A short little update for those who enjoy reading this silly thing.
Today was a fantastic no-class day. These are seriously the best. I got up, talked with Kimmy briefly before she went to work, then did some of my own work. I spent the morning doing teaching-related things, like responding to emails and setting of my statistics page for this class. I like to keep a decent number of statistics to help me figure out how things are going. For instance, I compare average scores with averages that don't include 0 scores (meaning the assignment did not get turned in). I also compare exam scores with the number of points earned from the entire chapter (70 possible points on a test, 150 for the entire chapter between other assignments and homework) and set up an easy way to see which (if any) assessments have an average score below 70%. I also set up a sheet that lets me examine individual student progress, along with their major, year in school, highest math class, and a graph that shows how well they do in each chapter. I used it last semester and had a lot of fun putting it together.
Kimmy came home for lunch. She was pretty tired, but had to go back to work after lunch. Boo. After she left, I got started on studying. I did my first practice exam today, but didn't time myself. I wanted to see how well I would do without looking at notes, solutions, or time constraints. I was pleased for a first attempt. My big problems came back to bite me (as always): over thinking problems, misreading the questions, making silly errors. And two of the questions were simply poorly worded... but that's about normal on an actuarial exam. Usually two questions just are not worded well... so good luck. I also drank a lot of hot chocolate, so that helped.
After dinner, Kimmy celebrated being home by not standing on her feet. I celebrated by... studying. I'm pretty excited for this whole studying thing to be over. Or at least to be around people who are studying the same things.
When I was done studying, Kimmy and I ate cookies! Kimmy made shortbread cookies last night and they were really good. We've eaten most of them... but they are so tasty!
Ok. I think that's about everything. Have a lovely night/morning/day, everyone.
1.30.2013
1.29.2013
Day 617
Wow, what a day.
This morning was hard... I had a really difficult time getting out of bed. But I had a lot to do, so eventually I was able to make it to the dining room. Kimmy had to go to work early, so after she left I started planning my lesson for the day.
Let's see.... after my shower I made some lunch then went up to campus. My goal was to finish all of my grading so that I could hand it back in class. And I succeeded! I was pretty happy. Well, no... I wouldn't necessarily say "happy," but I would have been a little disappointed if I'd had to take my grading home with me.
Teaching went really well today. I was able to keep things moving pretty quickly and cover all of the material I'd planned for the day. I even kept them interested for a while by discussing how to make soup. The chapter I'm teaching is on scheduling, so I broke down making soup into different parts and used it as an example for explaining some of the scheduling procedures from the book. I think that the majority of the students don't mind being in class. Some students (I think) actually enjoy being in class. I remember in one of my math education classes, we did a fantastic exercise. It was very short and simple (there were four of us in the class). Dr. Whitaker asked us what our favorite math class was during high school or college and then explain why. Each of us explained that the specific classes were our favorites because our professor did something special that we liked... maybe it was exceptionally good explanations or drawing pictures or giving us stickers or starting class with cool facts. So I developed this theory for teaching that revolves around a very key factor near the beginning of the semester: I aim to make my students want to be there, or at least be accepting of the fact that they're in class. I'll pick an easy chapter, use tangible examples, make jokes or funny faces, call on people to participate... whatever I must to make the first few weeks count. After the first weeks, it becomes so much easier to teach because the people generally don't mind being there. In fact (as I mentioned earlier), some of them actually enjoy being there. One of my students actually informed me that she appreciated my ability to get the material across and try to make class fun. I felt special.
So after class I came home and made some stir-fry for dinner. We got some sweet and sour sauce at the store, so I used that to cook everything. It was pretty tasty. After dinner we went to the GAP outlet at the mall. Apparently they're closing at the end of February and everything is 50% off. Kimmy needed some new jeans, so we went. It turns out that they didn't have any jeans that fit and liked... but I got two new button down shirts for $10! And I ran into (figuratively) one of my students from the fall. We tried to avoid eye contact at first, but when there are only 6 people in the store that gets awkward fast.
