Losing Weight is harder as you age, school and writing and Nanowrimo month!

    While my talkative class has settled down, I still find that teaching can be both tiring and stressful. Am I in the wrong business?
     It would be fun to do something like the "Crocodile hunter -- Steve Irwin" did-- go out and talk about nature. Talking to a camera has to be easier than talking to 18-20 year old students! But my quiet class does listen, so that's a good thing. Students don't realize that listening can be a good thing!
     I am jealous of a neighbor. She has lost 70 pounds. I lose a few pounds, gain a few pounds, back and forth. It is difficult to lose weight after menopause, and after being put on an anti-hormone pill that I think compromised my hormones and metabolism even more! What do you do with a low metabolism? And don't tell me to eat hot peppers -- it hurts my throat! I have acid reflux and a hiatal hernia to boot!
     Losing weight is more of a struggle than reaching students, perhaps.
     But it is Nanowrimo (sp?) -- national novel writing month! And I am working on something I call "A Moroccan adventure". A member of my church mentioned some things about their culture and it sounds somewhat exotic and could be an interesting locale for a story. They have  cities somewhat like ours, and so the traditional sheep herding tribal clans and maybe I could tap into that -- and in the mountains hashish is grown, illegally but still used by many, and they will throw foreigners in the clink if they think they are using/trafficking in it, so that gave me a few ideas. And the idea of mistaken identity, which could get you into a lot of trouble in a foreign country. So I am writing about that and how a young couple gets separated because of this mistaken identity. Maybe it could be a good short story or novella. I am trying to write that AND my novel on education, "Lessons".

Do Students Have Manners Anymore?

    Do students today have any idea what "manners" or classroom etiquette is? I had to tell my college sophomores they were acting like ninth graders as they mostly "talk over" me when I am explaining something to them. Although it is a "Core" class that is required and some of it may be review, is that any excuse to not be polite and listen for a change?
     If Judith Martin, "Miss Manners" in the papers, were to come to my one overly talkative class, what would she say? I think young people today want to have it all. They want everything to be their way as they have been spoiled by their parents, many of whom have good paying jobs and have given them everything their heart desires. And when it comes to college, since they are away from Mom and Dad and are on their own, they tend to do things not in an adult fashion but in a "know-it-all" fashion, not respecting the instructor as they think they know better. They know more than moi, their teacher? I don't think so.
     And I don't even have a huge class. I saw a commercial where candidate Mitt Romney for president said only teachers' unions were interested in smaller classes in public schools.No, kids don't want to be in a huge class either. And some of them want to listen and learn.
      But as I am teaching older students you would think they would know better. I actually moved some students (and one emailed me to complain) but I guess you can't please everyone. Teaching is a stressful profession (and college adjuncts are certainly not paid for the work that they do). I'd just like some constructive conversation in the class. Is that asking too much?

