Written on: 06/12/08 8:00 PM
Flight was bumpy. I think I have a pretty strong constitution -- I've never been carsick, seasick, or airsick -- but this flight nearly put me over the edge. I was really regretting those two cheeseburgers. Anyhoo, didn't get to Omaha until about 1:30 (pretty good by airline low standards). Limo guy was great, turns out he's a former Husker himself. Linebacker in the 70's. Rode with another reader, Holly, she is reading for the AP Geography exam. I didn't even know there was a geography exam! From her I learned that the unofficial nickname for the reading event is "Read and Feed" -- i.e., there's lots of food. At least I won't starve.
So I checked into my dorm room and didn't actually get to the reading place until about 3:30. There was really only enough time to process my payroll papers and go over the rubric for the question I am grading (#6). I will begin my grading in earnest tomorrow. Will I be docked pay for not working a complete day today? Dunno. Holly thought we might be.
Question 6, it turns out, is the most essay-ish of the bunch. Students have to explain why some compounds dissolve in water and others don't, for instance. Consequently when I mention to other readers thar I am grading Q6, the typical reaction is one of pity. This may be a long week after all. Fortunately the rubric is pretty straightforward and strict, so there is little wiggle room for wretching interpretations.
The atmosphere here, however, is pretty relaxed. I saw plenty of people in shorts and t-shirts. And, apparently the readers for each subject have a lounge, right in the dorm, in which there will be nightly parties, including booze. Don't think I will go tonight, I'm still pretty worn out by the trip but I will definitely take advantage of the opportunity later on.
Friday, June 13, 2008
Line
Written on: 06/12/08 11:00 AM
I've spent the entire morning waiting in line. Waited in line to go through security. Waited in line at customer service to find out where my bag was. (It's already in Omaha.) Waired in an unusually long line at McDonald's for a meager lunch. (You would think that the largest concourse at a major hub airport would have more than one fast food burger joint.) Waited in line to board the plane. Doors to the aircraft just closed, time to go. ETA 1:16 PM CT.
I've spent the entire morning waiting in line. Waited in line to go through security. Waited in line at customer service to find out where my bag was. (It's already in Omaha.) Waired in an unusually long line at McDonald's for a meager lunch. (You would think that the largest concourse at a major hub airport would have more than one fast food burger joint.) Waited in line to board the plane. Doors to the aircraft just closed, time to go. ETA 1:16 PM CT.
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Trippy Times in Denver
So I call the recommended reservation number for the hotel. They say there's nothing that has a shuttle but there is a hotel for $59 (Sleep Inn). Great. I'll take that. They say the hotel is only 20 minutes away so how expensive could the cab ride be? I'll tell you: $80. And the cab ride was longer than 20 minutes too. When we show up I see that there are lots of hotels right near the one I'm staying at. There's a Radisson, Hampton, etc., all within walking distance. Maybe they have an airport shuttle? Because I am not paying another $80 to go back to the airport. Hampton - no luck. I look for the Radisson hotel and - lo and behold - it's a castle! No really. It's got the parapets and everything. All it needed was a moat and drawbridge. So I'm thinking, well I could stay in the castle, and they have an airport shuttle van conspicuously parked out front, and their rates are $92. Hmm... I call Sleep Inn just to make double extra sure they don't have a shuttle, and thereby confirm my decision to stay in the castle, and it turns out they don't have a shuttle...but you can reserve the Boulder Shuttle van for only $25. So some quick math reveals: $59 + $25 = $84, still cheaper than the $92 castle rate with the "free" airport shuttle. I abandon the castle (my room probably would have been in the dungeon anyway) and trek back to Sleep Inn. Turns out the night manager dude (a former Air Force recruiter, didn't you know?) has been processing canceled flight hotel reservations all night. And voila, I'm in my room, at the early hour of 1:19 AM. It is definitely time for bed. My flight has been rescheduled for 11:00 AM so the Boulder Shuttle is picking me up at 8:00 AM. Alarm is set for 6:55 AM. Let's hope this trip doesn't get any worse.
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Bad News
Flight's been cancelled. I'm spending the night in Denver. Who knows when I'll get to Omaha.
Denver Continued
Written: 6/11/08 10:00 PM MT
So I’ve plugged into an outlet that’s actually behind a gate counter. Is this wrong? If I have to ask then the answer is probably... We’ll see if I get caught.
Did you know that Denver’s airport has free WiFi? Wow.
Oh and I saw the most disgusting thing. A rolling suitcase with flashing lights on the rear of its wheels. Almost made me want to throw up.
So I’ve plugged into an outlet that’s actually behind a gate counter. Is this wrong? If I have to ask then the answer is probably... We’ll see if I get caught.
Did you know that Denver’s airport has free WiFi? Wow.
Oh and I saw the most disgusting thing. A rolling suitcase with flashing lights on the rear of its wheels. Almost made me want to throw up.
Sleepless in Denver
Written: 6/11/08 9:00 PM MT
Guess I spoke too soon. I’m here in Denver and the flight to Omaha has been delayed, apparently due to some pesky tornadoes. I just hope I get there (tornado-free) and am able to get enough sleep to be able to function tomorrow. I don’t even know what our schedule is supposed to be like tomorrow, but all the other literature I have read from the ETS website suggests that it’s going to be a pretty rigorous, 8-to-5 type of schedule. Maybe the first day will be introductions and stuff that I can sleep through without much danger. Breaking news from the guy at the gate: flight’s delayed at least until 10:30. Blech. Time to grab some beer.
