The Scrooge of Halloween?

Those who know me well know that I do not like dressing up, and so Halloween is not a holiday that I get particularly excited for.

As a result, this Halloween afternoon I am in the back room, with the door closed and blinds drawn.  I was thrust back here by 2pm, at which point the doorbell started ringing.  Wondering what was going on, I snuck out through the alley and walked around the block.

A lot of kids are out and about, getting in their trick-or-treating while the sun is shining.  Makes sense -  it is nice weather out and there is no element of danger being out on the streets at night with the kids.  There may not be the same "spooky" element, but most that I saw were young kids.

So no, I do not have candy.  I am not dressed up.  I am a prisoner in my own house.  But the landlord is not giving out candy either, so if the house gets egged it is his fault, heehee.

In my defense, I baked cookies for the party at church, so I did do something for the kids in the neighborhood. 

-alan

Diverging paths

This weekend, Rachel and I will be on different paths.

The sad news is that Rachel's maternal grandfather passed this past week.  She will be traveling to Odessa, TX to visit with family.  Her parents are flying in from Taiwan as well, so the upside is that she will be able to see a lot of family from out of town.

I will be left here in Chicago to fend for myself.  There is no home NU game, no major social obligations....so I get to catch up on whatever school/house work that has been ignored of late.

Today is a half day at school, our first of the year.  We have only 20+ minutes per class, so the day is flying by.  The benefit is that students do not have time to get bored.  The downside is that I am like a boulder when it comes to doing work - unstoppable once I get going, but it takes awhile to get momentum.  But once 11:30 rolls around, I will be on the train home and can worry about all that over the weekend.

-alan

The gas is on

Today in school, I used flame tests to teach about electrons and modern atomic theory.  A flame test is a tool used by chemists, in which they burn the salts of various metals and use the color of the flame produced to help identify the type of metal involved.  This was cool because it was the first time I hooked up the new bunsen burners to the recently repaired natural gas line in my classroom.  Also, playing with fire is fun...for a man of any age.

It worked great, but the reaction of my different chemistry classes was very symbolic of their general attitudes towards learning.  They ranged from pushing each other out of the way to get in a good position to video tape it with their camera phone while "ooooooing" and "ahhhhhhhing"......to using my distracted attention as an opportunity to send some texts to friends in other classes......to expressing passive disinterest at the colorful glowing flames and remarking when I was finished, "Can I spray some Axe [Body Spray] on that now?"

Oh, for all children to show a thirst for knowledge....

-alan

Baseball fades to purple dreams

The TV in front of me has the Giants-Phillies game on.  I have a passable interest in baseball in general, but I am struggling to care much about this particular series...other than the fact that my friend Evan is a lifelong Giants fan.  I guess I will root for them, for his sake.  (Full disclosure, the game is close and so it is actually fairly interesting.  But really, I am just pooped from cleaning the kitchen and bathroom, and need a rest.  When I went in the shower, I felt like an animal.  But now it is all white and shiny and bleach-y.)

Today was supposed to be purple day - there were announcements at both of our schools (and nationwide??) to wear purple as a sign of support for the LGBT community, in response to the recent streak of suicides.  Given how much purple Rachel and I own, it should have been a no-brainer.  Yet both of us managed to forget.  Well, I forgot.  Rachel did not seem to know about it.  If she had, I am sure she would have gone head-to-toe in purple. 

Speaking of purple, this weekend is homecoming at NU.  As any reader of this blog knows, we are somewhat obsessed with our alma mater.  But can you blame us?  I got a great degree and a wife there.  Anyway, I was on the NU Alumni website looking at the homecoming schedule, and I found a book called NU Rock Art.  It is a coffee table book filled with pictures of rocks from the lakefront along the NU campus.  I clicked on "gallery", and there I saw the rock that Rachel and I painted together while still students (was that in 2002?)  We will have to check that out in the bookstore when after the game on Saturday. 

I also looked at the class rings.  It is ironic, because I talked my parents out of buying me one when I was a student.  "No.....I do not need one.  There is no reason to buy it.  Really.  Don't."  But now as a teacher, it has a strange appeal to me to get one.  I had a literature teacher in high school, a Notre Dame grad, that wore a big class ring.  I did not particularly love his class - perhaps that is why I do not really read fiction today - and I really did not like having to stare at that big green ring everyday.  I am not sure why despising my teacher's class ring would make me want one...there is no reasonable explanation.  It is kind of old-fashioned to get a ring, buy hey....I'm the kind of nerd who would!

-alan

It's raining!

...Under our sink!

There's water under the sink.  A slow trickle has turned into a significant problem.  Anyone know a good plumber?  Oh wait, we rent.  That's the landlord's job, right?