After we got home I started studying... and Kimmy made cookies! They were really really tasty. And then we proceeded to eat many of them. I have no regrets. In other news, I officially being my 5.5 weeks of review tomorrow. Woo hoo. Even though it's over a month away, I feel like this exam is just around the corner. AHHHH!
Ok, that's it for me. Good night!
This morning was hard... I had a really difficult time getting out of bed. But I had a lot to do, so eventually I was able to make it to the dining room. Kimmy had to go to work early, so after she left I started planning my lesson for the day.
Let's see.... after my shower I made some lunch then went up to campus. My goal was to finish all of my grading so that I could hand it back in class. And I succeeded! I was pretty happy. Well, no... I wouldn't necessarily say "happy," but I would have been a little disappointed if I'd had to take my grading home with me.
Teaching went really well today. I was able to keep things moving pretty quickly and cover all of the material I'd planned for the day. I even kept them interested for a while by discussing how to make soup. The chapter I'm teaching is on scheduling, so I broke down making soup into different parts and used it as an example for explaining some of the scheduling procedures from the book. I think that the majority of the students don't mind being in class. Some students (I think) actually enjoy being in class. I remember in one of my math education classes, we did a fantastic exercise. It was very short and simple (there were four of us in the class). Dr. Whitaker asked us what our favorite math class was during high school or college and then explain why. Each of us explained that the specific classes were our favorites because our professor did something special that we liked... maybe it was exceptionally good explanations or drawing pictures or giving us stickers or starting class with cool facts. So I developed this theory for teaching that revolves around a very key factor near the beginning of the semester: I aim to make my students want to be there, or at least be accepting of the fact that they're in class. I'll pick an easy chapter, use tangible examples, make jokes or funny faces, call on people to participate... whatever I must to make the first few weeks count. After the first weeks, it becomes so much easier to teach because the people generally don't mind being there. In fact (as I mentioned earlier), some of them actually enjoy being there. One of my students actually informed me that she appreciated my ability to get the material across and try to make class fun. I felt special.
So after class I came home and made some stir-fry for dinner. We got some sweet and sour sauce at the store, so I used that to cook everything. It was pretty tasty. After dinner we went to the GAP outlet at the mall. Apparently they're closing at the end of February and everything is 50% off. Kimmy needed some new jeans, so we went. It turns out that they didn't have any jeans that fit and liked... but I got two new button down shirts for $10! And I ran into (figuratively) one of my students from the fall. We tried to avoid eye contact at first, but when there are only 6 people in the store that gets awkward fast.
After we got home I started studying... and Kimmy made cookies! They were really really tasty. And then we proceeded to eat many of them. I have no regrets. In other news, I officially being my 5.5 weeks of review tomorrow. Woo hoo. Even though it's over a month away, I feel like this exam is just around the corner. AHHHH!
Ok, that's it for me. Good night!
1.28.2013
Day 616
Today was a pretty full day. We got a lot of things done.
It was a normal beginning to a Sunday... we woke up and went to church. Pastor Marked talked about the sort of things that retain most of our time and attention, whether it's money, luxuries, friends and family, or God... specifically regarding the things that make you happy. It was good and insightful.
When we got home I got some lunch and then did homework for my finance class. Meh. Then I finished up grading the tests that my students took last week. I'm hoping to get their additional assignment graded by tomorrow afternoon, but we'll see.
After grading and such, I got to studying. This section is pretty frustrating because there was a lot of material, but I don't really understand how much of it is important. The questions don't seem super difficult, but the chapter had about twice the reading of most sections and... I have no idea what it was talking about. So hopefully any questions from this chapter are just computational and nothing too conceptual.
