sorry i fail at blogging

there just aren't enough hours in the day.

i think i've hit on a good halloween costume idea, but what do you think i should be this year?

hmm...what to do with such a lovely maine weekend...

well...it's not really my decision at all. i plan to spice it up with a quick trip to bangor at some point, but this weekend will be dominated by (drumroll...)

GRADING PAPERS!

wish me luck!

one week down, fourteen to go!

hello all,

the first week of classes went really well. i think i have a great group of students. so far they are still terrified of the college experience for the most part, so they are quiet in class and only one person in the class doesn't have perfect attendance. i have 23 students in all and yesterday i actually bought a gradebook. it's gorgeous. matt tried to convince us all to put our gradebooks in as excel spreadsheets and have the spreadsheet do the math for us as we put each grade in. that's all fine and everything, but...i want a gradebook! so. i bought one and it's blue and it has all of their names in it. (which i now know, by the way. i can identify each and every one of them. impressed?)

so - i don't have much time b/c i need to do my own readings and then some lesson planning, but i wanted to update you kids on the good times in sunny maine. by the way, it was nice and cool this week for the most part but then recently the heat wave is coming back. it's supposed to storm tonight; hopefully they will be the end of it.

alright, enjoy the pictures.

the shortcut from my apartment complex through to talmar wood (another living complex) which connects to the rangeley road which i then follow to the massive parking lot. crossing the parking lot and following another few sidewalks brings me to my neville hall. i have both my office and my class in neville. if you get an early morning call or text, i probably sent it at this point of the walk.


my desk from the center of our office.


the view from my desk. i bought this salad in the student union. you build it yourself and then pay by the weight. it's quite nice. also, the house dressing of umaine is a sort of creamy greek. who knew?


finally, the french toast i made myself today. i just thought it was a cute picture.


have a good weekend everybody! and don't forget to read for monday! :)

hello, september!

photopost!

today i was feeling outdoorsy, so i decided to walk to a local park and do some reading. it took me about twenty minutes to get there, i guess. lucky for you, it only took you a few clicks of the old keyboard!

welcome to webster park, orono, maine. the park is guarded by this awkward statue of a man with his head split open. odd. and, no, i have no idea what it means, but here he is. if you look really carefully, you can see the sun shining through his cranial divide.

after you pass the statue and the time capsule that is to be opened in 2076, you reach the real business of the park. i walked up to the river where i found this cute little bench.

sitting on the bench, i took this picture and then realized that there is a rock that is flattish and right down by the water. i think you can see it near the right of this picture. of course i had to go down there.

this is the view from down on the rock. just outside of the frame to the far left is the "portage" sign that mom liked so much.

since the rock was, indeed, flattish, i didn't have anywhere to set my bag where i wouldn't have to worry about it slowly sliding. so...i headed back up to my bench and read a bit.

is this bit of park getting popular with the critters? i could have sworn i just heard something scurrying...

at this point i moved to higher ground to a picnic table. less in the woods and less controlled by things that might scurry or make such noises.

i read at the picnic table for a while longer and then made the trek back home. it was a good few hours in the park, but my allergies are now all upset. ugh...i'm told that after the first frost i will have free reign to enjoy the outdoors without threat of allergic reactions. hmm...snowshoeing anyone?

what i've been doing lately

it's been a minute since my last update, but i've been too busy for blogtown of late. orientation stuffs kept me constantly running this week and between that and my new friends, i just don't know what to do with myself.

teacher prep went swimmingly and the instructor is really nice and very encouraging. she seems to think i will do well in the classroom and that i sound like a teacher. hopefully she is right and things will go well. i'm actually quite excited to get started.

i haven't had to buy my own food in a long time because it seems like we can go even one day without a function of some sort. TA meeting: finger foods. meet & greet for english grad students: pot luck. teacher prep class: muffins. orientation days: continental breakfast. department party: pot luck, round 2. apparently, we just like to eat together. we also like to drink together, and i hear the english department is well known for their expertise in this area. so far i am not terribly impressed, but the social lubricant aspect is much appreciated at the more awkward events.

final small note, yesterday something about my outfit was working for me and i was honked at twice. perhaps there is someone in orono that i resemble when i pull my hair back. if this is true, i would certainly like to meet this gorgeous young lady. the other option is that i really do just look that good. hmm...