-alan

Weekend away

That post about last weekend never quite got finished.  Perhaps I should take the high road and blame myself for farming off the responsibility to Rachel.  However, I am not that big of a person when it comes down to it.  She just never finished it.  Too bad - there were some funny stories :)


Rachel and I made a quick trip to Michigan this weekend - just to see family.  Apparently Northwestern football dominates our weekend social schedule to such a degree that we had to sneak this weekend getaway in during their bye week.  I think we have a sickness.

Being there reminded me yet again of how much I miss the season of fall - I have written about it before, but the trees were approaching their height of color (as opposed to Chicago, where the lake effect keeps us still relatively green for the time being).  The sunshine was warm, while the air was cool and clear.  The farmer's market in Farmington was still in surprisingly good swing - still lots of produce and tons of people.  Rachel bought a big squash and a pumpkin, which reminds me of China - she would buy some pumpkin almost every week, and make pumpkin puree for herself (I stay away from anything that looks like baby food, whenever possible).  It was fun, because our local farmer's market has winded down, and we have never traveled up to the North side to visit the big one there.

At church this morning there was mention of the upcoming elections and all the political ads.  I have kept myself immune from the ads thanks to the fact that I almost never watch TV live - but on the flip side, I feel that I have been avoiding making decisions about who to vote for.  I find myself underwhelmed with most of the statewide and federal candidates from the major parties.  Illinois is in serious financial trouble, and no one seems to know what to do.  I should do some homework on this.

The chill is in the air - I programmed our new thermostat today.  I am still questioning whether the thermometer on it is reliable - it seems to be over-reporting temperatures...I should bring a thermometer home from school to verify, because my mom questioned my use of a meat thermometer in earlier attempts to gauge if it is correct.

Rachel is in bed, so I should end my Sunday procrastination, finish up my work, and join her.

-alan

Highs and lows

It is Monday (really?  already?) and the 3-day weekend has come to an end.  Rachel and I lived the good life from Friday-Sunday, with lots of activities and times with friends.  There are pictures and funny stories to share....perhaps I can coax Rachel to do so in this forum?  Then today I spent the day inside catching up on work, and did not actually finish all I wanted.

Ah well.

Tuesday approaches, and a new week.  I am starting my second unit, on atoms. 

-alan

Some first's at work

Today marks a variety of milestones.

1) The first major chemistry test of the year.  Reactions ranged from, "Eh, that was it?" to "Oh my gosh I totally failed."  We'll see when the grading is all done.

2) My sinks work in the classroom for the first time.  No more going down the hall to do dishes after lab!  The students can do it themselves!

3) I forgot my lunch, so I had to walk to Jimmy John's for the first time.  Really, every other day I packed in my lunch!  Oh, and alfalfa sprouts are yummy on sandwiches.  (sorry Rachel, I couldn't resist)

Tomorrow we will definitely be going up to Evanston early to tailgate.  It is absolutely perfect weather outside in my opinion, and I am not going to miss out on the chance to chill by the lake.  (which brings up another point - for living less than 2 miles from the lake, we sure do not take advantage of it...)

-alan

We have a winner!

Thanks to Phil for correctly identifying the wax as the fuel of the candle.  However, he is disqualified from the grand prize because he is the brother of 2 chemistry teachers.  Next time read the fine print.

-alan

Beautiful fall

Perhaps the best thing about being back in Chicago is the weather.  Now, it might sound strange to claim Chicago weather as a perk (have you ever lived here in January?  Bleak, windy, and cold??)  But the truth of the matter is that I love fall.  Crisp air in the morning - cool, but nothing that a light jacket cannot take care of - sunny, bright, and warm in the afternoon.  You can take a walk and not sweat from the humidity.  You can still feel the warmth of the sun on your skin, but feel comfortable in a sweatshirt.  The past week has been gorgeous, and I do not even mind that I had to run the windshield wipers when I got in my car after work to clear away the leaves that had accumulated.  It is way better than snow.

Rachel is feeling better, but her sickness got her in the habit of going to sleep before 9.  I am reminded of life in 2005, when we first got married.  My memory is fairly hazy, but I do remember being on different schedules as a result of our jobs starting at different times.  (I needed to be at work by 8:30, but my first class was not until 9:15.  Sweet!)  Now we get up at roughly the same time, but it seems that she is sleeping an hour or so sooner.  Hmmmm.  How did we resolve the situation back then?  I could sleep earlier, but then how will those I-am-not-quite-ready-to-go-to-bed-yet blog posts get written? 

Friday is test day - the first big one of the year.  Then a long weekend (thank you, Mr. Columbus!).  I would be lying if I said I was not looking forward to having Monday off.  But grades and other things are due by Tuesday, so I actually have a mountain of work to get caught up on.  A day off is just what I need.

Rachel has her seminar day tomorrow - she is assisting in a cooking class.  I wonder if she is the sous chef?  A couple weeks ago they made biscuits...but she has not put that recipe to practice at home yet.  C'mon, practice makes perfect!

-alan