No wonder I'm tired!
The last few days have been incredibly eventful and exhausting at the same time. Since Wednesday (August 9) I have conversed with a professor regarding teaching, only to find out I spoke with the wrong person, said goodbye to The Scarlett Pimpernel, had a BBQ with a substantial number of people over at my home, and acted in a bit part in my first movie.
My godmother is a an adjunct faculty member of Eastern's sociology department, teaching criminal justice and working with students to help them secure internships. Knowing that I was interested in speaking with instructors for professional tips, she asked a fellow instructor if he would be willing to speak to me. He wasn't teaching this summer, so there was no class for me to sit in on, but he was willing to take time out from his research to talk to me. So last Wednesday around 2pm, I headed over to the sociology department. It was pretty deserted, being later in the afternoon; the secretary wasn't there, and most of the office doors were closed. It suddenly occurred to me that I didn't know the professor's name. The only thing that my godmother told me is that he was Chinese, and that she hadn't told him that I spoke Mandarin because she wanted it to be a surprise. I went down the hall and saw a man in the copy room. Because I didn't see anyone else, I made the assumption that he was the one I was supposed to speak to. I didn't think he was really Chinese; I figured maybe he was from China, but not of Han ethnicity. I asked him if he knew my godmother (using her name), which was my first mistake, since everyone there knows her, and then asked if he was available to speak to me as my godmother had mentioned he was willing to do.
I must have presented as a request rather than a question to confirm if my assumptions were correct. At any rate, he said he was available, and we headed off to his office. On the way, I passed an open office with a man inside. Upon the plaque next to his office was printed a Chinese name. The professor and I spent the next hour discussion teaching techniques and his philosophy about teaching. I noticed there was a book in Korean on his desk, and it turned out that he was indeed from South Korea. After I left I passed the open office and noticed that the door was now closed. I had the niggling suspicion that I'd spoken to the wrong person, and when I called my godmother, she confirmed it for me. Of course, while I realize that I should have called her once I realized I didn't have the gentleman's name, it would have been nice if she's supplied it for me up front. Telling me that the man is Chinese really doesn't help me much. So now I've got to eat a dish of crow and either call or send an e-mail in order to apologize in a way that doesn't make me look completely stupid or damages my godmother's relationship with a colleague. I figure I'm just going to tell the man I thought I was supposed to meet with the other man instead of him. I've got to send the e-mail tonight.
Of course, if I have to choose between making myself look foolish and hurting my godmother's professional relationship with another professor, I'll put myself on the slab.
Friday I headed up to the Saturn dealership with the Mom's for an appointment I'd made a few days earlier in the week. Apparently, 2004 automobiles were in high demand as used purchases, and they didn't have enough. The owner of Saturn Ann Arbor sent out mailing to 2004 Vue owners as well as other 2004 Saturn vehicles, inviting them to come in and see if they'd like to sell their car back to the dealership. There were incentives for getting a new lease, including a $600.00 gas card. I really had no incentive for going since I loved my car, except for the fact that my warranty had just expired 500 miles ago. I needed new tires, had to get my brakes fixed (which would have been at no cost to me, since they'd been replaced in December) and had to get my bumper fixed (covered completely by insurance). They first came to me and said my car was worth less than I owed and that my payments for a new automobile, lease or buy, would be between $439 and $479, to which I immediately said no. I'd already mentioned that I didn't want payments over what I already shelled out every month.
We were already talking with the salesman off and on, my mother doing a great job to break the ice in a way that I could not because of my and the salesman's relative closeness in age. So we were more at ease even by the time he gave us these figures. My mother mentioned to him when he returned another time about the brakes issue--and you can pat me on the back, because along with the title, I brought the folder of any repairs done on the Saturn, all of which were done at the dealership. Between this and the reminder that I was here because of the flier, the owner himself crunched the numbers again, and got me a monthly payment only thirty bucks more than I was paying before. I did a last minute check to make sure everything was out of the car was leaving behind--with a deal like that, it was time to say goodbye--and actually had a talk with Scarlett before everything was finalized, explaining that it was time to go our separate ways, and assuring him that he would make a new owner very happy.
Don't bother to ask me why I spoke to the car. I do it occasionally.
As I've done with my computers Captain Nemo and Lorenzo, and my iPod Bes, I am searching for a name for The Scarlett Pimpernel's successor.
Edit: I forgot. It's a 2007 Saturn Vue, Storm Grey, AWD, V6.
