bugsii

-Watch a few movies from childhood you haven’t seen in awhile-

This week’s challenge is to watch a few movies.  Not so hard, right?  For the past few weeks, Dan has been helping me compile these movies a la Netflix.  I am now in possession of Flight of the Navigator and Harry and the Hendersons!  Those are both must-sees.  I also will choose from a few favorites that I purchased (at various times) including, but not limited to, The Neverending Story, Annie, The Wizard of Oz, Willow, Aladdin and Beauty and the Beast.  It’s tough for me to sit down and focus on movies, but my intention for the week is to revert to childhood a little and really enjoy these hilarious old movies that I loved as a kid.

What were your favorite movies as a kid?  And more importantly, who’s with me?!

This week’s challenge was to meditate everyday for a week.  I have to admit that I think I am a very bad meditator, though, I do think that this is also something that must be practiced regularly and perhaps a week is just not enough time.  Monday, my first day of meditation, started well enough.  I decided to meditate in the afternoon, just before my class.  I thought, this would relax me and allow me to clear my mind before class.  I sat up in my bedroom on the floor at the foot of my bed, crossed my legs, and let my hands rest on my knees.  I set my meditation timer for ten minutes and began to breathe.  It started easily enough.  I tried to focus on the feeling of my breath, the coldness in my throat, the rise and fall of my belly.  A few minutes in, I started to have thoughts intrude on my silence.  I thought about dogs (no idea why), family members, but mostly, what am I going to do when this ten minutes is over?  My mind really wanted to spend the ten minutes of silence in planning mode.  Oh, you thought you were going to relax did you?  Why are you wasting a perfectly good ten minutes!  You should be reading!  You should be checking your email!  Don’t you have grades to do?  You know that as you sit here like a lump, you are forgetting to do something VERY IMPORTANT.  START MOVING! My mind is ferocious, I tell you.  I felt like I had to stand guard and shoo my thoughts away, but it was kind of exhausting and a little disturbing that I felt like I lost the battle with my persistent and neurotic thoughts.  When my meditation timer sounded the bell to end my session, my body felt a little more relaxed, but I jumped up to check my email and my calendar to make sure my thoughts weren’t right.  I don’t really think that that’s how meditation is supposed to go.

The next four days were all the same (unfortunately).  I put off meditating all day because I felt like I just had too much to do to sit still for ten minutes.  Then, I meditated right before bed, laying down on my bed.  I kept the light on and set my timer, determined not to think for ten minutes before I tucked myself in for the night.  This was actually a little more successful (though I realize also very lazy).  I was tired, so I was able to be more still.  There was nothing left in the day to think about.  It was also nice to completely clear my head before I tried to fall asleep.  This let me relax and not go through the list in my head once I turned off the light.  I still had thoughts intruding, mind you, but they were easier to shoo away.

Saturday was a complete disaster.  I put off meditating until it was 1am (and so not Saturday any longer) and then just decided to not meditate that day.  Ah.  Friday was such a bad day with all the work piled up and the rejection letter, that Saturday was a loss.  I had to do schoolwork all morning and then in the evening we celebrated Ben’s birthday.  No meditating at all, and I feel like a slacker (one more thing I didn’t get to).

Today was my last day, and I was determined to hold to my promise to meditate for twenty minutes.  So, before bed, I got into comfortable clothes, parked myself on my bed (sitting up, cross-legged), set my meditation timer for twenty minutes and folded my hands in my lap.  This was my most successful attempt!  Maybe it was the longer time, or maybe it was a new strategy I had.  I first started by breathing in and breathing out and with each breath thinking, “right here, right now.”  I tried to focus on those words and my breathing so as not to let my mind yell at me.  Thoughts still popped up like, what I was going to write in this blog and what time I needed to get up in the morning, but I peacefully shooed those away and went back to breathing.  In the middle sometime, I changed my thinking to, “spirit, lightness.”  I have no idea why I picked these words, but they just appeared and I tried to focus on my spirit and a feeling of lightness.  I also tried to sort of half smile.  I imagined that I was light and floating and at peace.  Later on, my thoughts changed to, “peace, love” (very 1960s, I know) and I started to think of each of my family members with smiles on their faces.  My thoughts started to wander again, this time saying, How long is twenty minutes?! But, it was only a few seconds later that the timer went off.  I felt very peaceful and relaxed and I also felt like I had an experience to share on my blog.

