Today it was finally time to try again at the parking office. After the collossal, confusing screw-up this summer, I was bracing myself to try to avoid a fight. It all went amazingly smoothly, though. The office lady was almost even nice. I'll be parking in the satellite lot, but that's better than no lot, and I can park on campus until they tear up the on-campus lot in a week.
And, really, how can I possibly complain?
Today will be a hot and sunny, but peaceful, day of waiting. Boyfriend is entering my graduate department this fall, and he's taking our early qualifying exam for the first time today. It's an all-day stretch of math exam, and I'm waiting for him in my office until whenever he's done. I took it twice, and it was a lot like the Putnam exam (for the all-but-two of you out there who don't know what that is, it's an all-day math contest in the form of an exam), except even longer than the Putnam, with a shorter break. The questions are easier than Putnam questions; still, you leave, not because you are finished, but because you know when you're beat.
Boyfriend is understandably anxious about the exam, and about finishing up the last week he'll have in his office for many months. But really, all is very well with us. For too many faraway friends in the blogosphere, all is not well. Our thoughts and hopes and prayers are with them.
Wednesday, August 31, 2005
Friday, August 26, 2005
I'm Snape!
I wouldn't have guessed it ahead of time, but really I'm not surprised:
Harry Potter Personality Quiz by Pirate Monkeys Inc.
Harry Potter Personality Quiz by Pirate Monkeys Inc.
Monday, August 22, 2005
The world, she is a cruel place...
So, I very responsibly didn't bother Boyfriend at work (and, for that matter, *from* work) about what a gyp the "Commuter Plan" on my EZ-Pass is turning out to be.
For a reward, I decided to try a jelly bean from the package of Bertie Bott's Every-Flavor Beans I bought yesterday.
I ask you, is it fair that it was EARTHWORM-flavored?
For a reward, I decided to try a jelly bean from the package of Bertie Bott's Every-Flavor Beans I bought yesterday.
I ask you, is it fair that it was EARTHWORM-flavored?
Grateful
My latest excuse for Why It's Been So Quiet Here...
A joyful, but very busy, combination of Having Fun and Thinking Deeply.
Some parts of the last few days have been very rocky, and yet it was the most relaxing weekend I've had in a long time.
This weekend was my birthday, so there were the requisite celebrations with Boyfriend. My parents are at a tennis tournament, and my mom wanted help figuring out where a player was from. (For the curious: SCG stands for Serbia and Montenegro. The "CG" is from the Croat words for "Black Mountain," which is what Montenegro means, and the S is for Serbia (which isn't spelled that way there...))
Boyfriend got me computer games! So I've been deeply involved in Worms and Age of Empires during my computer time.
I've also spent a lot of time thinking deeply, and having deep talks with Boyfriend, about issues in our relationship. I wanted to blog about them, except that I don't want the tiniest probability that someone who knows us will read them... Oh well.
Things I am grateful for today:
Oh, right. Working on my paper. Better stop blogging and get on that...
A joyful, but very busy, combination of Having Fun and Thinking Deeply.
Some parts of the last few days have been very rocky, and yet it was the most relaxing weekend I've had in a long time.
This weekend was my birthday, so there were the requisite celebrations with Boyfriend. My parents are at a tennis tournament, and my mom wanted help figuring out where a player was from. (For the curious: SCG stands for Serbia and Montenegro. The "CG" is from the Croat words for "Black Mountain," which is what Montenegro means, and the S is for Serbia (which isn't spelled that way there...))
Boyfriend got me computer games! So I've been deeply involved in Worms and Age of Empires during my computer time.
I've also spent a lot of time thinking deeply, and having deep talks with Boyfriend, about issues in our relationship. I wanted to blog about them, except that I don't want the tiniest probability that someone who knows us will read them... Oh well.
Things I am grateful for today:
- That I've identified some of the things that were hanging ominously, but mysteriously, over my head
- That it looks like those things are going to be OK now -- it will take time and work, but the doomed feeling is gone.
- That I have happy distracting computer games, and new BOOKS! and new SCHOOL SUPPLIES!
- That I had a little money languishing in my PayPal account, so I didn't have to think for a second about whether I could afford to support a Good Cause. (With the link, I feel like I'm tooting my own horn; but the embarassment is worth it for a Good Cause. Check that out yourself. Of course, as the page warns, do your research before just sending money away across the web...)
- That I made waffles and syrup just like my dad makes, and they came out just right
- That I finally got rid of some of my apartment's baggage -- expired food and empty detergent bottles and boxes
- The weather on my birthday was very nice -- cloudy and misty, but cool for the first time in days
- The weather outside my window right now is just right too -- sunny and beautiful, but hot enough that I'm not tempted to go outside instead of working on my paper!