Saturday was the 4th Annual Kill it & Grill it BBQ. jadedcat and I started the tradition in September '02, in part, I believe for my birthday and to celebrate the visit of our mutual friend, RV, from Amsterdam. It's a opportunity for folks to bring their most exotic meats, from lamb and venison to smoked salmon or bison, and the host cooks it to perfection. We always provide hot dogs, hamburgers and chicken done a different way each year, and for this one and the one last year I made sure to bake one or two cheesecakes. I have to pat my back a little, because I've found that I have a talent for making desserts, especially cheesecakes. I always make a plain one and a flavored one, and the flavored cheesecake was a completely original recipe, as the plain was based upon a recipe I found and made my own with a few major changes. This year the flavored cheesecake was New York Style Cheesecake with a berry-chocolate swirl. It was a huge hit, and there were only three or four slices left from two 11" spring-form pans by the end of the evening. Although I didn't get around to sending any sort of invitation until a week or so before the event, the lot of us mainly spreading the news by word of mouth, we had a total of 22 people in our backyard at once. Had everyone showed up, there would have been over fifty. I'm kind of breathing a sigh of relief, because I didn't get to bed until 6:30 that morning, because I was baking and doing some last minute cleaning before going to bed.
LJers in attendance: i_am_allan, jadedcat, shawnj and stormy_brow.
We didn't really get to bed until after midnight, tired, but happy. Once again the KIGI was a success.
I'm never going to be a movie star; in fact, I don't want to be. However, I enjoyed playing the crotchety older women to me_langel's character, Si Fued, in me_langel's movie, Asshole Drunkard. I had three lines, which took me about five minutes to remember. I used a dress given to me by a friend that seemed to me meant for someone much older, did several takes of the part of the scene I was in from different angles, then I held the boom for the rest of the filming they were going to do with the other guy they'd asked to participate.
It was less nerve wracking than I thought it would be, though I doubt I'm the world's gift, even for amateur acting.
I headed back home after the filming, and headed back to what has been consuming my days and nights when I'm focused. As of a couple of hours ago, the Tang dynasty was no more. w00t! For the rest of the evening, I'm going to be working on lectures that have finished skeletons or are written save a once-over with some additional sources. The last time I checked, there were seventeen people enrolled for the class. This is definitely not bad for a class that meets at 9am. The only class with an equal number of students or more is the African American history class.
Awww....yeah.
My godmother is a an adjunct faculty member of Eastern's sociology department, teaching criminal justice and working with students to help them secure internships. Knowing that I was interested in speaking with instructors for professional tips, she asked a fellow instructor if he would be willing to speak to me. He wasn't teaching this summer, so there was no class for me to sit in on, but he was willing to take time out from his research to talk to me. So last Wednesday around 2pm, I headed over to the sociology department. It was pretty deserted, being later in the afternoon; the secretary wasn't there, and most of the office doors were closed. It suddenly occurred to me that I didn't know the professor's name. The only thing that my godmother told me is that he was Chinese, and that she hadn't told him that I spoke Mandarin because she wanted it to be a surprise. I went down the hall and saw a man in the copy room. Because I didn't see anyone else, I made the assumption that he was the one I was supposed to speak to. I didn't think he was really Chinese; I figured maybe he was from China, but not of Han ethnicity. I asked him if he knew my godmother (using her name), which was my first mistake, since everyone there knows her, and then asked if he was available to speak to me as my godmother had mentioned he was willing to do.
I must have presented as a request rather than a question to confirm if my assumptions were correct. At any rate, he said he was available, and we headed off to his office. On the way, I passed an open office with a man inside. Upon the plaque next to his office was printed a Chinese name. The professor and I spent the next hour discussion teaching techniques and his philosophy about teaching. I noticed there was a book in Korean on his desk, and it turned out that he was indeed from South Korea. After I left I passed the open office and noticed that the door was now closed. I had the niggling suspicion that I'd spoken to the wrong person, and when I called my godmother, she confirmed it for me. Of course, while I realize that I should have called her once I realized I didn't have the gentleman's name, it would have been nice if she's supplied it for me up front. Telling me that the man is Chinese really doesn't help me much. So now I've got to eat a dish of crow and either call or send an e-mail in order to apologize in a way that doesn't make me look completely stupid or damages my godmother's relationship with a colleague. I figure I'm just going to tell the man I thought I was supposed to meet with the other man instead of him. I've got to send the e-mail tonight.
