By:
On:
In: Gratitudes, This Internet Life!
Tagged: ,

Today I am grateful for some old school internet acronyms plus some texting ones that have joined the crew. Don’t ask my why I’m feeling this nostalgia. It just is. 1. OMG (Note: The F has fled the scene.) 2. FML (Note: The F has returned.) 3. LOL (tried and true) 4. BRB (where are you going? You’re leaving?!) 5. BRT (BRB’s texting brethren) 6. OMW (BRT’s texting cousin) 7. WTF (Note: The F persists.) 8. IRL (stands for “in real life,” as opposed to…which…well..yeah…) 9. OIC (oh, I see….I see how it is…) 10. FTW (Also tried and true) To be clear: I amRead More →

By:
On:
In: Academented, Gratitudes, Pedagogy and Teaching
Tagged: ,

1. Everyone who cares about how teachers teach and learners learn (cf http://chronicle.com/article/TeachingLearning-About/146403/) 2. Every teacher, professor, PODster, colleague, and faculty professional development expert who taught me about teaching. 3. Every administrator who realized that pedagogy and faculty professional development should be funded and supported institutionally. 4. Every student who put up with my insensitivities, failures, and experiments as a teacher. ∞

By:
On:
In: Gratitudes
Tagged: ,

Sometimes you arrive at something small, like a pebble, or a discovery of a bit of your soul that you lost along the way, and you take stock of where you are on your path. That happened to me this week. I found a handful of pebbles, in fact. I am a perpetual stock-taker, an accountant of pebbles, a self-cartographer. Sometimes I take too much stock studying the pebbles, and I neglect the road. My hands and pockets get weighted down with an accumulation of gravel, much of which no longer has any name, and none of which is worn smooth. I should make theseRead More →

By:
On:
In: Gratitudes
Tagged:

1. Spring, no matter how early or late it arrives, so I can throw open the windows and doors and my spirit. That’s something to be grateful for, for sure. 2. Progressive auto insurance, stalwart in its service. Surprising. 3. Bagels, bagels, bagels. Lenders are a poor substitute, and I miss real New York bagels down here in the bayou, but the pale shadow of Lenders gets me by. 4. My air conditioning guy at Residential Experts.  Honest and professional, he extended the life of my AC and saved me money. What’s not to be grateful? 5. Angie’s List saves me thousands of dollars andRead More →

By:
On:
In: Gratitudes, This is my life?
Tagged: ,

I have a new car. I bought a Fiat 500 Pop. It was great fun to test drive, great fun to purchase, and now great fun to own. Initially I thought about purchasing purchase another Suzuki, a black SX4 hatchback. This car resembles the old yellow Suzuki Aereo that was totaled when I got rear-ended a couple of years ago. I adored by Aereo. I generally name my cars. I planned to name the black Suzuki “Paloma Negra.” The name comes from a lovely, mournful song I heard in Mexico. That purchase didn’t happen for a variety of reasons, none of which had to doRead More →

By:
On:
In: Gratitudes
Tagged: , , ,

My gratitudes for daddy: 1. He was a supreme raconteur; I owe every story to him. 2. Whoever thought to put pears and cheese together? Whatever odd pairings in life, I got from him. 3. The persistent belief that cats know what you’re thinking despite your best efforts otherwise. ∞

By:
On:
In: Gratitudes
Tagged: ,

My father spent time in federal prison for seeking to overthrow the United States government pursuant to the Taft Hartley Act. In 1952, it was against the law in this country to be an officer in a labor union and affiliate with the Communist Party in any way. At the age of 28, my father resigned from the Communist Party in Denver, Colorado, and ran for an officer position in a labor union. In 1956, at the age of 32, he was named as a Communist before the House Committee on Un-American Activities. In those days, the FBI did not have to provide any materialRead More →

By:
On:
In: Gratitudes
Tagged: ,

Today I am grateful for….. (gosh let me think…) 1. Southern Pecan coffee from PJs. Mmm good. And huge coffee cups for drinking. 2. Staples, thumbtacks, scotch tape, and other magical things that make offices work. My life and desk would fall apart without them. Especially sticky notes, those glorious things that color my life with semi-permanent reminders and labels. 3. The number 3 for its mystical properties and for forcing me to think of a third thing to be grateful for every time I do gratitudes. The number 3 keeps me mindful of what’s in life. ∞

By:
On:
In: Gratitudes
Tagged: ,

Of all the graduation ceremonies in higher ed that I’ve seen, BRCC’s are the best. I’ve attended a couple that were bittersweet due to specific personal relationships. Overall, however, BRCC ceremonies are the best delight. Nowhere are the students and their parents more joyous, proud, and celebratory. The things these students do to earn their place in line are astounding. It is 65 days until my 50th birthday and I am grateful for the chance to witness such an amazing celebration.