Those Personal Triumphs No One Else Will Ever Understand

[Petra456]

I curled my hair. I will make another triumph today and curl it to wear out in public.

[starlooker]

A thread I created got to five pages

[Eaquae Legit]

I emailed a professor to ask for a reference. A specific professor. One who terrifies me.

[neo-dragon]

I survived my first week as a teacher, and along the way, learned how to change the light bulb in an overhead projector!

[Petra456]

Congratulations Jason!

[Gravity Defier]

Yay, Jason! I am all kinds of curious about how it went, besides well enough to have survivors (and I'm glad you were one of them).

Looking back at last year, I like to think of teaching -at times- as a slightly altered version of Lord of the Flies, the slight alteration being there is exactly one adult amongst all the children.

I'm not sure I'm entirely joking at that last bit.

But once again, yay, Jason!

[starlooker]

I emailed a professor to ask for a reference. A specific professor. One who terrifies me.

*happy dance*

Good for you!!!!

[Dr. Mobius]

Alea, I'm not really sure you'd qualify as an adult.

[Gravity Defier]

I moved a dead rodent of an unknown nature from the back porch, where my dog left it after killing it, to the garbage in the front of the house without screaming.



And I am an adult if you go by age and only age. Throw in other factors, I may have to agree.

[BonitoDeMadrid]

I moved a dead rodent of an unknown nature from the back porch, where my dog left it after killing it, to the garbage in the front of the house without screaming.

Good for you!

I have, sorta, the same problem with my (all-so-cute-and-cuddly) dog- only I'm male, and I don't throw rodents out, I throw pidgeons out. Yes, if we're not there to help it, and pidgeons enter the house and walk around it for a while, my dog will hunt them furiously- and she actually managed to hunt and kill one.

Actually, I think my problem's worse. Pidgeons are cute while rodents are EVIL -_-

[daPyr0x]

I initiated contact with someone on an internet dating site.

I don't know if that's something to be proud of or not, but it's gotta be better than waiting for another crazy chick to fall for me...

[Rei]

I have my very own PIMS library card!

[Jayelle]

I had Storytime training today. I got to pretend to play with a baby and sing rhymes, then I got to pretend to be a two-year-old and watch a puppet show and listen to a story, then I got to do a craft.

AND I GOT PAID FOR IT!!!!

[zeroguy]

I had Storytime training today.

You know, your job sounds awesome and I'm happy for you and all, but... this phrase just makes me giggle, I'm sorry.

[Yebra]

I was published on a semi-prestigious political blog.

[BonitoDeMadrid]

I finally went to the mall, something I always forget to do (or can't), and tried to buy some training pants (shorts)...

...but they were all too pricy, or too ugly.
So I'll go sometime to the market nearby us, try and get something nice in 1/4 the price.

[Gravity Defier]

Congratulations, Alex! That's awesome.

[starlooker]

I finished comps without crying. Even right now, I'm not crying.

[Rei]

I found three sources for my project that's due in just over a week! And one of them is even in English!

[starlooker]

I just finalized the list of sites to which I am applying.

I am so terrified.

Oh. My. Gosh.

Now the work begins.

However, I have really, truly finished the first step.

[starlooker]

Okay, this one's really actually kinda funny, in retrospect. Although, not at the time.

So, this morning going on my hour-long drive to fieldwork, I realized that it was cold outside. I really do not have a good coat for this type of weather. I bought a cheap fuzzy red fleece blanket a while back that I've been meaning to take with me to my office, so I figured I'd drive with that around me and keep warm in case the heater was acting up. So, I throw the blanket accross the front of the black button up shirt I'm wearing and drive to fieldwork.

Once I get there, I park in the parking lot and start to put my lipstick on using the car mirror when I notice two things in quick succession.

1) I have bright red fuzz all over my black shirt.

2) When I sit, there is a big gap between two of the buttons on said shirt. And I'm wearing a bright purple bra today.

Oh. s***.

Normally under this particular shirt, I always wear a black tank top, so even if it gapes it gives the illusion that it is not. However, I really thought that was an extra precaution (ignoring everything I know about my body and these kinds of shirts) and so I threw caution to the wind this morning since I was running late and couldn't find the black tank.

