Asymmetrical

I

f I was a song, I'd be "Free Form Guitar" by Terry Kath. If I was a genre of music, I'd be experimental jazz--with violin. If I was a painting, I'd be a Picasso--albeit a very minor one. If I was a garden, I would be someone's wind-swept, unkempt backyard. If I were clothes, I'd be a pair of unmatched socks with holes. If I was a ( Read more... )

Mothers Know...

L

ast October, I went to school to administer an exemption exam for a student who studied abroad in Japan last year. The exam, which he passed, will give him credit for one year of advanced Japanese. I've had students who have actually had very good Japanese after coming back and still took the class, saying that there is still ( Read more... )

Settling Into the Semester

T

he third week of the semester has just finished and I think that I'm finally settling in. As earlier reported--and all rumors to the contrary--I love to teach. But I am only human. After grading finals, I did nothing but relax and spend time with M during winter break.

Usually I get ready for the semester before the ( Read more... )

These Boots Were Made for Walking

A

s I should have known, spring semester is the busiest semester for me. So many classes, so much work, so little time. I'm already tired and the semester is only a week old. There are seven more weeks until spring break (yeah!), and 14 more weeks before the end of the semester. I'm already counting the days...
( Read more... )

Spring Semester

A

ck! Spring Semester starts today. I was so adamant about making sure that I would not do any work over the break after I finished grading. I wanted a real break. I didn't want to do anything work related. I had to go into the office on Monday and Friday last week; for whatever reason, some people think teachers don't deserve a ( Read more... )

Embellishing the Past

Y

esterday, I wrote about my first dance. Of course, this is all based on memory and everything I remember about the dance is based on my subjetive view of the past. At this stage of my life (half a century), there are surely errors in my memory and I am prone to distortions. ellen234 made an interesting observation.
what ( Read more... )

BK 
Jogging Memories of my First Dance

N

o, the title does not reflect my lunch--Burger King. It is the initials of a person from whom I recently received an email, an acquaintance from the past. It is somewhat fascinating and to a degree weird when someone you barely knew and had virtually forgotten about randomly contacts you. I guess the ( Read more... )

E

very year, I resolve to accomplish something that ultimately I cannot fulfill to my own satisfaction, such as: lose weight, exercise more, save money, et cetera, et cetera. Maybe I have too maybe I have to many resolutions. Take last year for example. I had four resolutions--exercise more, make M happy, publish, make an honest effort to write my ( Read more... )

Resolution Score Card

L

ast year, I made some resolutions and thought that it might be good to grade myself, as this does happen to be my field of expertise (grading, not psycho-analyzing). By evaluating myself, I run the risk of self-flagellation, but it may also compel me to work harder to realize these resolutions--all made with the best of ( Read more... )

Starting 2006

I

t's already the 3rd and I haven't blogged once yet. So I guess this is my first official entry for the new year. I hope everyone started the new year on the right foot. Mine has been rather subdued, after a rather tipsy New Year's Eve. Oh yeah, before I forget, I FINISHED GRADING. Thanks to those of you who asked. It's nice to ( Read more... )