Highlander Fest in Radford, enjoy outdoors at a festival

     The tum-tum-tee-dum-dumt of the different Highlander fife and drum corps precede us who are either in a sorority, fraternity, dance group or political party on display.  We were surprised there were about 35 of us in our group, a few members in very political, patriotic red, white and blue striped hats and clothes, to point out that the Democrats are in town promoting the national election coming up. Then, as we went down Main Street with our signs, we turn onto Tyler and then onto the R. U. Muffet quad field, home of the annual October "Highlander Games" in Radford, Virginia.
     The "Highlander" with his red, green and black Tartan kilt is the official mascot for the college and anyone of Scottish descent (or who aspires to be, like being Irish is the thing on St. Patrick's Day) who wants to come. So you can be Scottish in spirit. 
     The Scots have an interesting history. William Wallace of "Braveheart" movie fame fought for Scottish independence from England in the late 1200s. He died and has remained Scotland's big national hero. And it's funny that the Wallace family Tartan pattern is the one used for the national brand, "Scotch tape". Scotland is still not totally independent of England but does have its own governing body now.
     A member of the MacPherson family, at one of the many clan booths there surrounding the Muffet Scottish games field, informed me of this and said you "never" call a Scottish man English as it is considered an insult of the highest order. He also suggested it would be easy to visit Scotland -- though you would have to first have to figure out how to navigate on the left hand side of the road. Once there he said you could visit the most photographed castle in Scotland, the Eileen Donan Castle, which is located on the lower west coastline. Above that to the north are still people who speak the (difficult to learn) native Gaelic. Isn't that language associated with the Irish? The Scottish and Irish can both speak this language.
     "The games"  they have at the Highlander festival are quite unique. I've not seen them anywhere else in southwest Virginia. They toss a long pole a caber and also toss hay bales and what they call a "hammer toss". Elsewhere on the college grounds you can see children tossing these long rolls of cardboard, like huge paper towel holders, as nearby some adults encourage the some little ones to bang on drums. 
     Back at Moffet field, 341 pound Justin Smith, a senior at Radford University, is taking his turn at doing the hammer toss, tossing it over 40 feet. But his competitor Ryan Stoltz tosses it over 60 feet! Stoltz admits he is not of Scottish descent but just likes participating in the games, and no doubt the crowd is please he came.
     While this is going on the "Warpipes" are standing in a circle off to the side by the clan and arts and crafts booths, their bagpipes humming to the soulful tunes "Alabama" and "Amazing Grace". One female member tells me she has been playing the bagpipes for 35 years, when few were admitted to this predominantly male association. But now there are over 1,000 female members who play in such groups.  And just beyond them, a female black and white shepherd dog is actively corralling three sheep in a cordoned off area, watching her owner's hand gestures to proceed.  They are considered a very smart breed of dog (unlike the stubborn shi tzu I have back home).
     There are all kinds of food vendors and unique items for sale, from clan books for the familes Sullivan, Keith, MacDonald, MacMillan to crushed false leather purses with a Celtic symbol on them to stationery. One booth even solicits donations for a Sheltie rescue operation in the area and has water available to those walking their dogs on the ground.
     Going to (or being in a parade as a walker), wandering the booths, listening to the fife and drum corps with their bagpipes as you bite in an "unScottish" Polish sausage, makes for a fun and interesting day of exercise outdoors in early fall.

Students will be students, life in general

     I guess students will be students. Some of them are fairly diligent, some fall far behind. I have several who haven't even bothered to pick up the assignment that is 25 percent of their grade!
     I shouldn't take it personally that some of them are just sorry. But teaching can be a frustrating thing. Students don't listen much anymore. They would rather be on their cell phone texting, I guess.
     I was going to go on a hike with the NRV Outdoor Rec club Sunday, but it turned out to be wet and cold and cancelled out on Saturday night. I was looking forward to that little adventure. I have so little adventure in my life. Some would say writing is an adventure. It is more a frustration sometimes. You write and you try to get noticed, but it is difficult to make that happen. I'm no Stephen King. (Should I be?)
     It is wet and dreary today too. I hope the leaves don't all fall before I take my classes on a "leaf collecting" expedition!

Do People Socialize Anymore?

    Well, does anyone socialize anymore? Or know how to? If you move into a new neighborhood and don't know anybody, you would think that people might give you a fruitcake, drop by, say hello, invite you for tea? But noooooooo, people don't do that today, not even in this relatively small town I live in now.
    So, the other week I invited a number of people, including retired women and a few neighbors, to visit me for some tea and cookies. And did they come? A few said no, one said maybe, several didn't even respond, including the next door neighbors. Some people have a lot of family and old work friends. But if you are new to an area, your coworkers are much younger and don't invite you over, AND you have no family nearby, it can be a bit isolating sometimes. Maybe I should just concentrate on my writing. People don't know how to socialize today. (One person showed up for all that work cleaning up the house!)
    They said it is not healthy to be isolated. It can affect how your body works, especially if you get depressed. On the other hand, I feel like I have this nice little house to myself and can fix it up just for me. And wear a bathrobe half the day if I want, as no one comes by. They are working or busy with family or old friends.
    And speaking of that, I have been unhappy with my big, unsocial (they do little if any socially oriented activities, like a Christmas play and dinner, hiking group, newsletter a writer like me can contribute to, couples' group) Catholic church. So we went to the church of a fellow Democrat. It is much smaller and they have a "reception" after every service, I guess. Maybe I will alternate between the two, as I still "feel" like a Catholic and the Episcopalian church near me in Radford is very, very similar. But the pastor talks more to an adult audience, I think. The people after church were certainly friendly to me. (The next step would be to go from friendly to friends. Once you hit over 50 friends are harder make.)