We had leftovers for dinner (because we have lots of leftovers), then I studied some more. After my brain was done for the night I went upstairs for some reading/gaming. I was reading something interesting about happiness and the author made an excellent point that I've known for a while, but has never really sunk in until recent years: the pursuit of happiness is often what makes us happy. Getting a new sports car as a gift would be pretty awesome... but how much more rewarding would it be to work hard for years, saving every paycheck your dream car? And the pursuit, though hard, would instill a dream in you that creates happiness in and of itself. I think that often, the pursuit of something is what keeps us going. For the next 4ish years, I'll be studying for exams and other criterion for my line of work. And as much as I wish I didn't have to, it gives a very straight forward goal and tangible payoff. I don't have to create any goals for myself... I have a big one given to me. That hard work and pursuit is what gives people (or maybe it's just me) purpose. One of my big pursuits is to become an influential member of my community wherever I go. Specifically, I've always felt passionately about helping homeless people. I think that's mostly because it's an issue that I see often enough for it to be very real to me, and I can imagine not having a home or job and how awful it would be. Some of the terrible things going on in the world are too awful for me to fully comprehend... but I can comprehend (mostly) being homeless. So one of my goals in life is to actively do something about it. In my perfect world, I'd love to pretty much take a huge warehouse and turn it into a safe place for homeless people to live. Additionally, people can have a place to store their belongings, have a mailbox, have access to career services, and other types of things to get people back on their feet (provided they don't want to remain homeless for their entire life). That would be neat. We'll see if it actually happens.
Well, that was a bit of a tangent.
Ok. It's late and I'm tired. Good night.
It was a normal beginning to a Sunday... we woke up and went to church. Pastor Marked talked about the sort of things that retain most of our time and attention, whether it's money, luxuries, friends and family, or God... specifically regarding the things that make you happy. It was good and insightful.
When we got home I got some lunch and then did homework for my finance class. Meh. Then I finished up grading the tests that my students took last week. I'm hoping to get their additional assignment graded by tomorrow afternoon, but we'll see.
After grading and such, I got to studying. This section is pretty frustrating because there was a lot of material, but I don't really understand how much of it is important. The questions don't seem super difficult, but the chapter had about twice the reading of most sections and... I have no idea what it was talking about. So hopefully any questions from this chapter are just computational and nothing too conceptual.
We had leftovers for dinner (because we have lots of leftovers), then I studied some more. After my brain was done for the night I went upstairs for some reading/gaming. I was reading something interesting about happiness and the author made an excellent point that I've known for a while, but has never really sunk in until recent years: the pursuit of happiness is often what makes us happy. Getting a new sports car as a gift would be pretty awesome... but how much more rewarding would it be to work hard for years, saving every paycheck your dream car? And the pursuit, though hard, would instill a dream in you that creates happiness in and of itself. I think that often, the pursuit of something is what keeps us going. For the next 4ish years, I'll be studying for exams and other criterion for my line of work. And as much as I wish I didn't have to, it gives a very straight forward goal and tangible payoff. I don't have to create any goals for myself... I have a big one given to me. That hard work and pursuit is what gives people (or maybe it's just me) purpose. One of my big pursuits is to become an influential member of my community wherever I go. Specifically, I've always felt passionately about helping homeless people. I think that's mostly because it's an issue that I see often enough for it to be very real to me, and I can imagine not having a home or job and how awful it would be. Some of the terrible things going on in the world are too awful for me to fully comprehend... but I can comprehend (mostly) being homeless. So one of my goals in life is to actively do something about it. In my perfect world, I'd love to pretty much take a huge warehouse and turn it into a safe place for homeless people to live. Additionally, people can have a place to store their belongings, have a mailbox, have access to career services, and other types of things to get people back on their feet (provided they don't want to remain homeless for their entire life). That would be neat. We'll see if it actually happens.
Well, that was a bit of a tangent.
Ok. It's late and I'm tired. Good night.
1.25.2013
Day 614
Today was mostly a recovery day. Kimmy and I are both getting over colds, so we just tried to get plenty of sleep and feel better.
I spent the morning trying to be productive. I sent some emails, looked at apartment things... but it just wasn't happening today. My brain just wasn't in it. Hopefully tomorrow will be better.
As Kimmy and I look for housing next year, it's becoming more and more apparent that things are just too expensive. Mostly just housing in Louisville. We've finally come to the point that if an apartment complex has a nice website with really artsy pictures and big windows that it's almost certainly out of our price range. I've also come to the conclusion that the people who live in some of those apartments are either a) living with 4 other room mates, b) making a ton of money, or c) not concerned with saving, retirement, or staying out of debt. It's a challenge to find nice apartments that are reasonably priced. But we'll find something. It's also strange that we won't have quite the same issues finding a place to live that we did moving to Muncie last August. We won't have to worry about fighting for housing with college students. So hopefully there will be time to examine our options and make a trip down there after I take my exam.