On a lighter note, it’s somewhat amusing to see the business traveler types scurry around the gate area in search of the last remaining wall outlet in which to plug in laptops/PDAs/gadgets. It has seemed strange to me, with the advent of modern technology requiring electricity, that airports are not more gadget-friendly and provide more outlets so travelers can plug in their laptops.
Guess I spoke too soon. I’m here in Denver and the flight to Omaha has been delayed, apparently due to some pesky tornadoes. I just hope I get there (tornado-free) and am able to get enough sleep to be able to function tomorrow. I don’t even know what our schedule is supposed to be like tomorrow, but all the other literature I have read from the ETS website suggests that it’s going to be a pretty rigorous, 8-to-5 type of schedule. Maybe the first day will be introductions and stuff that I can sleep through without much danger. Breaking news from the guy at the gate: flight’s delayed at least until 10:30. Blech. Time to grab some beer.
On a lighter note, it’s somewhat amusing to see the business traveler types scurry around the gate area in search of the last remaining wall outlet in which to plug in laptops/PDAs/gadgets. It has seemed strange to me, with the advent of modern technology requiring electricity, that airports are not more gadget-friendly and provide more outlets so travelers can plug in their laptops.
Going to Read AP Exams in Lincoln
Written at: 5:30 PM MT 6/11/08
So I finished my last final today. Well it really wasn’t a “final” – it was at 8 AM, I brought donuts and I asked my students to fill out an evaluation form for the class. And now I am at the Boise airport waiting to board a flight to Omaha to begin grading AP Chemistry exams. This isn’t really the start of my sabbatical, but it feels a lot like it: my school-time schedule has ended and I am going to Nebraska. I have already arranged for two appointments with property management companies in Lincoln to see two furnished apartments that I could potentially rent for my sabbatical. I’m really excited about one of them, at least according to the website it looks exactly like what I want. I’ll upload some pictures once I actually see them.
It is strange, but I am actually starting to feel a bit of homesickness, even though I have never really considered La Grande to be “home”. I’m finally at the place where I am saying goodbye to students that I will not see again, some for over a year, others never again. It really should be no different than graduation time for any other year, since then too I say goodbye to students that I will never see again either. But this somehow is different. Maybe it is because, this time, the choice to leave is mine. I will definitely miss working with my research students, especially Wade. Wade is an absolutely stellar student, I am proud to have him doing research with me and it pains me that he will be taking physical chemistry from someone else, the year that I won’t be there. Not that I think he would do poorly with someone else – he will do great, I’m sure – but that I won’t have the pleasure of teaching him the subject about which I feel the most passion. He is perhaps the one student who could persuade me not to take the sabbatical after all. The saving grace is that he will be there when I get back and I will get one more year to work with him – that is, if everything goes well. Who knows, he may have transferred away by time I get back and then the moment will be lost.
Hmm – they just called my name at the gate and I received the bonus-leg-room upgrade (e.g., exit row seating). This trip started out with an inauspicious start – I dropped papers in the mud, got lost going to the Boise mall trying to buy a book, couldn’t find a parking spot at the airport for the longest time – but maybe it won’t be so bad after all. Plus I just ran into a former student, Brian Byrne, who is finishing up medical school at UW and is traveling on this same flight. Small world indeed.
Well I am going to change seats, the guy next to me has a very loud iPod and very smelly fabric softener emanating from his clothes (I am allergic to fabric softener). I will upload this blog entry when I get a chance.
So I finished my last final today. Well it really wasn’t a “final” – it was at 8 AM, I brought donuts and I asked my students to fill out an evaluation form for the class. And now I am at the Boise airport waiting to board a flight to Omaha to begin grading AP Chemistry exams. This isn’t really the start of my sabbatical, but it feels a lot like it: my school-time schedule has ended and I am going to Nebraska. I have already arranged for two appointments with property management companies in Lincoln to see two furnished apartments that I could potentially rent for my sabbatical. I’m really excited about one of them, at least according to the website it looks exactly like what I want. I’ll upload some pictures once I actually see them.
It is strange, but I am actually starting to feel a bit of homesickness, even though I have never really considered La Grande to be “home”. I’m finally at the place where I am saying goodbye to students that I will not see again, some for over a year, others never again. It really should be no different than graduation time for any other year, since then too I say goodbye to students that I will never see again either. But this somehow is different. Maybe it is because, this time, the choice to leave is mine. I will definitely miss working with my research students, especially Wade. Wade is an absolutely stellar student, I am proud to have him doing research with me and it pains me that he will be taking physical chemistry from someone else, the year that I won’t be there. Not that I think he would do poorly with someone else – he will do great, I’m sure – but that I won’t have the pleasure of teaching him the subject about which I feel the most passion. He is perhaps the one student who could persuade me not to take the sabbatical after all. The saving grace is that he will be there when I get back and I will get one more year to work with him – that is, if everything goes well. Who knows, he may have transferred away by time I get back and then the moment will be lost.
Hmm – they just called my name at the gate and I received the bonus-leg-room upgrade (e.g., exit row seating). This trip started out with an inauspicious start – I dropped papers in the mud, got lost going to the Boise mall trying to buy a book, couldn’t find a parking spot at the airport for the longest time – but maybe it won’t be so bad after all. Plus I just ran into a former student, Brian Byrne, who is finishing up medical school at UW and is traveling on this same flight. Small world indeed.
Well I am going to change seats, the guy next to me has a very loud iPod and very smelly fabric softener emanating from his clothes (I am allergic to fabric softener). I will upload this blog entry when I get a chance.
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