No 1-bedroom condos available now - only 2 bedroom, and they start at $750. Urk. Not sure what to do now. Sign something with Century House and see how it goes? Of course if I do that then I'm essentially committed to furnished apartments because that means I would not be moving my bed out here. There's always the idea of a loft in the Haymarket but those start at around $650 and that's just a little too pricey. There's the apartments at Spaghetti Works but those start at only $295 and the thought of downtown apartments that are that cheap frightens me. (Plus, from the outside, they absolutely do look run down.) So I don't think I'm going that route either. I will sleep on it.
On a lighter note, I am going to have some beer with Gerry.
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Sunday, June 15, 2008
Century House
So the first apartment place I looked at, on Friday evening, was Century House, located at 1201 Lincoln Mall. The apartment was nice enough. The super showed me a small furnished studio and a large one. The small simply seemed too small for me, so the large is the only one I am really considering. Here are some pictures of the large studio.
Kitchen:
View from Living Room, looking north:
Bathroom:
(That one didn't turn out too well)
Rent is $495. The place seems nice enough but it's not exactly what I was expecting. It's a little farther from campus than I would like - it's about 10 blocks - and the parking situation is "iffy". There is a lot behind the building and spots are $55 per month; however there are no spots available right now, and "maybe" one will open up in August. Hmm. My other alternatives are to park at the law office lot next door, but only after hours; or park on the street, but move the car once a day.
I scanned around and there are two more places I have my eye on, Georgian Place Apartments and Centerstone Apartments. Those are right downtown - they would only be 2 or 3 blocks from campus - but I don't know if they have vacancies. I imagine those rents would be higher, plus I'd have to pay to park in a garage, which is probably more than $55 a month. Also, they are presumably unfurnished. Century House is closer to my budget but these two other places, at least from my conception of them, seem closer to what I had envisioned in terms of a real urban apartment setting and being within walking distance of everything.
I will call on Monday and see if there are any vacancies. If not then the issue is moot and I will probably just take Century House.
Kitchen:
View from Living Room, looking north:
Bathroom:
(That one didn't turn out too well)
Rent is $495. The place seems nice enough but it's not exactly what I was expecting. It's a little farther from campus than I would like - it's about 10 blocks - and the parking situation is "iffy". There is a lot behind the building and spots are $55 per month; however there are no spots available right now, and "maybe" one will open up in August. Hmm. My other alternatives are to park at the law office lot next door, but only after hours; or park on the street, but move the car once a day.
I scanned around and there are two more places I have my eye on, Georgian Place Apartments and Centerstone Apartments. Those are right downtown - they would only be 2 or 3 blocks from campus - but I don't know if they have vacancies. I imagine those rents would be higher, plus I'd have to pay to park in a garage, which is probably more than $55 a month. Also, they are presumably unfurnished. Century House is closer to my budget but these two other places, at least from my conception of them, seem closer to what I had envisioned in terms of a real urban apartment setting and being within walking distance of everything.
I will call on Monday and see if there are any vacancies. If not then the issue is moot and I will probably just take Century House.
A Day In The Life...
6:00 AM: Wake up. Sort of. Press the snooze button on my cell phone.
6:18 AM: Wake up for real. Head to the shower.
6:20 AM: Shower.
6:40 AM: Get dressed. Brush teeth and shave. Etc.
7:10 AM: Go to the cafeteria. Have some breakfast. Usually with bacon because everything goes better with bacon.
7:40 AM: Begin walk to the reading. It takes about 15 minutes but I leave a little early just in case. Don't want to get chewed out by the table leader again.
7:56 AM: Show up. Mill around. Refill my coffee mug.
7:59 AM: Sit down at table. Stare at yesterday's last unfinished exam.
8:00 AM: A disembodied voice is heard from the speakers: "Readers, it's time to start grading." I dutifully comply.
8:02 AM: Continue to stare at the test. Take another sip of coffee.
8:04 AM: Finally realize what the student is trying to say. It's wrong. Student gets a zero.
8:05 AM: Grade next test.
8:06 AM: Grade next test.
Etc.
9:37 AM: Strive to remember if break time is at 9:45 AM or 10:00 AM.
9:48 AM: It must be at 10:00 AM.
10:00 AM: Disembodied voice again: "Readers, it's break time. Please be back in your cubicle in 15 minutes."
10:01 AM: Stand up. Look at the snack room - long line. Wander down to the bathroom - long line. Walk around a bit until one of the two lines clears up. Have some food and/or relieve myself.
