Making Friends: Not so much...

Since a few of you were curious, my forays into the social world were fairly fun, but provided no new friends to speak of.  At the brewery I ran into a young geology professor that I know.  He is a bit strange but provided some nice company.  The odd thing is that he was there with a bunch of people... who are all senior geology majors.  Is that weird?  I guess it's like the UT grad students going to the Crown with faculty, but somehow it seems stranger with undergrads.  So I met some nice people, but I have a hard time thinking that we will be friends.  The professor said that there are usually other professors there too, but it must have been a slow night.  I guess I will go back next Friday and see what happens.  It can be my replacement for the Crown happy hours in Austin.  I did look around a bit and had a hard time deciding who I would have talked to had I not known anyone there.  Guys are right, groups of girls are intimidating!  Plus it is hard to tell who is an undergrad.  Oh, and the beer was pretty good - I had a nice pumpkin ale.  But it put me to sleep almost immediately after I got home, so apparently it was stronger than I thought!

The swing dance was also fun but a little strange.  It was a benefit for Alzheimer's, put together by a family whose grandmother has the disease.  In addition to the dance band there were also a few performances by community groups, like the local high school jazz band and a teenage girl choir.  So the crowd was a mix of swing dancers, friends of the family, high schoolers, and their parents.  And it was held in a middle school gym, so parts of it felt a bit like a homecoming dance with too many chaperones.  But for the most part it was fun, and all of the musical groups were actually really good.  Before it got started they did a brief lesson for beginners, at which point I was thankful for all the random people who also had no idea what they were doing.  I picked up the steps pretty well, I think.  The group I was with was my department chair and the people she knows from dance class (she started about 2 years ago), so they all were used to dancing together at these things.  Fortunately or unfortunately there were fewer guys than girls in our group, so the guys weren't forced to take their turn with me.  But they all asked me to dance and I did get along fairly well, I think.  At least they asked me to dance more than once so I didn't scare them away.  They were all very nice, but again more like my department chair's friends, and perhaps not so much in my group.  Apparently there is a new series of classes starting up next week, so if I want I could try them out.  I'm not sure if I will do it - dance didn't really get my mojo flowing, but it was kinda fun.

On the other hand, watching the live bands perform made me want to pick up my flute and get back into music again.  There is a band in Poughkeepsie that said they would have me, so I might do that.  The downside is that it sucks up a whole night, which happens to correspond with trivia night :( 

So, I'm glad I got out into the community, but I guess you guys are right that it takes time to make friends.

Making Friends

Throughout my life I have always been in a situation where I am surrounded with people my own age, and therefore I have always had a built-in pool of people to make friends with.  That has changed now that I am in New Paltz.  My fellow faculty members are all around 50 years old or so (I am such a bad judge of age, so I hope that offends no one who eventually may read this).  Of the other faculty that I was hired with, maybe about 3 or 4 are my age, and they don't seem to go out much.  Even at some of the school receptions I've been to most people seem older.  This is not to say that my friends have to be my age, but it helps to be in the same life stage and have the same issues going on.  I do have one friend here who went to my high school (though we didn't really hang out then) and now we coincidentally find ourselves in the same random city.  We go to trivia (pub quiz) every week and have a great time.  And now I have been going out to a weekly lunch with other young science faculty.  They are great guys, so hopefully we will eventually hang out outside of lunch and actually be more friends.  Though I feel there is a bit of awkwardness with getting too friendly with a married guy before you meet his wife.  Maybe I'm just weird about that.

Anyway, since my work-provided social options are somewhat limited, and I now have more free time to devote to these kinds of things, I am forcing myself to go forth into the world and try to meet people and make friends.  (Another motivation is that I have a milestone birthday coming up in 3 weeks and I am getting a bit depressed thinking that I will have no one to celebrate it with.)  So tonight I am going to go all by myself to the local brewery, which supposedly has the most happening happy hour around.  In theory I may run into people I know there, but who knows?  Some of you may be surprised to hear this, but I am actually a fairly shy person.  I definitely came out of my shell in college and grad school, but when it comes to situations where I don't know anyone I am still pretty shy.  I am not looking forward to hitting a bar by myself!  But I do need to get out there and meet people.  Then tomorrow night I am going to go with my department chair to a swing dance benefit.  I have no idea how to swing dance, so this adds an extra level of awkwardness to the proposition.  And it is generally my rule of thumb to not go to a dance without male friends to dance with.  But alas I will be at the mercy of the nice guy gods to provide some quality companions.  It should be interesting!

I also eventually want to start having people over for dinner parties and party parties, but sadly my house is still a construction zone so that will have to wait for a while.

It feels very weird to have to actively make friends and talk about it, like I am 5 years old on the first day of school or something.  But such is my life now, I suppose.  Wish me luck!

Teaching thoughts

Now that I am more than halfway through the semester I am noticing some lessons learned in my first real teaching experience.