Oh, right. Working on my paper. Better stop blogging and get on that...
Wednesday, August 17, 2005
Dog days
It's hot summer, and I'm mostly brain-dead again, so here's a hodge-podge of links and thoughts...
This is a cool idea. (via Itinerary for Marlette and Guiseppe)
Math is scary. (via Number 2 Pencil)
I already knew that verbal SAT/ACT/GRE scores were more highly correlated with mathematical success than math test scores were. I approve of this statistic, of course, since I'm a mathematician whose verbal test scores were better. It also makes sense to me; the (big) problems I've seen my classmates and students having over the years are much more often failures to understand what's going on -- especially failures to thoroughly read the question and failures to apply logic to the problem -- than they are "mathematical" problems like an inability to add or even do calculus. Being able to read carefully and to think and write clearly has more than made up for my inability to keep track of positive and negative numbers, and I honed these skills just as much in my best history classes as I did in my best math classes.
But, all that pontificating aside, a commenter at Tall, Dark and Mysterious points out that poor language skills that are specific to English might correlate with good performance in math, and not only because other countries tend to have better math education:
And here's fmhLisa on being nice, nice, nice (a different aspect of the "Nice guys, bitchy women" topic).
Finally, I have a confession to make to the Feminist Mormon Housewives. I've recently noticed that I'm listed as a Lady Naccer, which is flattering, seriously, but I'm afraid I'm not really a Lady Naccer, seeing as how I'm Catholic.
I do think it's neat that I fit in with people I like and am interested in -- homeschoolers think I'm a homeschooler, and feminist Mormons think I'm a feminist Mormon. I guess I'm fitting in a little too well when I start accidentally deceiving people that way, but still, it was nice while it lasted. :)
This is a cool idea. (via Itinerary for Marlette and Guiseppe)
Math is scary. (via Number 2 Pencil)
I already knew that verbal SAT/ACT/GRE scores were more highly correlated with mathematical success than math test scores were. I approve of this statistic, of course, since I'm a mathematician whose verbal test scores were better. It also makes sense to me; the (big) problems I've seen my classmates and students having over the years are much more often failures to understand what's going on -- especially failures to thoroughly read the question and failures to apply logic to the problem -- than they are "mathematical" problems like an inability to add or even do calculus. Being able to read carefully and to think and write clearly has more than made up for my inability to keep track of positive and negative numbers, and I honed these skills just as much in my best history classes as I did in my best math classes.
But, all that pontificating aside, a commenter at Tall, Dark and Mysterious points out that poor language skills that are specific to English might correlate with good performance in math, and not only because other countries tend to have better math education:
Robert - very very interesting, about the verbal versus math SAT scores. But I think that if one were to correlate English skills with mathematical success in my classes, you’d find a negative correlation - but that would be confounded by the fact that many of my strongest students were the East Asian exchange students, many of whom spoke very poor English. (Often I’d have a student call me over to their desk in the middle of a test and ask a question such as “What’s a rectangle?” And then I’d draw the appropriate quadrilateral, and they’d thank me, and then write up a beautiful, correct solution.) However, perhaps as a result of their poor English, these students were more inclined to read over the entire question carefully rather than scanning for keywords - something that the weaker anglophones do regularly.
And here's fmhLisa on being nice, nice, nice (a different aspect of the "Nice guys, bitchy women" topic).
Finally, I have a confession to make to the Feminist Mormon Housewives. I've recently noticed that I'm listed as a Lady Naccer, which is flattering, seriously, but I'm afraid I'm not really a Lady Naccer, seeing as how I'm Catholic.
I do think it's neat that I fit in with people I like and am interested in -- homeschoolers think I'm a homeschooler, and feminist Mormons think I'm a feminist Mormon. I guess I'm fitting in a little too well when I start accidentally deceiving people that way, but still, it was nice while it lasted. :)
Thursday, August 11, 2005
Oh, and...
Hey, Mycroft -- I keep meaning to link to you, but your one blog wasn't updating for a while, and your other blog, well, it's new. Is there one I should link to when talking about you? Or maybe I could link to one in each syllable of your name: Mycroft...
Free the Kutztown 13! (Updated: And Demand Justice for Linda Loaiza)
From Number 2 Pencil:
13 students are being charged with felonies for bypassing security on school-issued laptops.
Now, in some cases, "bypassing security" meant typing in the administrative password that was taped to the laptop.
More information is available at the students' own site, www.cutusabreak.org.
