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...