Speaking of exams, I officially signed up to take my next exam on March 7th. So I today was the 6 week mark. I'm about done with the material (I should be finishing up over the weekend), so now I'll just spend the next 6 weeks doing review! Oh goodness.... there's so much to do.
I had my class this evening, but I just wasn't feeling it. My brain was just dragging from having a cold. But somehow I made it through. When I got back we examined some more apartment options, trying to find a place that is affordable, nice, and close to where I'll be working. It's just hard to do all of this without getting to really spend much time down there.
Ok. That's it from us in Muncie. Good night!
I spent the morning trying to be productive. I sent some emails, looked at apartment things... but it just wasn't happening today. My brain just wasn't in it. Hopefully tomorrow will be better.
As Kimmy and I look for housing next year, it's becoming more and more apparent that things are just too expensive. Mostly just housing in Louisville. We've finally come to the point that if an apartment complex has a nice website with really artsy pictures and big windows that it's almost certainly out of our price range. I've also come to the conclusion that the people who live in some of those apartments are either a) living with 4 other room mates, b) making a ton of money, or c) not concerned with saving, retirement, or staying out of debt. It's a challenge to find nice apartments that are reasonably priced. But we'll find something. It's also strange that we won't have quite the same issues finding a place to live that we did moving to Muncie last August. We won't have to worry about fighting for housing with college students. So hopefully there will be time to examine our options and make a trip down there after I take my exam.
Speaking of exams, I officially signed up to take my next exam on March 7th. So I today was the 6 week mark. I'm about done with the material (I should be finishing up over the weekend), so now I'll just spend the next 6 weeks doing review! Oh goodness.... there's so much to do.
I had my class this evening, but I just wasn't feeling it. My brain was just dragging from having a cold. But somehow I made it through. When I got back we examined some more apartment options, trying to find a place that is affordable, nice, and close to where I'll be working. It's just hard to do all of this without getting to really spend much time down there.
Ok. That's it from us in Muncie. Good night!
1.24.2013
Day 613
I had a pretty full day yesterday... that's for certain.
It started off early-ish. I had a meeting at 9, so I got up around 7:30 to get ready, make a lunch, and pack my schoolwork. Kimmy gave me a ride to school because it was really cold outside.
My meeting was fine. Every other week all of the teaching Graduate Assistants and discuss how things are going, bring up any urgent issues, and then one of the GAs will bring discussion points.
After the meeting I printed off the test for my students and studied in my office. I wouldn't necessarily describe it as "fun," but it was good. My biggest issue with some of this material is that (because I have no experience in the investment industry or stock market) it seems highly impractical. Basically my exam is about the types of models used for the stock market and how people protect themselves against fluctuations in stock prices. But since I only have a fundamental understanding of the stock market, it's difficult for me why everything is necessary. Or, more likely, I haven't quite gotten to the point where I understand why we're allowed to make some of the assumptions that are made and therefore bring in these elements of math that seem to be overkill for the questions being asked.
When my office hours were done I went to my classes, then gave my exam. Only one student forgot that we had an exam, so that's good. I told them that I would definitely not have the tests graded by Friday, but hopefully I'd have them graded by Monday. I don't have a lot of work to do this weekend, so it should be doable.
Upon returning home I got back to studying. I'd finished reading the chapter and so I just worked for the next... forever. That's pretty much how it goes. Read a chapter, work a million problems. There are either too many problems or too few.
We made barbecue pulled chicken for dinner. It went better than the last time I tried to do this, but I still don't really feel like I knew what I was doing. I cooked the chicken first though! It was good.
After dinner we began our new evening ritual: I study while Kimmy plays Skyrim. That was most of the evening... until my brain was done studying.
That's about all for now!
It started off early-ish. I had a meeting at 9, so I got up around 7:30 to get ready, make a lunch, and pack my schoolwork. Kimmy gave me a ride to school because it was really cold outside.
