The banner in the room said,
"You should treat your fellow employees better than your best customer."
And before then, G said,
"'A' people hire 'A' people; 'B' people hire 'C' people (because they're intimidated)."
After that, I came up with a great idea to increase school pride:
A RIVALRY.
I am so onto something with that!
{Wrapped up the non-.docx Paper 2s at home.
Will finish them all off soon.}

The less I blog, the more I have confusing/interesting/odd thoughts daily that make me think,
HEY I SHOULD BE BLOGGING THIS!

So, what did I do over Memorial Day weekend? I crammed myself into my closet (not to experience the "homosexual closet," mind you) in order to really TRULY clean it. And about 5+ garbage bags of clothes later (as well as a $7 in white hangers and a $5 light fixture), it is a closet I can FIND THINGS IN. Amazing. I realized I was using my dressers in my actual room for the underwear arena (which worked) and t-shirts/tops (which didn't). So I rearranged. Only underwear and pjs/workout clothing are outside of the closet now. I put away my fall/school pants and huge sweaters in see-through bins out of my reach in the closet. I color-coded my tops and vests and tank-tops and dresses. I folded my jeans and categorized them (need-to-be-skinny-to-wear-this-pile, not my favorites pile, etc). I even filtered my t-shirts (patterened/designed, words on them, plain, and stripes/pok-a-dots). Plus, I listened to my sisters's idea (yea, don't tell her that) to use white hangers; this allows one to see their clothing better. All in all, it may be a disaster area once again by summer's end, but for now, it's my mini-fashion-church. Oh, I even lined up my shoes (put away my "winter" ones, again, in see-through bins) on the floor for easier access; previously, I had them in a pile and would spend many minutes trying to find a freaking match while hustling my butt out the door.

What else have I thought about? Right now, nothing comes flying at me, but I have had conversations with people that have lead me to believe that a) I can see old situations that happened with old friends happeneing with new ones (yikes - don't repeat history!), b) my perceptions of people are often different than others' perceptions (thinking of a reality show here), and c) I am who I am and while I try to be a better person, there are certain things that need to be said. The line, "Be nice," works only to a certain extent because not everyone has earned my nice-ness. And sometimes, I think that we have to be the 2x4s that smack others upside the head, in a gentle way, of course. Otherwise, they will continue to do uncool things to many people.

Man, I have missed blogging. It feels to even type thoughts since I've spent the last few days using my arm muscles and legs and stomach to lift and bend and push and move items. I didn't take the new bike out yet because of the weather and also because I've been sore from spending 5+ hours sorting and rearranging that dang closet.

And... now for some Chuck Klosterman (courtesy of the folded pages in my library book): "What exactly is reality?": "How do we know what we know?" ... "Most people consider forgetting stuff to be a normal part of living. However, I see it as a huge problem; in a way, there's nothing more I fear." = BLOG! "I think this is what motivates people to have children. [...] The import of you existence can be validated by whoever you bring into the world." So, hopefully, the Bush twins will make their pa look good? "All the academics give props to older academics no one else has ever heard of." Yep. Been to those conferences. (About reading a newspaper ->) "HOWEVER, the one thing nobody wants is sentences, and they certainly don't want paragraphs. People despise paragraphs. Focus groups have proven this." A great starter to a conversation in any English class. And if I assign this book in English 120, you can bet this essay, "All I Know is What I Read in the Papers," will be first.

So, good ol' Chuck will go back to the library today. A few of my Amazon books have arrived, so I'll jump into those as a very exciting weekend approaches: my sister turns 28 AND the Sex and the City movie will be showing! As for today, I hope to double-check the online course that starts up next Tuesday (will use Monday to do this too if need be) and then take the Trek for its first official spin in Wahpeton. Tomorrow may be more of the same (course prep, bike rides, reading, and maybe an attempt to use the sewing machine to fix a few items); Thursday has me heading to Fargo for the weekend's festivities.

