[Archives 1]

For those who didn't know, I'm switching over from another blog I used during this past semester. I'm not sure exactly how to import those entries, or even if there is a nice way, but I decided cut and paste works just as well.

So here we go, the first of several old posts is below... :)


Elementary AnalysisFebruary 17th, 2008

So, the site name. Strange, right? Right. Probably because it’s the first half of the title to my Advanced Calculus textbook.
Lately some [many] of my thoughts have been directed towards thinking about how I define myself, or at least how I try to do so. How do I explain myself? Who am I, really? It has become quite evident over the years that there are multiple things which require my attention and receive incredible interest. But that’s just what I do, not who I am, no?
Anyway, these thoughts were weaving in and out of my mind as I glanced down at my backpack to be greeted with the sight of a small yellow hardcover book. Elementary Analysis: The Theory of Calculus. Elementary Analysis. I’ve been told that this class isn’t really teaching us anything new but simply taking us back to the basics and teaching us how to do things the ‘right way’. And then I realized that, in a small way, is what I tend to do- pass my thoughts over common areas in attempts to dissect them or understand them at a new level, albeit a very basic, untrained, and elementary level. And thus the title stuck.


First ThingsFebruary 16th, 2008

It’s my last semester of college and one would assume that I would’ve gotten the whole college thing down by now; the only new things to be encountered should be those associated with the ‘real world’. Not so. For example, as I was walking back to the apartment this evening, I encountered a lovely patch of ice. It provided me with several feet of horizontal sliding. Key point: it was all horizontal motion, not vertical. For those of you still ready to laugh, hold it. It was a rather graceful slide and only ended up with my banana flying out of my hand as I made a slightly minor flailing movement. I was left unbruised but the banana was not so fortunate. Let’s just say that I will be having banana-less cereal in the morning. Now, since I tend to be list-oriented, the remainder of “first-things” will have to appear in such a form.
Flailing banana incident (as recorded above).
Yesterday I gave the Board of Trustees a tour of our science building. It’s almost intimidating being in a room with the people who basically run the school. And of course having the president in your tour group is always a fun thing too. :P But man was it fun showing them my home away from home. I do have such a strange attachment to that building… hmm…
I fell asleep at dinner in the dining commons. Yup. I finished eating before the other track girls, slouched down a little too low and fell asleep. No worries, Vanessa woke me up with a flying napkin wad to make sure I didn’t miss too much.
I lost my student ID and had to get a temporary one from Campus Safety. [That’s such a freshman thing to do. Ugh.] Thankfully that 12-yr old looking version of myself found its way back to my desk this evening and is no longer missing.
Tomorrow we run at IWU’s brand-new indoor track facility. Obviously a first since it’s new. Duh.
Posting here! Again, another obvious first. [While we’re on this subject, perhaps it is wise to ask your forgiveness as I attempt to figure this whole thing out.]
It’s only the third week of classes, but I have the sneaking suspicion that the following weeks and months are going to be a time of incredible growth. Not just for reasons of ice patches and sleeping at dinner, but because I have a completely new perspective on life after student teaching. I am still amazed at how different things appear to me now. Perhaps a disclaimer belongs here. So…. Disclaimer: this [post-student teaching and pre-teaching life] may end up being a common theme among future posts. But that will all have to wait for now.
One thing that hasn’t changed is my need for rest.