In the future, I think I might try to meditate more often for about 15-20 minutes, but only when I truly feel like I have time.  It just can’t be another thing on my list that stresses me out.  That makes no sense.  Although, it is supposed to be a break from the day and it’s not good that I have a hard time giving myself a ten minute break.  I need to work on that.

Yesterday the big snowstorm descended on Columbus.  We were supposed to get 8 or 9 inches, but downtown only ended up getting about 4.  I decided that this meant it was safe enough for me to drive to the rec, so I did.  But, I forgot about that cleaning off the car business, which was a workout in itself.  I couldn’t get the very top of the car, so I left the neighborhood with 4 inches of snow on my roof, in addition to really wet gloves.  I hate that.  The streets were pretty clear and there were lots of parking spaces at the rec, so that was nice.  And, on the way home I saw a snowman Brutus!  The face was carved perfectly and it even had flexing arms.  I was going to turn around and take a picture, but I’m trying to make my car a “no phone zone” like Oprah told me to.  My apologies.  Also on the way home, that 4 inches of snow that was on my roof loosened up enough that when I stopped at a red light, it all slid onto my windshield.  Awesome.  No worries though, the windshield wipers did the trick.

I did schoolwork all afternoon until it was time to go out to dinner for Ben’s birthday part two.  We went to Gameworks at Easton.  Gameworks has this deal where if you eat a 1.25 lb burger, then you get a free $10 game card.  You have to eat the WHOLE burger and the side.  Everyone tried the challenge (but me), and though there was some grimacing and deep breathing (well, except for Matt), everyone finished and received their prize.  Here we all are, ridonculous burgers in hand.

That's a lot of meat!

After that, we played some games… while trying to keep down those big burgers.

Look at that face!

This is a familar scene... from Tokyo to Columbus.

And, now we’re back at Ben’s house watching some UFC.  Happy Birthday, Ben!

Today was sort of horrible.  I gave myself from 7-10am to work on this one class and it really took me from 9am-7pm (with a nap thrown in for good measure).  So, I only got half of my list done today and my butt hurts from sitting so much.

Onto other news, my article got rejected.  This is the one I worked on for two quarters with a professor.  Everyone said, oh, they’ll come back to you asking for edits.  But, no, it was just a flat out rejection.  I feel overwhelmed and a little bit worthless today.  Oh how the tides change.

This morning I got up and finished some schoolwork and ran outside.  Then, I had my Ed Tech seminar, which is always good.  For dinner, I went out with a couple of friends from my classes last quarter.  We went to lemongrass bistro, which I had been dying to try.  I got some good soup and sushi and had a nice chat.  I’m also really tired and need to go to sleep.  Night!

Okay, so I can’t say it’s my first article ever published, but it is my first article as a graduate student!  Looks good, right?  I like to see my name on a glossy page.  Ah, soaking it in.

By Lauren Angelone!!

By the way this is from Science Scope, NSTA’s publication for middle childhood educators.

Yesterday morning I went to the eTech conference.  I got to listen to the keynote and attend a few sessions.  Then, I taught another lecture for my middle school almost-teachers!   I felt a bit rushed, but was pretty happy with how it turned out.  I was exhausted when I got home and it was only compounded by the fact that, today, I had to present at eTech.

See my presenter ribbon?