Lisa: Dad, don't you think you're overreacting?
Homer: Don't you think you're *under*reacting?
Lisa: This conversation is over.
Homer: This conversation is *under*.
Lisa: Goodbye.
Homer: *bad*bye

I just had to put something funny up today. And I love The Simpsons (Family Guy too, but I don't know if their conversations/quotes are all that appropriate for a teaching/professional blog).

So, I spent the last few minutes of this late afternoon hour adding a "Quotes" tab to almost each week in my eCompanion site for English 110. It adds a bit of humor & insight to the list of assignments/Class Blogs/handouts/etc. I found most the quotes at quotegeek.com, but I did venture into "pop culture land" and find a Simpsons quote about Homer detesting how education pushes out braincells with previous knowledge in them... and a Family Guy quote about Meg's parents not knowing who she is (fits in with the week when I'll be introducing profiles for Paper 2).

I was going to attend Mikey Hoeven's (Governor's wife) presentation tonight, but I am hitting a wall of exhaustion. And since I'm giving my students bonus for going (and they should be the ones listening to a speech about underaged drinking anyhow), I can just ask them how it went. Sneaky.

Yep. It's time to crash and burn. And then gain my fourth wind of the day around 8pm and read some more academic (but fun/interesting) pieces.

As a sidenote, sort of, the thought came to me sometime this week that I am really liking how eCompanion has accentuated my on-campus classroom(s). I think more classrooms will head in that direction - meet with instructor in a physical classroom, but have many, many online materials to use in or out of class(time)/class(room). I love that I have my various videos up there (from YouTube & the College Writer CD), and that they'll be there every semester now. And, I think I even want to add more to eCompanion... like quotes at every week/unit. More categories (in Doc Sharing and the Webliography) so students can easily find more items like handouts and web sites. More tabs that talk about the writing process, tips, etc.

I've already made notes on what to change for the spring. Some students are finding it easy to "cheat" in the Class Blogs by reading what others have and then just, well, summarizing what's already been summarized. So, that just means, for me, to use the Journal function so they can't see what others have written. Voila!

General Session:
(jokes and intro of newbies by Mike Johnson, overview by Dr. Richman)
"In God we trust, all others - bring data."
"We're developers."
My thoughts - "When you look at the glass, it's not half full or half empty
... JUST DRINK IT."

Sometimes, simply having lunch with people makes one realize he/she is not alone in his/her perceptions of others, ideas, and the world at large.

Notes from You Just Don't Understand:
{I realize that what Tannen's research shows doesn't not explain
everyone or every situation, but it is intriguing stuff.}
- "talk between men and women is cross-cultural communication." (18)
- Intimacy and Independence... women use talk to become intimate/closer with others, men primarily use talk to show their independence. When women talk to men freely via rapport-talking, men don't see that as them becoming closer to them through communciation. Instead, they probably think the woman is dependent or asking for advice/solutions to her problems which is why men try to "fix" things in women's eyes, and not just "talk" about it. When men talk, they use report-talking which is the basics. The facts. Over breakfast, a man will feel connected to his wife/gf/significant other just by having them there as he reads the morning paper. Perhaps the woman wants them to "talk" because that's how she sees them becoming closer. Men don't necessarily need rapport talk to be closer/intimate.
- sidenote: Some of her research and research in regards to communication between genders, I think, overlaps a bit with research I have read about birth order. For example, being the oldest in my family, I am often a report-talker because the oldest is often "the leader." I also give advice/solutions instead of talking just to talk. My brother, who is the youngest, is also the comedian of the family, and will use rapport-talking to be funny or tell hilarious stories. He talks as much as the females in the family, and he's not all about facts like my dad is when he talks.
- "I'll have to check with Bob." = Women feel a connection/intimacy by making plans or talking over decisions with their partner. Men don't like to talk over, for example, what they are doing Friday night with the guys, because that means, to them, asking for "permission," and that's NOT independence!
- Does "women = nags"? Women aren't nags, it's just that we usually do what we are asked to do, and men like to be on their own so any inclination that they aren't in control is not cool.
- Sometimes, it's not what you say (the words), it's how you say it (the metamessage behind it). EXACTLY!
- When women show connection to others (example: acknowledging partners/others in books or speeches), men equate that with a lack of independence which is "synonymous with incompetence and insecurity." (39)
- ASK FOR DIRECTIONS, ALREADY. Men don't like to take advice because that shows that they aren't in the superior position. So when a woman gives advice on where to turn or what to do, men are slow to give in because that doesn't show independence on their part.
- When I ask my boyfriend for advice and then ask my dad, it calls into question Jan's knowledge & expertise.
- "Attuned to the metamessage of connection, many women are comfortable both receiving help and giving it, though surely there are many women who are comfortable only in the role of giver of help and support. Many men, sensitive to the dynamic of status, the need to help women, and the need to be self-reliant, are comfortable in the role of giving information and help but not in receiving it." (71)
- “Even with the best of intentions, trying to settle the problem through talk can only make things worse if it is ways of talking that are causing trouble in the first place.” (79)
- “Men and women have very different ideas of what is important.” (80) DUH!
- “Many men honestly do not know what women want, and women honestly do not know why men find what they want so hard to comprehend and deliver.” (81)
- GIRLS = “All her life she has had practice in verbalizing her thoughts and feelings in private conversations with people she is close to” & BOYS = “All his life he has had practice in dismissing his and keeping them to himself.” (83)
- SOLUTION? Women should realize that when a man is reading the paper and just throwing back facts of the day at her, that she hasn’t failed the relationship. Men should realize that when women are talking they are not trying to manipulate the man, but simply connect with him.
- “When people talk about the details of daily lives, it is gossip; when they write about them, it is literature: short stories and novels.” (97)