Oops.

So, I go into the bathroom at the office, try desperately (with little success) to brush off the red fuzz. And then I turn to the more pressing problem of my indecently exposing shirt. I have two very small wire keyrings on my key chain. I take the keys off of one, bend it around, and try to make it hold my shirt together. However, no dice -- it's too strong to straighten out all the way without pliers and the curve of it means that metal will show -- and, actually, at some angles it holds the halves of the shirt further apart. Then I tried a smaller wire I found. Still no luck.

I'm running late for the morning meeting. In desperation, I decide that I will go raid the secretary's supplies in hopes of finding a safety pin or making due with a paper clip.

I get to the supply room. My eyes and instincts are sharpened in desperation.

And then I spot it. A small container of brightly colored toothpicks.

Turns out a toothpick fits perfectly in the holes I'd torn in my shirt trying to get the keychain to work and hold the shirt together actually even better than a safety pin would, and does not show at all.

Take that MacGuyver!

I am so awesome. And resourceful. And I am Very Resourceful. Remind me to tell ya'll sometime about putting my hair up with 33 colored paper clips on a day in the department that was hotter than hell when I had to move all my stuff to a different office.

[Rei]

Kirsten, I think you are my heroine. That is resourceful and then some.

[Gravity Defier]

I didn't cry once this quarter over school related events. This is a huge improvement over last year.

[Eaquae Legit]

I hate it when that happens with shirts, Kirsten. You should be commended.


A triumph? Well, I haven't freaked out yet about moving.

[Young Val]

Okay, this one's really actually kinda funny, in retrospect. Although, not at the time.

So, this morning going on my hour-long drive to fieldwork, I realized that it was cold outside. I really do not have a good coat for this type of weather. I bought a cheap fuzzy red fleece blanket a while back that I've been meaning to take with me to my office, so I figured I'd drive with that around me and keep warm in case the heater was acting up. So, I throw the blanket accross the front of the black button up shirt I'm wearing and drive to fieldwork.

Once I get there, I park in the parking lot and start to put my lipstick on using the car mirror when I notice two things in quick succession.

1) I have bright red fuzz all over my black shirt.

2) When I sit, there is a big gap between two of the buttons on said shirt. And I'm wearing a bright purple bra today.

Oh. s***.

Normally under this particular shirt, I always wear a black tank top, so even if it gapes it gives the illusion that it is not. However, I really thought that was an extra precaution (ignoring everything I know about my body and these kinds of shirts) and so I threw caution to the wind this morning since I was running late and couldn't find the black tank.

Oops.

So, I go into the bathroom at the office, try desperately (with little success) to brush off the red fuzz. And then I turn to the more pressing problem of my indecently exposing shirt. I have two very small wire keyrings on my key chain. I take the keys off of one, bend it around, and try to make it hold my shirt together. However, no dice -- it's too strong to straighten out all the way without pliers and the curve of it means that metal will show -- and, actually, at some angles it holds the halves of the shirt further apart. Then I tried a smaller wire I found. Still no luck.

I'm running late for the morning meeting. In desperation, I decide that I will go raid the secretary's supplies in hopes of finding a safety pin or making due with a paper clip.

I get to the supply room. My eyes and instincts are sharpened in desperation.

And then I spot it. A small container of brightly colored toothpicks.

Turns out a toothpick fits perfectly in the holes I'd torn in my shirt trying to get the keychain to work and hold the shirt together actually even better than a safety pin would, and does not show at all.

Take that MacGuyver!

I am so awesome. And resourceful. And I am Very Resourceful. Remind me to tell ya'll sometime about putting my hair up with 33 colored paper clips on a day in the department that was hotter than hell when I had to move all my stuff to a different office.

You have no idea how much I admire you right now. I love MacGyvering things! A toothpick to close your shirt? Nice!

I'm particularly impressed with the 33 paperclip up-do! Things I've used to pin up my hair include (but are not limited to): pens, pencils, binder clips, plastic bags, ipod headphones, and my hair itself (at one point it was so long I could actually tie it together and knot it up on its own). I never thought of paper clips!

