Halloweens Past

2009

2006

Back to blogging

O.K.  Grading papers has definitely kept me away from the blog over the last week.  Did anyone notice?  So I feel some sympathy now for my students who I require to do this every week.  Some weeks, life makes it difficult to get to the keyboard.  (That doesn't mean I'm changing the requirement!)

But now I'm all caught up. Grading is up to date. Soccer season ends this week.  I have my costume picked out for Saturday.  And I have some ideas of things I want to write about. (Stay tuned for my pics of costumes from Halloweens past.) 

Coaching soccer

So I coached my first soccer practices this week.  I volunteered to be the assistant coach for my 9-year-old's soccer team, meaning I would run practice one day a week.  It ended up being two days this week, because the coach was sick today.  I've managed to avoid coaching for about eight years, but finally decided to help out.

Keep in mind that I know nothing about soccer.  I played little league when I was a kid, but I have two soccer-playing girls and no baseball players.  It's at times like these when I am glad to be living in the age of the internet, where I was able to google some ideas to keep a group of 4th and 5th graders busy for an hour and a half.  I kept them busy; they were active; no one got hurt.  If they learned anything, I'll consider it a bonus.

How to fight procrastination

A recent article in the New Yorker about procrastination mentions the following strategies:

1) Write naked! Victor Hugo, the French novelist who wrote Les Miserables, used to have his valet hide his clothes while he wrote. That way, he figured, he would be far less likely to go outside when he should be inside writing.

2) Turn off the internet. Freedom software allows you to turn off and lock your computer's access to the internet for a period of time that you set. The idea is that you'll get a lot more work done if you aren't chatting on Facebook or downloading Katy Perry songs. If you change your mind, you can turn the internet back on, but you have to reboot.

Portrait of me as a college student

The best advice I wish I had received about college

Op-Ed Contributors - Ditch Your Laptop, Dump Your Boyfriend - NYTimes.com

Take classes in many different subjects before picking your major. Try lots of different clubs and activities. Make friends with people who grew up much poorer than you, and others much richer. Date someone of a different race or religion. (And no, hooking up at a party doesn’t count.) Spend a semester abroad or save up and go backpacking in Europe or Asia.

I came across this article in the New York Times. I definitely didn't follow the advice of the title.  I married my high school sweetheart, so I can't personally say that dumping your significant other will necessarily lead to personal growth.  It is probably true though that having a serious girlfriend in college kept me from seeking an active social life.  It turned out to be worth it in the end.  For us.

I did explore a lot of the happenings on campus, but I stayed away from parties.  I was pretty studious.  I had this image of college of spending a lot of time sitting around in coffee houses talking about philosophy.  Wearing a black turtleneck, of course.  I never did any of that, but I always aspired to it.  I did sit in a bar once talking about religion. 

If I had been given the above advice, would I have followed it?  Maybe.  But I doubt it.  I might have wanted to follow it, but I probably wouldn't have followed through on my good intentions. 

What was the best advice I ever got?  "Learn to type."  My dad told me that when I was in high school.  And it came in pretty handy.

What was the best advice anyone gave you about college?  What advice do you wish you had gotten?