10:05 AM: Surreptitiously hide some free snacks in my pockets for later.
10:10 AM: Surreptitiously scan the classified section of the paper in the apartment section.
10:12 AM: Refill coffee mug.
10:14 AM: Disembodied Voice: "One minute remaining."
10:15 AM: D.V.: "Readers, time to start grading again."
10:16 AM: Put paper away. Grade another exam.
10:48 AM: Chuckle softly as student writes a creative answer/comically stupid answer/song lyrics/love ballad/blame-the-teacher diatribe/why-does-this-exam-cost-so-damn-much complaint.
10:52 AM: Read yet again: "THIS IS SPARTA". Groan as it's gotten quite old.
11:14 AM: Mind begins to wander towards lunch. Not really hungry, just don't want to grade another exam.
11:33 AM: Mind wanders again. Pace of grading slows down.
11:44 AM: D.V.: "Readers, it's lunch time." Yay. One minute early.
11:45 AM: Begin walking back towards the dorms.
12:00 PM: Stop in my room. Put away the hidden snacks. Check email, check on calculations, etc.
12:15 PM: Grab some lunch. Perhaps pizza, but with something healthy, like salad. Oooo, and some ranch dressing, because everything goes better with ranch dressing. Don't forget the Diet Pepsi(tm).
12:18 PM: Sit down for lunch with some other graders. Listen semi-attentively as they describe all the hilarious/stupid/lame answers that they've received on their exams.
12:40 PM: Check watch, put tray away.
12:41 PM: Marvel yet again how fancy the cafeteria is, and how it wasn't like this at CMU, not at all.
12:45 PM: Head outside. This time maybe I will take the bus to the reading. Climb onto bus.
12:48 PM: Bus heads out. 5 minute bus ride.
12:53 PM: Bus drops us off. Walk to reading room.
12:55 PM: Refill coffee mug.
12:59 PM: Sit down. Stare at open exam.
1:00 PM: D.V.: "Readers, it's time to start."
1:01 PM: Grade the exam.
1:36 PM: If you really don't know the answer to the question, or the next, or the next one either, what are you doing even taking the Advanced Placement test in the first place?
1:43 PM: Wonder if I've passed the 1,000-exam mark yet.
2:11 PM: "THIS IS SPARTA". Grr.
2:37 PM: How could a student possibly believe this? Wow.
3:00 PM: D.V.: "Readers, it's break time."
3:01 PM: Find the short line.
3:08 PM: Not as many snacks to hide. Eat them all. Grab two cans of Diet Pepsi and refill coffee mug (will need them both for the home stretch).
3:15 PM: D.V.: "Readers, time to get back to work."
3:41 PM: Could it be - could it be - yes, it's a perfect paper!
4:02 PM: Yeah yeah, you're going to Cornell/Stanford/Harvard/Berkeley so you don't care what you get on this AP test. Spare us next time.
4:17 PM: End of the day is just around the corner. Only 12 exams left in this folder. Can I finish them all before the end of the day? Should I even try?
4:28 PM: Whoops, came up 9 exams short. Oh well.
4:29 PM: D.V.: "Readers, that's the end of Day 3. Just some quick announcements... Yadda, yadda, yadda."
4:33 PM: Head out the door. Begin trek to dorm.
4:49 PM: Bypass the dorm. Walk downtown.
5:02 PM: Wander around. See some potential apartment buildings. It's Saturday so they are all closed of course. Jot down numbers. Will call on Monday to check on availability and to set up appointments for viewing.
6:22 PM: Return to the cafeteria.
6:24 PM: Have some dinner. There is some herb-crusted pork that looks good. And mashed potatoes. With gravy. Because everything goes better with gravy.
6:33 PM: "And so instead of benzene, the student thought it was methane, and so of COURSE that just screwed everything up..."
6:49 PM: Retire to room. Goof around on the Internet.
7:53 PM: Begin to wonder if I shouldn't wander down to the lounge to grab some beer.
7:54 PM: Stop wondering. Put on my shoes and head downstairs.
7:56 PM: Begin drinking my first beer.
8:28 PM: Begin drinking my second beer.
9:10 PM: Begin drinking my third beer.
9:12 PM: Run into some AP Geography graders. They are crashing our party but I don't care because they seem cooler than the chemistry people. One of them is really buff. I call him "Professor Whoop-Ass." He laughs.
9:14 PM: I admit the geography people into the super-secret chemistry club because one remembers what Avogadro's Number is and the other remembers what oxygen is. Good for them.