[Eddie Pinz]

Things I've used to pin up my hair include (but are not limited to):... plastic bags

Haha, that is awesome. Right now I am just picturing you with one plastic bag tied around your head with hair inside. I'm sure that's not how it exactly went, but I think it is funnier that way. Well, at least to me it's funnier that way.

[Young Val]

My whole life, I have always wanted to crack an egg on my head as was all the rage in RAMONA QUIMBY AGE 8. For the first time I finally did so. And--unlike Ramona's--my hardboiled egg was actually hardboiled.

[Luet]

Aww, darn. I was picturing a raw egg running down your head. You should do that next.

[neo-dragon]

Today I totally had my students on the edge of their seats because I did this. The guy in the video is way better at it than me though. My bubbles flopped over and I ignited most on the desk. I only got a few good ones in the air. And I didn't ignite any off my hand. Still, it was such a thrill! I'd never done it before today, so I was as excited as the kids!

I even put on a good show and exaggerated my own fear and the danger involved. I kept saying things like, "Remember, the school is not legally responsible if anyone is seriously hurt or killed during this experiment." And I always said it in a deadly serious way. I also said that the other teachers specifically told me not to do this particular demonstration because I'm not experienced enough and it's too dangerous, but I said to myself "screw it, I'm doing it anyway!". They ate it all up and were cheering so loud when they saw the fireballs that teachers down the hall could hear them. I swear I almost set the ceiling on fire! (Thank God it didn't set off an alarm.)

I also demonstrated what happens when you drop a piece of sodium into water (it explodes). I didn't even have to exaggerate my fear very much on that one, because it really does scare me! It's been known to literally blow beakers apart, and again, I'd never done it myself before today.

My kids thought I was the best science teacher ever, and I've never enjoyed my job more.

[Eaquae Legit]

That is awesome. Totally awesome.

About the sodium, I think you're okay as long as you stick to small bits. There is a rather infamous few stories at my HS about teachers who were doing stuff they really shouldn't. My ex's grade 10 teacher wasn't actually a science teacher, but was the newbie on staff and got stuck with the "leftover" class. He thought the sodium in water thing was really cool, and kept dropping successively larger chunks of it into water, up to about half a fist sized or so - until the beaker exploded and sent one kid to the hospital for stitches.

Also. Ball bearing + gas tubing + centripetal force = shattered glass, if lucky.

Anyway. Kudos on teaching. I hope you have no disasters!

[neo-dragon]

Thanks!

- until the beaker exploded and sent one kid to the hospital for stitches.

Yeah, that's exactly the kind of thing that I was afraid might happen, but thankfully it didn't, and I pray that it never will in my classroom. In addition to not using too much sodium, the trick is also to make sure that the beaker is almost completely full of water. It seems counterintuitive because people think that if water + sodium = explosion, more water should equal bigger explosion. But if the beaker has too much space, more hydrogen gas builds up, and that's what actually explodes. Unlike the incident at your ex's school, the incidents that I've heard of that involved the beaker being blown apart all happened not because too much sodium was used, but because the teacher thought that a half-full beaker would be safer. Even newbies who are fully qualified to teach science don't know everything.

It's funny because I was trying to leave about an inch of space at the top of the beaker so that I'd get a good (but not dangerous) explosion, and the kids were all watching and saying, "look how much water he's adding! He must really want this to be huge!" I decided not to enlighten them and instead let them believe that I was being daring when in fact I kept adding water to be more cautious.

[Eaquae Legit]

Yes, eventually they will come to understand that a chemical reaction needs both ingredients, and when one is used up, poof.

Seriously, though, about the ball bearing and gas tubing. Not pretty. Promise you won't ever do that.

[neo-dragon]

I won't, I promise.

[Eaquae Legit]

And I will chalk that up as a personal triumph that really, probably no one else will ever understand.

[v-girl]

Ever since high school I've always wanted to ignite methane bubbles on my hand! Alas, the only cool thing I got to do as a chem TA was ignite magnesium. All the other demos were in lectures, not the labs.