My meeting was fine. Every other week all of the teaching Graduate Assistants and discuss how things are going, bring up any urgent issues, and then one of the GAs will bring discussion points.
After the meeting I printed off the test for my students and studied in my office. I wouldn't necessarily describe it as "fun," but it was good. My biggest issue with some of this material is that (because I have no experience in the investment industry or stock market) it seems highly impractical. Basically my exam is about the types of models used for the stock market and how people protect themselves against fluctuations in stock prices. But since I only have a fundamental understanding of the stock market, it's difficult for me why everything is necessary. Or, more likely, I haven't quite gotten to the point where I understand why we're allowed to make some of the assumptions that are made and therefore bring in these elements of math that seem to be overkill for the questions being asked.
When my office hours were done I went to my classes, then gave my exam. Only one student forgot that we had an exam, so that's good. I told them that I would definitely not have the tests graded by Friday, but hopefully I'd have them graded by Monday. I don't have a lot of work to do this weekend, so it should be doable.
Upon returning home I got back to studying. I'd finished reading the chapter and so I just worked for the next... forever. That's pretty much how it goes. Read a chapter, work a million problems. There are either too many problems or too few.
We made barbecue pulled chicken for dinner. It went better than the last time I tried to do this, but I still don't really feel like I knew what I was doing. I cooked the chicken first though! It was good.
After dinner we began our new evening ritual: I study while Kimmy plays Skyrim. That was most of the evening... until my brain was done studying.
That's about all for now!
1.22.2013
Day 612
Hopefully I'll start getting better at writing this every night. We'll see.
So today. I think I'm coming down with a cold or something, because I woke up with a sore throat and just feeling kind of gross. But I still had stuff to get done today, so I got up and went to it.
This morning consisted of officially signing up for my exam in March, then writing a test for my students tomorrow. Hopefully that goes well for them. I'll probably grade that over the weekend.
After lunch it was study time! Oh boy! I studied for a while this afternoon, but didn't get quite as much done as I'd planned. I'm still on track, though, so I'm not worried. I should be through the last chapter by the end of the week, so from there it's just 6 weeks of review! Yay! The gravity of the exam hasn't quite hit yet... usually once I start doing review it all just comes crashing down and I realize that life's about to get super fun.
Kimmy and I had leftovers for dinner and finished watching a movie. After dinner we looked at some apartments for next year. We have three different apartments we're considering at the moment. It's pretty annoying when apartment complexes don't have a dedicated website and rely on places like aggregate sites like rentals.com because the information frequently doesn't match between sites. One site will say a complex has three different sizes at prices A, B, and C, but the other site will say the same complex has four sizes at prices W, X, Y, and Z. So I'm going to send them all emails and try to make sure that I have all of the correct information.
Well, I think that's about it for me. Good night!
So today. I think I'm coming down with a cold or something, because I woke up with a sore throat and just feeling kind of gross. But I still had stuff to get done today, so I got up and went to it.
This morning consisted of officially signing up for my exam in March, then writing a test for my students tomorrow. Hopefully that goes well for them. I'll probably grade that over the weekend.
After lunch it was study time! Oh boy! I studied for a while this afternoon, but didn't get quite as much done as I'd planned. I'm still on track, though, so I'm not worried. I should be through the last chapter by the end of the week, so from there it's just 6 weeks of review! Yay! The gravity of the exam hasn't quite hit yet... usually once I start doing review it all just comes crashing down and I realize that life's about to get super fun.
Kimmy and I had leftovers for dinner and finished watching a movie. After dinner we looked at some apartments for next year. We have three different apartments we're considering at the moment. It's pretty annoying when apartment complexes don't have a dedicated website and rely on places like aggregate sites like rentals.com because the information frequently doesn't match between sites. One site will say a complex has three different sizes at prices A, B, and C, but the other site will say the same complex has four sizes at prices W, X, Y, and Z. So I'm going to send them all emails and try to make sure that I have all of the correct information.
Well, I think that's about it for me. Good night!
1.21.2013
Day 610
Well, it's been a while since I wrote in this. I suppose I've just been going to bed later and haven't really felt like writing after getting up. Anyhow, here's some stuff!