Start of school has new smells, stresses -- life experiences too

     This year in my teaching I am going to try to be more relaxed, more knowledgeable about my different topics, which may make the teaching experience less stressful.
    I know that some of my students are not too with it when it comes to getting their books on time. And following directions. That is a simple thing older students can learn to do but a number of them don't, and goof off a bit. And I had, interestingly, one of my classes in the science building and man, could I smell it! It smelled a bit like urine and something else. I pointed this out to a science professor and  "he" said it was mothballs. I went into his calss and and got a whiff of a faint smell of formaldehyde, you know, that preservative they use that also promotes cancer (if you're alive, that is).. The smell has since faded but maybe I've just gotten used to this smell in the halls of science.
    Been reading off and on conservationist John Muir's crazy adventures -- he slid down a glacier, rode a tree in a windstorm, caught malaria and almost died, charged a bear, etc. And when he ventured to the Gulf of Mexico from Wisconsin, the smells of the sea reminded him of his early childhood near the craggy shores of Scotland. There isn't a particular smell of childhood I remember, but the taste of salty ocean water at Jones Beach on Long Island is prominent. And chocolate I think is my constant mood enhancer, even though I am (perpetually) trying to lose weight. Roses have a calming, slightly sweet scent, but most classrooms have the scent (or did) of pencil shavings and chalk. Medicinal, dental office smells never really put me at ease.
    And I can't sense any smell of "fear" in my students. Can they smell fear in me? Hopefully not. We live in a smelly world, no matter how you slice it (sliced fresh bread smells and tastes gooooooooood). 

Batman 3 reviewed, Violence in media, society

     "Batman 3:The Dark Knight rises," has a fair amount of violence, a ton of action, a lot of memorable quotes, most of which escape me now. For instance, the bad guy, Bain, tells Batman that when Gotham is in ashes, then you can die. And he's gotten weak in his victory, and he says that as he knocks Batman like he's a doll, which was impressive if not out and out mean.
    The movie I believe is philosophical about heroism and idealism and doing the right thing. It's difficult to be the lone hero, to carry that persona around with you. Madmen, many charismatic enough to garner a lot of followes, seem so persuasive (yet so unreal -- think Hitler, Idi Amin, Pol Pot and the rest). But they're not there, and we would hope they would stay away from the wider public arena.
    It was a powerful, interesting part of the movie when handsome actor Christian Bale is put by Bain in a prison that is at the bottoom of what looks like a huge stone well somewhere in the Far East (and the Wayne mansion looks a  whole lot like the "Highclere Castle" mansion I visited in England in 2001). The other prisoners talke to him about motivation when things get desperate. A blind man points out that it was a child who found a way up the walls and Wayne had to think like him. He was dedicated enough to Gotham City that he had to find a way out, something many of us wouldn't have the strength to do. Did that make it seem unrealistic? It certainly added to the drama and tension.
    But there certainly was a lot of fighting, explosions and other violence. Is there too much violence in the media? Not long after the movie came out a young man with red hair said he was the joker and shot up a movie theater in Aurora, Colorado, killing 12 people who didn't even know the guy. The media said he got 6,000 rounds of ammunition off the internet. We have all these ways to communicate and buy things electronically, but at what cost? Why didn't someone pick up on this weird behavior?
    The movie gave Bruce Wayne a "point" in his life. What was the point (logic) behind the shooting in the movie theater?
    In real life, don't we need more heroes? But then, going it alone is too hard. One person can't "do it all," so we should work together more, compromise even. And use the media more constructively.