Update: The case of the Kutztown 13 is important. But if you only click on one link from this post, go demand justice for Linda Loaiza, a Venezulan woman who was brutally tortured for four months by a man previously arrested similar crimes. She was 18 years old at the time. She will never recover from her injuries -- some of the permanent effects include cataracts and the inability to bear children. The Venezualan justice system is obstructing her case by every possible means, including plain old stalling (59 judges refused to hear the case) and attempting to reduce her abuser's sentence by accusing Loaiza of being a prostitute. Because torturing prostitutes is OK?
Be forewarned that "Linda's Story," linked from the page above, contains graphic details and a photo of a badly injured woman. You may wish not to read it. But please do go look at the page I've linked. The (non-graphic) photo in the header shows incredible pain and strength in Loaiza's face -- it's unmistakable even if you don't know the whole story.
Pinko Feminist Hellcat's take on the case (WARNING: graphic details, though no photos)
13 students are being charged with felonies for bypassing security on school-issued laptops.
Now, in some cases, "bypassing security" meant typing in the administrative password that was taped to the laptop.
More information is available at the students' own site, www.cutusabreak.org.
Update: The case of the Kutztown 13 is important. But if you only click on one link from this post, go demand justice for Linda Loaiza, a Venezulan woman who was brutally tortured for four months by a man previously arrested similar crimes. She was 18 years old at the time. She will never recover from her injuries -- some of the permanent effects include cataracts and the inability to bear children. The Venezualan justice system is obstructing her case by every possible means, including plain old stalling (59 judges refused to hear the case) and attempting to reduce her abuser's sentence by accusing Loaiza of being a prostitute. Because torturing prostitutes is OK?
Be forewarned that "Linda's Story," linked from the page above, contains graphic details and a photo of a badly injured woman. You may wish not to read it. But please do go look at the page I've linked. The (non-graphic) photo in the header shows incredible pain and strength in Loaiza's face -- it's unmistakable even if you don't know the whole story.
Pinko Feminist Hellcat's take on the case (WARNING: graphic details, though no photos)
Sunday, August 7, 2005
From Iraq to Japan
Raed in the Middle has edited and re-posted an interesting open letter to the Japanese people. Go check it out.
Here in the U.S., I'm often frustrated by people who seem to think that "I think this war is a Bad Idea" and "Bush is a chimpanzee" are equally valid arguments, or somehow relevant to each other. It's refreshing to find blogs like Raed's that give me some idea of what some Iraqis actually think about the whole thing -- and it's probably good for me to find out that it's not always so very different from what the Bush-is-a-monkey camp says when they're actually on topic.
Here in the U.S., I'm often frustrated by people who seem to think that "I think this war is a Bad Idea" and "Bush is a chimpanzee" are equally valid arguments, or somehow relevant to each other. It's refreshing to find blogs like Raed's that give me some idea of what some Iraqis actually think about the whole thing -- and it's probably good for me to find out that it's not always so very different from what the Bush-is-a-monkey camp says when they're actually on topic.
Tuesday, August 2, 2005
People
There are a lot of people out there, doing a lot of different things.
There are Mona and Sergei who blog about their sex life, but not only about their sex life, since they have a 10-years-already marriage and two kids and work and life and everything to talk about.
And there are Bitch, Ph.D. and Jo(e) (for example) who are academics and mothers and have incredibly rich lives and interesting thoughts completely aside from their jobs.
And there are Sarah Poppins and Alaska and Chris and Scooby who give me an idea of what it's like to be a homeschooling parent, even though I've never been a homeschooler or a parent myself.
And there are Dy and Heather (Dooce) who tell me what it's like to be cranky and funny and smart and enjoy your offspring even at moments when the world. totally. sucks.
And there are Julie and the Feminist Mormon Housewives who remind me that it's possible to live a more-or-less normal life, and at the same time to spend a lot of time thinking about Deep Things and about God and about making a life among the people you love and the people you don't particularly want to love today.
And there are my baby cousins who ask me if I'm "almost a mommy" and make me smile and laugh, and my parents who are still sometimes alien beings to me, but make me smile and laugh, and Boyfriend who frustrates me, but often because he's right, and makes me smile and laugh, and...
The people in that last paragraph are fantastic, and I think I'd be pretty happy if they were the only kinds of people I knew. I would have read about some of the others in books. But I'm grateful for whatever it is -- the internet? the web? just blogs? -- that makes it so easy for me to see that there are real people doing all these things, and so it's that much more possible for me to do them too.
I want to be like all these people when I grow up (well, maybe I don't want to blog about my sex life, because I'm happy being a prude), and I also want to be like all the other people who would be on this list if I weren't making myself blog at top speed, preparatory to sending myself to bed...