David Eggers:
- "I had great teachers. I had fantastic teachers, all the way through school. At least I was encouraged by them. I never had an English teacher who said no you've got to fit in this category and you've got to write this way."
- "I think it's always the great killer of any potential writer if an adult says no it's got to be this way, this is how it's done, five paragraphs, topic sentence, introduction, conclusion, whatever. I think that the teachers we learn a lot from really untether their students and let them go at it from whatever angle they feel they should. The last thing you want to do is impose any kind of paralysis before they get started."
- "I think that once students know you're serious and once you're setting an example where you're being honest and you're saying you will not be judged, you will not be chastised, there's no wrong, that's where you get the most incredible writing. We've gotten it out of every conceivable student. But then we are sticklers about grammar and everything like that completely. It's not just rainbows and unicorns, we're really nuts and bolts about it. Students are always more happy to do all the mechanical stuff if they're expressing themselves in a way they feel is honest."
{from his keynote at an arts and humanities summit at NDSU}

"Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could; some blunders and absurdities have crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day; you shall begin it serenely and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense." - Emerson

"Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak; courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen." - Churchill

"We should take care not to make the intellect our god; it has, of course, powerful muscles, but no personality." - Einstein

I am constantly consumed by Einstein quotes as well as Emerson & Thoreau's ideals. And just recently I've gotten into Churchill's quotes (the other one I love is, "If you are going through hell, keep going."). This summer, I'd like to set aside time to just read about these people.

Well... I think I shall wrap up things here, run my errands, and then camp out at home with a blanket & some poetry books. And warm cider. While I watch the snow pile up on my balcony.

"A lot of people like snow. I find it to be an unnecessary freezing of water." ~Carl Reiner
"Weather forecast for tonight: dark." ~George Carlin
"Don't knock the weather; nine-tenths of the people couldn't start a conversation if it didn't change once in a while." ~Kin Hubbard
"Snowflakes are kisses from heaven." ~Author Unknown
"The snow doesn't give a soft white damn whom it touches." ~e.e. cummings

I'm fascinated with text today. And leave it to a book on design to have quotes like these:
"Ever notice that 'What the heck' is always the right decision" (Nancy Davis 136)? and
"Today's mighty oak is just yesterday's nut that held its ground" (138).
I really have a thing for wanting to put together documents (even the most basic of handouts for my students) that are aesthetically pleasing & fun to look at.