After leaving only a tease last week, I took another hiatus from the blog as I juggled a busy week.
To wrap up those loose ends...
Why do I feel like a true Chicagoan? Well, last week I "earned" my first parking ticket. I am not allowed to park in my school's lot, because there are limited spaces and my name was not on the "list" at the beginning of the year. I have a nice usual spot, just outside the door on a stretch of Elizabeth St. that is mostly permit parking. It is legal, but I parked too close to the stop sign at the end of the block and received (deservedly) a $60 ticket. This makes me all the more nervous about parking around school - between the unplowed snow blocking the street, my car being broken into, and now the ticket, I routinely think twice as I approach the school in the morning. Once this week, I parked in the lot because I needed to duck out quickly after school. Rachel said I crossed the line into a slippery slope...
And why do I feel like a true chemistry teacher? Well, I wanted to show a demo of gas collection to my classes, which is usually done through a simple water displacement apparatus. Because I did not have any rubber tubing of the correct size, I decided to use the long glass tubes I had in my stockroom. So after consulting the internet, I fired up my bunsen burner and bent the glass like a pro. The class even clapped for me when I was done. Since then, it has been a mixed bag. I am trying out a new project, which is doing a good job of separating the students: those that are creatively solving the problem, and those that are giving up before they start. I also realized that my attempts to teach balancing equations have been largely futile. Humbled back to reality, right?
We had a fun weekend with Phil, Karen, and Bailey. We never actually confirmed with our landlord that it was ok to have the dog here, but she never made a sound and I swept up the hair before even Rachel had a chance to complain. We visited a local bar for the first time, and returned to the Garfield Park Conservatory for the first time in 3ish years. They left town with...."Next time we see you, your family will be bigger!"
While that is not necessarily true (we may be taking another visit to Michigan this month) it does bring up the baby issue. Rachel had her 32 week ultrasound this Tuesday, and there is thankfully little news to note. The baby is of average size, but Rachel's belly is undersized. (After all the people she stuck that belly out to in college, who would have thought?) The baby's name is still undecided, but we are inching closer. There are 2 names left under consideration, but there is no consensus favorite.
Finally, we are beginning our house search this coming Saturday. We had a constructive meeting with our realtor on Monday, and she is geared up to take us out and visit available properties. We have plenty of places we are interested in, but are unsure if "the one" is out there. Time will tell....
-alan
To wrap up those loose ends...
Why do I feel like a true Chicagoan? Well, last week I "earned" my first parking ticket. I am not allowed to park in my school's lot, because there are limited spaces and my name was not on the "list" at the beginning of the year. I have a nice usual spot, just outside the door on a stretch of Elizabeth St. that is mostly permit parking. It is legal, but I parked too close to the stop sign at the end of the block and received (deservedly) a $60 ticket. This makes me all the more nervous about parking around school - between the unplowed snow blocking the street, my car being broken into, and now the ticket, I routinely think twice as I approach the school in the morning. Once this week, I parked in the lot because I needed to duck out quickly after school. Rachel said I crossed the line into a slippery slope...
And why do I feel like a true chemistry teacher? Well, I wanted to show a demo of gas collection to my classes, which is usually done through a simple water displacement apparatus. Because I did not have any rubber tubing of the correct size, I decided to use the long glass tubes I had in my stockroom. So after consulting the internet, I fired up my bunsen burner and bent the glass like a pro. The class even clapped for me when I was done. Since then, it has been a mixed bag. I am trying out a new project, which is doing a good job of separating the students: those that are creatively solving the problem, and those that are giving up before they start. I also realized that my attempts to teach balancing equations have been largely futile. Humbled back to reality, right?
We had a fun weekend with Phil, Karen, and Bailey. We never actually confirmed with our landlord that it was ok to have the dog here, but she never made a sound and I swept up the hair before even Rachel had a chance to complain. We visited a local bar for the first time, and returned to the Garfield Park Conservatory for the first time in 3ish years. They left town with...."Next time we see you, your family will be bigger!"
While that is not necessarily true (we may be taking another visit to Michigan this month) it does bring up the baby issue. Rachel had her 32 week ultrasound this Tuesday, and there is thankfully little news to note. The baby is of average size, but Rachel's belly is undersized. (After all the people she stuck that belly out to in college, who would have thought?) The baby's name is still undecided, but we are inching closer. There are 2 names left under consideration, but there is no consensus favorite.
Finally, we are beginning our house search this coming Saturday. We had a constructive meeting with our realtor on Monday, and she is geared up to take us out and visit available properties. We have plenty of places we are interested in, but are unsure if "the one" is out there. Time will tell....
-alan
Posts
1 comment:
I thought the consensus favorite was Little Philip.
Good luck house hunting!
Post a Comment