So it's come to this...

...it's time.

I really didn't want this day to come, but I know it is necessary to maintain my mental health.


It's time to turn on word verification for my blog comments.


Spam in other languages I can ignore (and eventually delete). After all, if the only words in English are "sex", Viagra, or "hot girlz", then I know it really doesn't apply to me.

Spam in English is more annoying because I certainly don't want any of you, dear readers, to accidently click on a link and get a virus.


I've hesitated to turn on word verification because I really dislike it. The extra step is mildly annoying, but what really gets me are the "words" themselves. I *always* misread the word. Usually into something perverted. Every time. Without fail.


Am I the only word verification pervert out there, or is this just one more thing I should add to my list of Weird Things that Annoy Unreaction but No One Else ?

Finally getting some

As the semester winds down, it's a good time to reflect back on the last months. Classes are coming along swimmingly. My students are tolerating me pretty well, and I think they might have actually learned some stuff. After my year as a visiting prof at TempCollege, I am much faster at lecture prep, exam writing is not as time consuming, and grading doesn't always make me want to impale an eyeball on my red pen.

But...although I would never admit it to my coworkers, there is really only one thing I want out of this semester.

All I really want is a hot pepper.

Deny it all you want, but you know you want a little hot pepper action on ratemyprofessor.


Looks like Christmas has come early for me!

Hugging like a man?

A recent comment on this old post on group work got me thinking. I'm going to (probably) address portions of Anon's (who is an engineering student, hooray!) comment in some future post(s), but let me reproduce the last bit:

"Group work is ONLY recommended if you have bright, responsible and good students who know they must work as a team. Then it is indeed a very good experience, although I've seldom have had that. Manly hugs."


Hmm...


I've been told that I have a good handshake because I don't "shake like a typical woman."

I've been told that I'm a good lecturer because I "don't lecture like a girl."

But I've never had anyone comment on my hugs. What is a manly hug? Like a quick shoulder slap? I'm not sure what a "womanly" hug would be, probably because my preferred state is to NOT have people touching me.

Especially students.

So I wonder. Could there be a difference between engineering and non-engineering hugs?

Boosting the Ego

I know that I'm an amazing professor. I prep awesome lectures, I'm insanely available for my students, my tests are hard but fair, and I even get some research done.

Still, whenever you start a new job, you always wonder: do my students know I'm an amazing prof?

This week several different students (from different classes, too) decided to tell me how much they liked my teaching style, lectures, sunny disposition (where did that come from??), etc. etc.


While I like to claim to be a very confident person, and that I don't care if my students like me or my class, I gotta admit it...... I was really freakin' pleased to get the praise.



I'm sure there are many (several?) of you out there that don't give a bleepity bleep about what your students think of you. If that's the case, I'm guessing that you are tenured. (Just a guess--- if that's not the case, please correct me.) But I'm not tenured. As a new prof, it's great to hear well ahead of midterms that I'm meshing with the department. Now I just have to keep this up for the rest of the semester....

A piece of (real estate) cake

We're taught that certain events or activities should stress us out. And some of these events do stress me out.

Stuff like tax prep. Or R01 submissions. Or finding a new hair stylist in a new city.


I was also told that buying a house would be extremely stressful. I've found that the process itself is actually not that bad. You find a real estate agent, they show you some houses. Some you like. Some you mock. Some should be condemned (the houses, not your real estate agent). Some of the houses get taken off the market before you even have a chance at them. Not that bad. Way easier than picking a grad school.

Once you make an offer, you have to wait around to see if they take it. Sort of like when you wait out in the hall for your thesis decision. Or, at some schools, when you have to wait for a PI to agree to let you in the group. Or waiting through any faculty meeting (UGH).

The inspection process is by far less painful than the song and dance routine at job interviews.

Now filling out and signing all the paperwork is certainly annoying, but it definitely was more enjoyable than grading!



Hmmm...I wonder if being a homeowner will be less taxing than crushing the dreams of premed students?

How to get an ulcer

While I don't actually have an ulcer, I am sure I'm well on my way. In addition to a whole pile o' unbloggable nastiness, here are some of the reasons I've been M.I.B (missing in bloggin') lately:

- class prep is totally kicking my ass

- a student had a mental breakdown in my class

- N.A. and I adopted a dog

- Said adopted dog thinks she is not house-trained and has a penchant for biting my toes.... and waking us up at 5 am. Every. Day.

- Did I mention all the unbloggable nastiness?

- N.A. and I bought a house


Hope to catch up with you all soon....

Flu policies

Well, my darlings, I got it. No, not swine flu. Regular flu. But still. This has got to be a record or something. Who gets the flu the second week of class? (Me.)

Here at PermaU, students are told not to go to class if they think they have the flu. Instead, a flu hotline has been set up for them to call in their symptoms. Tired? Achy? Sore throat? Fever? (Hmm...sounds like most freshmen after Thursday $2 shot nights). If you fit the symptoms, you are told not to go to class.

Although I appreciate that PermaU is trying to minimize the spread of flu (don't get me started about swine flu), there are a few flaws with this system. First, what ever happened to a doctor's visit? And really, how many undergrads keep a thermometer in their rooms? Of course it feels like you have a fever-- your dorm isn't air-conditioned, and it's been in the 80s!

What are your thoughts about flu minimization? Does your campus have a new flu policy? Or has your institution shut down completely because of swine flu?