There are Mona and Sergei who blog about their sex life, but not only about their sex life, since they have a 10-years-already marriage and two kids and work and life and everything to talk about.
And there are Bitch, Ph.D. and Jo(e) (for example) who are academics and mothers and have incredibly rich lives and interesting thoughts completely aside from their jobs.
And there are Sarah Poppins and Alaska and Chris and Scooby who give me an idea of what it's like to be a homeschooling parent, even though I've never been a homeschooler or a parent myself.
And there are Dy and Heather (Dooce) who tell me what it's like to be cranky and funny and smart and enjoy your offspring even at moments when the world. totally. sucks.
And there are Julie and the Feminist Mormon Housewives who remind me that it's possible to live a more-or-less normal life, and at the same time to spend a lot of time thinking about Deep Things and about God and about making a life among the people you love and the people you don't particularly want to love today.
And there are my baby cousins who ask me if I'm "almost a mommy" and make me smile and laugh, and my parents who are still sometimes alien beings to me, but make me smile and laugh, and Boyfriend who frustrates me, but often because he's right, and makes me smile and laugh, and...
The people in that last paragraph are fantastic, and I think I'd be pretty happy if they were the only kinds of people I knew. I would have read about some of the others in books. But I'm grateful for whatever it is -- the internet? the web? just blogs? -- that makes it so easy for me to see that there are real people doing all these things, and so it's that much more possible for me to do them too.
I want to be like all these people when I grow up (well, maybe I don't want to blog about my sex life, because I'm happy being a prude), and I also want to be like all the other people who would be on this list if I weren't making myself blog at top speed, preparatory to sending myself to bed...
Monday, August 1, 2005
Not really alone.
My parents just went to bed, and I'm feeling unaccountably lonely. I have a few minutes alone before I go get ready for bed myself, and they ought to be nice and quiet and relaxing, but instead I'm feeling very scared, as if I'm missing a very important opportunity. I'm at home with them, and I don't get to be here nearly as often as I'd like; I'm awake, and my mom at least is still awake; so shouldn't I be squeezing every possible second of togetherness out of these moments?
I've been getting this panic about alone-time a lot lately, and not just about my parents. I don't think it's really a fear of abandonment, although I have occasionally been (mis)labeling it that way. It's a fear of missed opportunity; I'm afraid of wasting time on anything less important than spending time with the people I love. Boyfriend has been very kind and understanding about it, letting me change my plans at the last second to come along on adventures, and so on.
Julie linked to Alicia's post about homesickness, and quoted a passage that probably ought to teach me a lesson right now:
So maybe God is trying to smack me upside the head with a similar lesson, although I don't really know if I'm supposed to be learning the people matter lesson or something more like Augustine's lesson: You have made us for Yourself, and our hearts are restless until they find rest in You. I'm feeling horribly contrary, lately, though, almost toddler-ish. I don't want a lesson in patience; I want a new book now. I don't want a lesson about homesickness; I want to be at home, with everyone I love around me!
I'm not all alone; I have good friends and a big, supportive family, and we all keep in touch with each other even though we often can't be right there together. So why do I keep feeling so contrary and sad and alone?
I've been getting this panic about alone-time a lot lately, and not just about my parents. I don't think it's really a fear of abandonment, although I have occasionally been (mis)labeling it that way. It's a fear of missed opportunity; I'm afraid of wasting time on anything less important than spending time with the people I love. Boyfriend has been very kind and understanding about it, letting me change my plans at the last second to come along on adventures, and so on.
Julie linked to Alicia's post about homesickness, and quoted a passage that probably ought to teach me a lesson right now:
I am getting tired of being homesick at random moments, but I guess that God is not-so-gently reminding me that my true home is not on this earth, that these days and these places are a gift from him but are temporal and not eternal.
So maybe God is trying to smack me upside the head with a similar lesson, although I don't really know if I'm supposed to be learning the people matter lesson or something more like Augustine's lesson: You have made us for Yourself, and our hearts are restless until they find rest in You. I'm feeling horribly contrary, lately, though, almost toddler-ish. I don't want a lesson in patience; I want a new book now. I don't want a lesson about homesickness; I want to be at home, with everyone I love around me!
I'm not all alone; I have good friends and a big, supportive family, and we all keep in touch with each other even though we often can't be right there together. So why do I keep feeling so contrary and sad and alone?
Rape counseling contributes to promiscuity?
Hunh?
'Cause, you know, if I were raped, being able to talk about it would totally make me go out and sleep around.
Adding Wisconsin to the list of states I don't want to live in.
'Cause, you know, if I were raped, being able to talk about it would totally make me go out and sleep around.
Adding Wisconsin to the list of states I don't want to live in.
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