NEWS!

new things in my life:

1. new adventures in the kitchen

this is a meal i made a few days ago. quite good, but as you can see below, one really is the loneliest number when you are cooking.


2. new weather

that's right, my room is hot. this will be quickly fixed when i start leaving it every day during the hottest bit. problem solved! onward and upward!

3. new tv antenna

you heard me, the antenna is here and it is finally hooked up. that means that i get this wonderful pbs in almost hd clarity! i can also now almost see nbc if i squint just the right way, and abc is the same as before. whatev, woman cannot live on television alone!

4. new hair

the change is dramatic, i know. i was actually hoping to get a gradation of red through the bangage, but i think it just turned out reddish on the blonde and brownish on the red? i have no idea, but it will work for now.

5. new experience with the soda machine
so, the other day i tried the wine we bought when i first moved in. we bought it for the label, "our daily red," and the label is undoubtedly the best part of the wine. blekh. when i passed the soda machine today, johanna sprung into my mind reminding me of the pleasures of wine and coke! dollars in hand, i eagerly approached the machine. one dollar in. nothing. i figured, bottles are usually more than a dollar. i shoved another dollar in. vending! success, i thought to myself! but no, down came a can. one can of soda. i pushed and pushed the coin return to no avail. so...later tonight i look forward to a lovely glass of wine and coke and i won't even feel bad this time b/c the coke costed almost as much as the wine! (sorry, there is no picture for this one b/c i refuse to even spend energy on that stupid can!)

out one day...

since i am making such headway on fast food nation, i decided to put the brakes on and allow myself some time out today. what does one do in orono on a day off? good question! the answer so far: you leave!

in all seriousness, there are quite a few things that i could have done today in orono, but i opted to drive a few miles to bangor to do some shopping. i was pleasantly surprised to find that though the garmin brought me safely to the mall, i knew exactly where i was and didn't need the garmin at all, really. so i packed that sucker up and continued my day free of david, or whatever the british guy's name is.

the mall is substantial but nowhere near overwhelming. i'd say about the size of patrick henry or a touch smaller. they have the basic mall fare, complete with a frighteningly dark abercrombie & fitch (what is it with all the dark wood and massive abs with the preps? clearly i don't know, i've yet to go in) and a sensory overload of a bath & body works. i did find a d. burton bookstore at which i can use my massive book award barnes & noble giftcard, (success! no shipping!) but i didn't buy anything today. i managed to limit my purchases to charlotte russe and victoria's secret and made my way to the exit.

i then stopped by target to pick up a couple of things and accidentally found myself in the designer section (oops!) where i bought another shirt and a sweater vest. both very professional as you can see above. i'm pretty sure the striped shirt will make my students' eyes do crazy things and the sweater vest will have them worried that i moonlight as a pirate. both should do wonders for my authority.

my last stop today was the orono public library. now, i know what i said yesterday about libraries and their lack of climate control, but this library was downright pleasant! first of all, the library is teeny tiny and connected to the orono public highschool which is also tiny. they have little sections divided by bookshelves that are silent and quiet, which specifies that talking quietly about homework is okay. they have all sorts of fiction and large print books on the first floor and a stairwell just big enough for one person takes you up to the world of the dewey decimal system. they have a little area for reading/writing with a couple tiny tables and two comfortable chairs for those who don't require a workspace. i sat down and read a bit of a portrait of the hamburger as a young calf. this ya gem claims that it should be read before fast food nation. if only i had known! anyway, the library closes at 5pm on mondays and wednesdays so i didn't stay long, but i will certainly be returning. i mean, i owe it to them, they proved me wrong with their circulation!