I started my morning with my last Digital Tools class, which wasn’t as smooth as I’d like, but it wasn’t terrible either.  It was my last day with this group and next week, I’ll have new students.  Do over!  I like do overs.  Anyway, after that, I came home for lunch and then headed back to eTech.  I was able to attend a session before it was time to present.  I was nervous, but tried to calm myself down.  It’s just one little presentation in the grand scheme of life, right?  I presented on blogs and their implications for learning and identity, especially for girls.  I was kind of worried about presenting this because I thought it might not be “practical” enough for people.  So, I sort of prefaced my talk by saying that I was hoping to share research and have a conversation.  There were lots of presentations at eTech about “how to” use blogs in the classroom, and mine was much more… now that we’re using blogs, what’s happening?  What do we need to pay attention to?  I felt like the presentation got off to a slow start, but part way through, people started to participate and really ask some interesting questions.  We ended up having a good conversation about the blending of public and private and the types of stories girls/women are telling the world about themselves on blogs.  By the end, I felt totally comfortable and really glad that I was able to share my research and ideas.  It was neat!  AND THEN, it just so happened that this big wig tech lady at Ohio State was in the audience and she stayed a bit to talk and I saw her name tag and told her that I knew who she was and she complimented my presentation and said that we should talk sometime on campus. 

This week’s challenge, completing an entire NY Times crossword, would have been impossible without help from the internet.  Before this week, I’ve started many crosswords and finished zero.  Now I remember why.  I get to a certain point, I get stuck, and I need just a few more letters to move me along.  I usually ask whoever is in the room and if they can’t help, I quit.  This week, I stayed with it.  The first few days I was determined not to use the internet.  Day one, I got stuck.  When I went back the second day, with fresh eyes, I actually got a fewthat I thought I didn’t know the first day.  That was cool.  But, by the third day, I was scouring the internet for help.  I figured that if it was fair to ask people in the room, then asking the internet was almost the same, it just happened to be a lot smarter.  I learned a few things through that process though.

1) You cannot find every answer on the internet.  I mean, sure, you can find a clue like “Prince Valiant’s wife” easily enough (ALETA), but crossword puzzle writers are tricky and the put other clues in that aren’t so straightforward.  Clues like, “the racer’s edge” (STP), “exactly what’s expected” (PARFORTHECOURSE), and “preside over the tea ceremony” (POUR).  Just try googling any of those phrases and you will not come up with the answer.  But, once I got a few of the ones I could google, I at least had enough letters to help me with the more slippery clues.  So, I didn’t have to look up a lot of clues.  I’d say 10-15?  (sheepish smile)

2) There are people that are crossword fanatics!  There were whole blogs dedicated to people figuring out the NY Times crosswords and then posting every answer with commentary on each one.  I avoided these sites once I found them (I swear!), but it was kind of funny.  I also hear that there are competitions and people can do these things fast and without the internet!  I am in awe.

So, I worked on the puzzle with the internet for days three and four and I was able to finish it on Thursday.  Answers I knew right away… “high protein food often found in vegetarian cuisine” (TOFU!), “Wrigley Field and Camden Yards” (BALLPARK), and “cheese-covered chip” (NACHO!).  Haha.  There’s still one I completely do not understand… “Lollapalooza” (ONER??).  Does anyone know what that means?  I made sure I got Tuesday’s paper because it had the answers from Monday.  When I finished the puzzle, I checked my answers and, even with the internet’s help, I had two letters wrong!  The Lollapalooza one got me (I had OVER) and another clue “went in haste” was HIED and I had HIAD (which I didn’t think was a word, but it worked in the space).  I also had the darndest time with “syllables in a gay refrain” (TRALA).  What?  That was mean.  Ah well.  I was going to give myself a 98% for only missing two letters, but then with all the cheating, I thought I better give myself a B-.

Posted proudly

I had fun challenging myself to finish a tough (to me) crossword, but it was also a nice break from work.  It was addictive and it relaxed me a bit.  It was sort of like a mental workout without any consequences.  I liked it.  I think I might try a few more.  Does anyone have links to good online ones?

Let the celebrating of Ben’s birthday begin!  Ben’s my little brother.  He’ll be 24 in a few days, which really only makes me think, “1986 was 24 years ago?”  Dang.  Anyway, last night Mom, Guido and the Rossetti’s came down to the ‘bus to kick off the celebrations.  Next weekend is the real party (you know, Gameworks, UFC, and the Superbowl, every female graduate student’s dream), but for now, we ate some pizza and chatted. Happy almost-Birthday, Ben!  But don’t think I’m getting you two gifts.

Ben and Rachael