9:17 PM: I am admitted into the super-secret geography club because I know that Uganda is not in Eastern Europe, apparently in contradiction to the majority of the AP Geography test takers. I feel privileged.
9:55 PM: Time for another beer. Funny how last call seems to come early around here.
10:44 PM: Smuggle the remainder of my beer back to my room.
10:55 PM: Think about reading some more in my book, but think better of it. I should just crash and go to bed.
11:10 PM: Fall asleep. Dream of disembodied voices describing benzene molecules in Uganda.
6:18 AM: Wake up for real. Head to the shower.
6:20 AM: Shower.
6:40 AM: Get dressed. Brush teeth and shave. Etc.
7:10 AM: Go to the cafeteria. Have some breakfast. Usually with bacon because everything goes better with bacon.
7:40 AM: Begin walk to the reading. It takes about 15 minutes but I leave a little early just in case. Don't want to get chewed out by the table leader again.
7:56 AM: Show up. Mill around. Refill my coffee mug.
7:59 AM: Sit down at table. Stare at yesterday's last unfinished exam.
8:00 AM: A disembodied voice is heard from the speakers: "Readers, it's time to start grading." I dutifully comply.
8:02 AM: Continue to stare at the test. Take another sip of coffee.
8:04 AM: Finally realize what the student is trying to say. It's wrong. Student gets a zero.
8:05 AM: Grade next test.
8:06 AM: Grade next test.
Etc.
9:37 AM: Strive to remember if break time is at 9:45 AM or 10:00 AM.
9:48 AM: It must be at 10:00 AM.
10:00 AM: Disembodied voice again: "Readers, it's break time. Please be back in your cubicle in 15 minutes."
10:01 AM: Stand up. Look at the snack room - long line. Wander down to the bathroom - long line. Walk around a bit until one of the two lines clears up. Have some food and/or relieve myself.
10:05 AM: Surreptitiously hide some free snacks in my pockets for later.
10:10 AM: Surreptitiously scan the classified section of the paper in the apartment section.
10:12 AM: Refill coffee mug.
10:14 AM: Disembodied Voice: "One minute remaining."
10:15 AM: D.V.: "Readers, time to start grading again."
10:16 AM: Put paper away. Grade another exam.
10:48 AM: Chuckle softly as student writes a creative answer/comically stupid answer/song lyrics/love ballad/blame-the-teacher diatribe/why-does-this-exam-cost-so-damn-much complaint.
10:52 AM: Read yet again: "THIS IS SPARTA". Groan as it's gotten quite old.
11:14 AM: Mind begins to wander towards lunch. Not really hungry, just don't want to grade another exam.
11:33 AM: Mind wanders again. Pace of grading slows down.
11:44 AM: D.V.: "Readers, it's lunch time." Yay. One minute early.
11:45 AM: Begin walking back towards the dorms.
12:00 PM: Stop in my room. Put away the hidden snacks. Check email, check on calculations, etc.
12:15 PM: Grab some lunch. Perhaps pizza, but with something healthy, like salad. Oooo, and some ranch dressing, because everything goes better with ranch dressing. Don't forget the Diet Pepsi(tm).
12:18 PM: Sit down for lunch with some other graders. Listen semi-attentively as they describe all the hilarious/stupid/lame answers that they've received on their exams.
12:40 PM: Check watch, put tray away.
12:41 PM: Marvel yet again how fancy the cafeteria is, and how it wasn't like this at CMU, not at all.
12:45 PM: Head outside. This time maybe I will take the bus to the reading. Climb onto bus.
12:48 PM: Bus heads out. 5 minute bus ride.
12:53 PM: Bus drops us off. Walk to reading room.
12:55 PM: Refill coffee mug.
12:59 PM: Sit down. Stare at open exam.
1:00 PM: D.V.: "Readers, it's time to start."
1:01 PM: Grade the exam.
1:36 PM: If you really don't know the answer to the question, or the next, or the next one either, what are you doing even taking the Advanced Placement test in the first place?
1:43 PM: Wonder if I've passed the 1,000-exam mark yet.
2:11 PM: "THIS IS SPARTA". Grr.
2:37 PM: How could a student possibly believe this? Wow.
3:00 PM: D.V.: "Readers, it's break time."
3:01 PM: Find the short line.
3:08 PM: Not as many snacks to hide. Eat them all. Grab two cans of Diet Pepsi and refill coffee mug (will need them both for the home stretch).
