearing my tennies to and fro! It’s too much to consider wearing nice shoes with all the walking – or maybe I will get used to it. πŸ™‚

Overall, it has been good. Sunday begins the mad chaos of first-day fun.

As of right now, I have the best class list – check it out!

Fatimas copy

Close

Fatimas copy

View at Picasa

 

 

 Posted by at 09:51

New office

 Going Mental  No Responses »
Sep 052011
 
Before 1

Close

Before 105-Sep-2011 02:24, NIKON COOLPIX S51, 3.3, 6.3mm, 0.125 sec, ISO 200

View at Picasa

 
Before 2

Close

Before 205-Sep-2011 02:24, NIKON COOLPIX S51, 3.3, 6.3mm, 0.167 sec, ISO 400

View at Picasa

 
Before 3

Close

Before 305-Sep-2011 02:24, NIKON COOLPIX S51, 3.3, 6.3mm, 0.125 sec, ISO 200

View at Picasa

 

After getting over the excitement of finally feeling like a proper professor and getting my own brand-new office, I quickly wanted to make it my own. While walking down the hallway and looking in the other rooms, I noticed that everyone had the same layout and felt everything was rather “square”.

Faculty Offices hallway for ABP Men's Campus

Close

Faculty Offices hallway for ABP Men's Campus05-Sep-2011 03:25, NIKON COOLPIX S51, 3.3, 6.3mm, 0.125 sec, ISO 320

View at Picasa

 

So, I took a few moments, recalled the many times I rearranged my bedroom whilst growing up and began to consider how I would like my office to look. First, I had to remove the “square” factor. Thus, my desk turned angular and I moved the very large (and very heavy) cabinet to the back of the room and at an angle. The long window looking into my office needed to be broken up, so I placed the cabinets near the door, also allowing for a little tea/coffee area for myself and any guests who might come for a visit. πŸ™‚

After 1

Close

After 105-Sep-2011 03:30, NIKON COOLPIX S51, 3.3, 6.3mm, 0.004 sec, ISO 800

View at Picasa

 

Close

05-Sep-2011 03:23, NIKON COOLPIX S51, 3.3, 6.3mm, 0.167 sec, ISO 400

View at Picasa

 
After 2

Close

After 205-Sep-2011 03:24, NIKON COOLPIX S51, 3.3, 6.3mm, 0.2 sec, ISO 400

View at Picasa

 
After 3

Close

After 305-Sep-2011 03:24, NIKON COOLPIX S51, 3.3, 6.3mm, 0.25 sec, ISO 400

View at Picasa

 

Basically, when students or visitors come, they can take a seat and I hope not feel as if they are in an examination room, but a warm environment. πŸ™‚

My office!

Close

My office!05-Sep-2011 03:25, NIKON COOLPIX S51, 3.3, 6.3mm, 0.125 sec, ISO 320

View at Picasa

 
Welcome!

Close

Welcome!05-Sep-2011 03:24, NIKON COOLPIX S51, 3.3, 6.3mm, 0.004 sec, ISO 800

View at Picasa

 
 Posted by at 16:55

Back to the grind…

 Going Mental  No Responses »
Sep 042011
 

Took a bit of a computer break yesterday and am back to work today. The new campus is pretty impressive and I love that I have my own office. Tomorrow I will take pics… today I am wiped! I’m out of practice for a full day’s worth of this working thing… πŸ˜‰

 

 Posted by at 17:10
 Older Entries
error

Enjoy this blog? Please spread the word :)