Field trip!

Tomorrow I head to the Illinois Institute of Technology as part of my first field trip....ever?  Outside of the school trips in Chengdu, I have not led a science-based field trip before.  There is not really any planning from my point of view, since the university has the day completely programmed.  So in that regard there are no worries.  Hopefully it will be fun - I get to meet an astronaut (well, technically a chemical engineer who went to space) so that is pretty cool.

Rachel has the stinkeye.  Her left eye is puffy, leaky, and seems to be pulsating if you look too closely at it.  This is her standard symptom for a head cold, which leaves her fairly lethargic.  If we had sick days yet, she would probably take one.  I am guessing her students will be keeping their distance tomorrow.

Yesterday in class I was teaching about density.  I was explaining how dense metals  meant (like iron) are often used in construction because of their strength.  One student said, "Mr. Allmen, you must be really dense."  The student meant this in all sincerity as a complement, and was shocked that I might take it the wrong way.

-alan

Men in uniform?

I should have seen it coming.

For years, I wondered what sparked Rachel's obsession with Northwestern football.  After all, she was a casual sports fan at best when I first met her.  She passed up the opportunity to attend the Michigan/NU game in 2000 (which NU won in dramatic fashion, 54-51, in one of the best NU games ever) to go to the mall with her friends.

But at the game on Saturday, I put the pieces together.  Rachel has continually oogled one of Evanston's finest, a uniformed policeman who stands guard on the sidelines in front of the band.  She describes his look as "classic."  There was a twinkle in her eye this week, as she realized that despite two years absence, he has not abandoned his post. 

So perhaps this NU love has all been a charade, to condone her near-daily wearing of purple clothing and jaunts to Evanston to catch some eye candy at the stadium?

In less gossipy news, I am pooped from making apple crisp.  Peeling and slicing 10 apples is far more labor intensive than I remember.  However, it tasted good.  Sometimes a nice tart Granny Smith hits the spot.  We had decent apples all year in China, but never the same variety as you get here.  It was a nice after-dinner complement to Rachel's lasagna.

Rachel has a half day tomorrow, as the students are taking their practice ACT exam.  My school is doing the same, but having them take the test over several days during their English class - so I do not get the same break.  No fair!

Most of my students could not correctly identify the fuel for the fire in a burning candle.  Can you?

-alan

Warm summer day

Well, the heat outside this week makes me think of summer, but wearing pants and working all day does not.  One reason for returning to the US this year (though perhaps not the primary one) was the desire to have a job that required less hours.  And actually, I think I have been somewhat successful in that.  In China, I worked on average from 7:15 - 4:30 or 5.  So far, I have been working in the US from 7:15 - 4.  And I have not done much work at home.

Each day is different as the year settles in - some good, some not as good depending on the events of the day.  It is now Thursday, and that weekend itch has come upon me.  Uh oh.  I am hoping it is caused by anticipation of football on Saturday, and not work-related.

Rachel's open house was yesterday, so she did not get home until after 8.  I was hoping to get a lot done, but of course I went home early and sat around :)

-alan

A new week begins

The start of the school year has seemed to hurt my posting rate, considerably.  As it stands, I should be in bed this Sunday evening so that I can get off to a good Monday start.  Rachel was not feeling well, and has been in bed for an hour already.

This weekend brought to mind the nice part about working - when you work, you appreciate the weekend so much more.  When we were in summer mode, Friday night is really no different.  But now, the weekend brings time that we do not have during the week.  On Friday night we tried to go bowling, but the lanes at iit were occupied and we played darts instead.  On Saturday we walked to the farmers market and bought some produce (only to be caught in a downpour on the walk home).  In the evening we went to a bar in Lincoln Park so that we could watch the internet feed of the NU-Rice game.  I was particularly jazzed for NU to win, as Rice served me the indignity of waitlisting me as a potential undergrad.  They won handily, but the night was odd as we were forced to watch the game on a comically small screen with no audio.  However, the crowd was rockin' and purple. 

Tomorrow brings week 3 of school.  Bring it on!

-alan

School week 1 fades to football fall weekend 1

The first days of school are behind us.  Like any new year, it had an eventful beginning with its own ups and downs.  But it is always nice to get into the rhythm of teaching, after all the anticipation of summer.  And good news, my chemistry equipment has arrived. 

Rachel and I are carpooling to and from work, which has worked well thus far.  The only downside is having to brave the highway, which is predictably slow no matter the time of day. 

Yesterday was Northwestern's home opener, which we went to with my mom and dad.  NU crushed its opponent - an unusual event for NU, who tends to play down to their opponent.  After two years away, it was fun (despite the preseason rain) to be at a game in person.  Our seats are right next to the band, and one section over from the student section, so I think the energy will be high once we get into the big ten schedule.

Now we are watching the Lions frittering away a potential season opening win against the Bears.  Some things do not change - the Lions choke (even if due to a questionable call), and the Bears show they are pretty mediocre.

-alan

New classroom, new school year

This is my new classroom at Ogden.  I've had 7 official work days thus far (plus I went in for one extra day to get things done).  The school year starts officially tomorrow - though my high schoolers will really have an orientation day.  No classes until Wednesday.

This weekend I have been balancing many things - seeing friends (people from NU on Saturday, from church on Sunday, and later today, old colleagues from CDIS), watching football (NU is 1-0 as they beat Vandy), and doing some prep work for the upcoming school year.  There are an endless list of little things I could be doing, but only some will certainly be finished by tomorrow.  Speaking of, I probably need to iron some shirts today.

I vacillate back and forth between nervousness and confidence regarding the school year.  I want to do a good job, but I do not want to work 80 hours a week.  I am nervous about teaching a new subject (chemistry) but then I remember that I handled teaching 5 different classes last year...so having 1 does not sound too bad.  I wonder if I will be tough enough to handle discipline, but then I remember that a lot of my students came to this school to escape the craziness of their own neighborhood schools.  So really, I should be feeling good about the year. 

Maybe after week 1 is done, I will actually FEEL good about it.

-alan

It's fall!

Thursday afternoon, I was at work, sweating despite the AC in my room.  Today, I am wearing a sweatshirt.  It was an unexpected though not entirely surprising turn in the weather, that immediately brings to mind the pleasures of fall - long-sleeve T-shirts, leaves changing colors, a new school year, and football.  Fall is a wonderful season, undeniably my favorite.  Not too hot, not too cold, not too rainy.  The temperature fluctuates, but the sun tends to shine.  We somewhat missed fall in Chengdu - the leaves did not change, and the humidity meant we never got that crisp, clean fall air.  So for those reasons, I am excited.

Today is the beginning of the Northwestern football season, and as such will be the first time since 2007 that we will not have to watch the game via internet broadcast.  Can't wait!

-alan