3:15 PM: D.V.: "Readers, time to get back to work."
3:41 PM: Could it be - could it be - yes, it's a perfect paper!
4:02 PM: Yeah yeah, you're going to Cornell/Stanford/Harvard/Berkeley so you don't care what you get on this AP test. Spare us next time.
4:17 PM: End of the day is just around the corner. Only 12 exams left in this folder. Can I finish them all before the end of the day? Should I even try?
4:28 PM: Whoops, came up 9 exams short. Oh well.
4:29 PM: D.V.: "Readers, that's the end of Day 3. Just some quick announcements... Yadda, yadda, yadda."
4:33 PM: Head out the door. Begin trek to dorm.
4:49 PM: Bypass the dorm. Walk downtown.
5:02 PM: Wander around. See some potential apartment buildings. It's Saturday so they are all closed of course. Jot down numbers. Will call on Monday to check on availability and to set up appointments for viewing.
6:22 PM: Return to the cafeteria.
6:24 PM: Have some dinner. There is some herb-crusted pork that looks good. And mashed potatoes. With gravy. Because everything goes better with gravy.
6:33 PM: "And so instead of benzene, the student thought it was methane, and so of COURSE that just screwed everything up..."
6:49 PM: Retire to room. Goof around on the Internet.
7:53 PM: Begin to wonder if I shouldn't wander down to the lounge to grab some beer.
7:54 PM: Stop wondering. Put on my shoes and head downstairs.
7:56 PM: Begin drinking my first beer.
8:28 PM: Begin drinking my second beer.
9:10 PM: Begin drinking my third beer.
9:12 PM: Run into some AP Geography graders. They are crashing our party but I don't care because they seem cooler than the chemistry people. One of them is really buff. I call him "Professor Whoop-Ass." He laughs.
9:14 PM: I admit the geography people into the super-secret chemistry club because one remembers what Avogadro's Number is and the other remembers what oxygen is. Good for them.
9:17 PM: I am admitted into the super-secret geography club because I know that Uganda is not in Eastern Europe, apparently in contradiction to the majority of the AP Geography test takers. I feel privileged.
9:55 PM: Time for another beer. Funny how last call seems to come early around here.
10:44 PM: Smuggle the remainder of my beer back to my room.
10:55 PM: Think about reading some more in my book, but think better of it. I should just crash and go to bed.
11:10 PM: Fall asleep. Dream of disembodied voices describing benzene molecules in Uganda.
Friday, June 13, 2008
Party
And yes I went to the reader lounge. Had 4 beers, one of which was Canadian. I swear I didn't see the label until it was too late. Next time I will be more careful. Time for bed.
A full day of grading
Okay, after my full day of reading, I can safely say that this truly is assembly-line grading. Of course I should have known this before coming - what, they'd actually want my input or something? So apparently there are 100,000 AP Chemistry exams to grade. Wow. No I don't have to grade every single one but that is still a lot of exams. My current rate is about 40 exams per hour and people tell me that's a little slow. What's more, I don't think my question leader likes me very much. I came in late on Thursday which disrupted her plans and then I arrived late Friday morning, by about 5 minutes, misjudging the time it takes to walk from the dorm to the state fair grounds where the reading is taking place. She appropriately upbraided me. I am trying to impress her with my diligent work but I don't think it is working. Ugh. I am here for 5 more days. Double ugh.
On the lighter side, since I am grading the last question of the exam, I get to see the end-of-booklet shenanigans that students write. So far, there have been the pleas for mercy, the "it's not my fault I don't know the answers, my teacher was an idiot" declamations, the "why do I have to pay $85 for this stupid exam" complaint, the website advertisement (no joke!), and the usual random silliness that highschool students put on exams when they don't know the answer to the questions. Oh, and the love ballad to his highschool sweetheart. How touching. I'd be touched more, however, if he knew what intermolecular forces were. Oh well. More grading tomorrow.
On the lighter side, since I am grading the last question of the exam, I get to see the end-of-booklet shenanigans that students write. So far, there have been the pleas for mercy, the "it's not my fault I don't know the answers, my teacher was an idiot" declamations, the "why do I have to pay $85 for this stupid exam" complaint, the website advertisement (no joke!), and the usual random silliness that highschool students put on exams when they don't know the answer to the questions. Oh, and the love ballad to his highschool sweetheart. How touching. I'd be touched more, however, if he knew what intermolecular forces were. Oh well. More grading tomorrow.
Finally Arrived
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.
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.
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.
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