Today was Sunday, so that means church! Church was good. All of the regular staff were gone except for the youth pastor, so he taught today. He talked about why so many youth stop going to church after leaving high school. And he had a lot of excellent points, like how so many parents have given the jobs of role model and parent off to so many other entities (schools, church, daycare, sports teams), or how so many people fail to make church-going a multi-generational activity where everyone can share their thoughts and wisdom with each other. I thought he did a great job, but the huge thing that think got missed (and seems to get missed a lot) is that not every lesson is taught before a student goes to college. Morality/church-going isn't like some savings account, where if fill someone up with enough good lessons they'll make it thought four years of college without mishap. That's not at all how it works. Continuous nurturing is required... just like at every age. Sunday school, small group, bible studies, they are all ways for continuous friendship and growth. The other issue I see (from my own perspective) is the difference between the type of lessons taught in church and in school. During the elementary school through high school years, most students are simply given facts to learn and made to accept those facts. But upon entering college, a more academic mindset that revolves around validating information, separating fact from fiction, and generally not taking whatever is taught without questioning it. But most churches do not get into the seminary-type academic discussions about theology and God. Generally it's more about what things we need to do or believe to remain aligned with God. This is good, but I really think that a more academic approach would be beneficial to some people. Anyhow, those are just my thoughts. I'm sure there are plenty of people who have thought of these before, but it was on my mind. So there you have it!
After church we came home, got some lunch, then I started studying. I really didn't want to, but it had to bed done. So I alternated between studying and playing video games to keep my mind from getting too worn out. I've noticed that if I study for too long in a row, my brain just gets too exhausted and I'm useless for the rest of the day. I'm trying to just doing things in 2 hour blocks, then taking a 30 to 60 minute break. It's been working well.
Kimmy and I made baked potatoes for dinner and they were so tasty. I always forget how long baked potatoes take to cook in the oven, so we ate later than normal... but we still survived. In case you weren't sure.
Well, I don't have school tomorrow in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. And I shall celebrate by sleeping in. Cheers!
Today was Sunday, so that means church! Church was good. All of the regular staff were gone except for the youth pastor, so he taught today. He talked about why so many youth stop going to church after leaving high school. And he had a lot of excellent points, like how so many parents have given the jobs of role model and parent off to so many other entities (schools, church, daycare, sports teams), or how so many people fail to make church-going a multi-generational activity where everyone can share their thoughts and wisdom with each other. I thought he did a great job, but the huge thing that think got missed (and seems to get missed a lot) is that not every lesson is taught before a student goes to college. Morality/church-going isn't like some savings account, where if fill someone up with enough good lessons they'll make it thought four years of college without mishap. That's not at all how it works. Continuous nurturing is required... just like at every age. Sunday school, small group, bible studies, they are all ways for continuous friendship and growth. The other issue I see (from my own perspective) is the difference between the type of lessons taught in church and in school. During the elementary school through high school years, most students are simply given facts to learn and made to accept those facts. But upon entering college, a more academic mindset that revolves around validating information, separating fact from fiction, and generally not taking whatever is taught without questioning it. But most churches do not get into the seminary-type academic discussions about theology and God. Generally it's more about what things we need to do or believe to remain aligned with God. This is good, but I really think that a more academic approach would be beneficial to some people. Anyhow, those are just my thoughts. I'm sure there are plenty of people who have thought of these before, but it was on my mind. So there you have it!
After church we came home, got some lunch, then I started studying. I really didn't want to, but it had to bed done. So I alternated between studying and playing video games to keep my mind from getting too worn out. I've noticed that if I study for too long in a row, my brain just gets too exhausted and I'm useless for the rest of the day. I'm trying to just doing things in 2 hour blocks, then taking a 30 to 60 minute break. It's been working well.
Kimmy and I made baked potatoes for dinner and they were so tasty. I always forget how long baked potatoes take to cook in the oven, so we ate later than normal... but we still survived. In case you weren't sure.
Well, I don't have school tomorrow in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. And I shall celebrate by sleeping in. Cheers!
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