Of course, if I have to choose between making myself look foolish and hurting my godmother's professional relationship with another professor, I'll put myself on the slab.
Friday I headed up to the Saturn dealership with the Mom's for an appointment I'd made a few days earlier in the week. Apparently, 2004 automobiles were in high demand as used purchases, and they didn't have enough. The owner of Saturn Ann Arbor sent out mailing to 2004 Vue owners as well as other 2004 Saturn vehicles, inviting them to come in and see if they'd like to sell their car back to the dealership. There were incentives for getting a new lease, including a $600.00 gas card. I really had no incentive for going since I loved my car, except for the fact that my warranty had just expired 500 miles ago. I needed new tires, had to get my brakes fixed (which would have been at no cost to me, since they'd been replaced in December) and had to get my bumper fixed (covered completely by insurance). They first came to me and said my car was worth less than I owed and that my payments for a new automobile, lease or buy, would be between $439 and $479, to which I immediately said no. I'd already mentioned that I didn't want payments over what I already shelled out every month.
We were already talking with the salesman off and on, my mother doing a great job to break the ice in a way that I could not because of my and the salesman's relative closeness in age. So we were more at ease even by the time he gave us these figures. My mother mentioned to him when he returned another time about the brakes issue--and you can pat me on the back, because along with the title, I brought the folder of any repairs done on the Saturn, all of which were done at the dealership. Between this and the reminder that I was here because of the flier, the owner himself crunched the numbers again, and got me a monthly payment only thirty bucks more than I was paying before. I did a last minute check to make sure everything was out of the car was leaving behind--with a deal like that, it was time to say goodbye--and actually had a talk with Scarlett before everything was finalized, explaining that it was time to go our separate ways, and assuring him that he would make a new owner very happy.
Don't bother to ask me why I spoke to the car. I do it occasionally.
As I've done with my computers Captain Nemo and Lorenzo, and my iPod Bes, I am searching for a name for The Scarlett Pimpernel's successor.
Edit: I forgot. It's a 2007 Saturn Vue, Storm Grey, AWD, V6.
Saturday was the 4th Annual Kill it & Grill it BBQ. jadedcat and I started the tradition in September '02, in part, I believe for my birthday and to celebrate the visit of our mutual friend, RV, from Amsterdam. It's a opportunity for folks to bring their most exotic meats, from lamb and venison to smoked salmon or bison, and the host cooks it to perfection. We always provide hot dogs, hamburgers and chicken done a different way each year, and for this one and the one last year I made sure to bake one or two cheesecakes. I have to pat my back a little, because I've found that I have a talent for making desserts, especially cheesecakes. I always make a plain one and a flavored one, and the flavored cheesecake was a completely original recipe, as the plain was based upon a recipe I found and made my own with a few major changes. This year the flavored cheesecake was New York Style Cheesecake with a berry-chocolate swirl. It was a huge hit, and there were only three or four slices left from two 11" spring-form pans by the end of the evening. Although I didn't get around to sending any sort of invitation until a week or so before the event, the lot of us mainly spreading the news by word of mouth, we had a total of 22 people in our backyard at once. Had everyone showed up, there would have been over fifty. I'm kind of breathing a sigh of relief, because I didn't get to bed until 6:30 that morning, because I was baking and doing some last minute cleaning before going to bed.
LJers in attendance: i_am_allan, jadedcat, shawnj and stormy_brow.
We didn't really get to bed until after midnight, tired, but happy. Once again the KIGI was a success.
I'm never going to be a movie star; in fact, I don't want to be. However, I enjoyed playing the crotchety older women to me_langel's character, Si Fued, in me_langel's movie, Asshole Drunkard. I had three lines, which took me about five minutes to remember. I used a dress given to me by a friend that seemed to me meant for someone much older, did several takes of the part of the scene I was in from different angles, then I held the boom for the rest of the filming they were going to do with the other guy they'd asked to participate.
It was less nerve wracking than I thought it would be, though I doubt I'm the world's gift, even for amateur acting.
I headed back home after the filming, and headed back to what has been consuming my days and nights when I'm focused. As of a couple of hours ago, the Tang dynasty was no more. w00t! For the rest of the evening, I'm going to be working on lectures that have finished skeletons or are written save a once-over with some additional sources. The last time I checked, there were seventeen people enrolled for the class. This is definitely not bad for a class that meets at 9am. The only class with an equal number of students or more is the African American history class.
Awww....yeah.