I tend to be a very matter of fact kind of person. It is actually bad for writing papers - "This is what I did. This is what I got. The end." I'm not as good with expounding on the implications. I have the same sort of style when it comes to teaching. "This is what I'm going to teach you. This is what we just learned. This is what you need to remember for the test." At the start of each class I review the main points from last class, and at the end of each class I summarize the main points from that day's class. How can my students possibly miss what I am telling them?? I used to totally hate TA'ing for professors that would ramble on and on about pointless things. Isn't it better to be direct about the important stuff? Well, a few weeks ago one of my students mentioned that I go a little quickly in lecture. Then I realized that there is a point to the time-filling pontifications. It allows the students a chance to digest what you are talking about before you move on to the next subject. So I am trying to incorporate more "interesting tidbits" in class, but I have to be careful to be clear about what I expect them to know. I also realized that teaching lectures are slightly different than professional talks. In talks there is a feeling that the presentation should be polished and should have smooth transitions from slide to slide. If you stop to think then you look unprepared. I don't think this is true in teaching. I am trying to stop and be silent for 5-10 seconds after each slide to allow my students to look over it, think about it, etc. before I move on. (On second thought, this may be a good practice for talks too.) I also repeat things several times. This sometimes feels painful, but I think that it is helping. I am noticing that I am covering less material each class, and I hope that the students are feeling it too. I guess we will find out on the next test. (I am not at all worried about covering enough material - I have a whole semester to do stars, galaxies, etc, which is half of a typical astro 101 class.)

The other thing I've changed slightly is how I use the Center for Astronomy Education's lecture tutorials. For those who don't know, this group developed worksheet kind of activities to be used in lecture classes so that the students can talk to each other and learn the material in a more interactive way. After attending a few of their workshops I had come to trust in the idea that students will come upon the correct answer if they talk it out with each other. It turns out that this is not true. I have noticed that they actually can convince each other of the wrong answer, particularly if the person who was right has a weaker personality. Earlier in the semester I trusted to the process and mostly wandered around the room listening and answering questions. But now I actively look at their papers and point out when they get things wrong. This makes the activities take much longer, since they often have to redo several parts of the tutorial. But now they will come away with the correct information! (As before, I summarize common mistakes after the activity.) Unfortunately I am coming to the end of CAE's materials, since they don't go past galaxies to things like cosmology. It is going to suck making up my own worksheets.

I also have learned that I hate homework. It is so hard to create meaningful questions/activities for them to do that they can't just look up in the book. Especially if I keep in mind that I have to grade them, and therefore don't want a bunch of essay questions. I keep procrastinating on making the homework assignments, which makes the timing hard to have them practice material and get the answers before a test. I wish I could scrap them altogether. Stupid syllabus being a contract. I think that next semester I will skip the homeworks totally.

Social Media

At a recent conference I saw a bunch of people from around the country that I haven't seen in a while. Now that I have this blog and regularly use facebook/twitter everybody already knows everything that I've been up to and all of my funny (ish) stories! It is a weird dynamic to have nothing to say to a long-lost friend. I guess that is the new way of our society, as this video shows. It is so fascinating to think of the future of social media.



(P.S. I learned the hard way that this video can take like an hour to load if youtube is being slow!)

100th post!

This is my 100th blog post, wow! It seems amazing that it has been that long. My "adventure" is essentially complete - I finished my PhD, successfully navigated the job market, and even managed to move and get started on the next phase. I guess I will have to change the subtitle of this blog from "Tales of finishing a PhD, finding a job, and me just being me" to "Tales of being a new faculty member, settling into a new town, and me just being me." Kind of exciting that I have accomplished so much!

This little blog has grown a lot too. I used to be able to count exactly who was looking at each new post. Now I get an average of about 450 hits a month. I realize that I'm no Project RunGay, but it's nice that there are people out there actually reading this stuff. And I have found that this has been a great way to keep in touch with old friends. You all should start blogs too so that I know what is up with you! I also wish that more of you would leave comments.

So, without further ado, the next 100 posts...

Babies and Telescopes

I have gotten in the habit of joining some other young science faculty for lunch once a week. They have all been here for about 4-5 years, and are nearing the tenure freakout, which makes for interesting info for me. Anyway, they are all guys, unsurprisingly. This week the talk of halloween came up, and kids dressing up. Putting together that conversation with previous ones I think that all 4 of them are married with kids. One even has three kids! After the recent Women in Astronomy meeting (which will hopefully get its own post eventually), I can't help but notice that the only one of us without kids is the woman. See, we aren't the only baby-makers around! Though perhaps this is just the idea that guys have no problem having kids in academia since their wives will take care of them at home. However one of these guys actually brings his toddler in to work a lot. I think this is great, except when he is crying and/or running up and down the hallways continually while I am trying to work (the baby, not the father). At the conference I did chat with people about how academia is actually very flexible in terms of working hours and such, so having kids is fairly easy. I think the main complaint is with the tenure clock and need to publish continually, and perhaps the supposed prevalence of discrimination, conscious or not, in academia, which is exacerbated by pointing out your femaleness.

In other news, I am getting incredibly tired of people asking me if the telescope is ready yet. Seriously people! I have been here for two months. I also happen to have a job that involves actually being a faculty member, teaching classes, talking to students etc. It's not like the observatory is the only thing on my plate! I have already researched all the equipment (which, by the way, is not just a telescope, but the mount, focuser, CCD, filters, etc.) and selected items within a budget. I actually didn't even get the dollar amount to spend until October. I then presented the budget to superiors, thus getting more funding to get some better equipment. I have also ordered almost everything (actually except the actual telescope optical tube, which appears to be on backorder, ugh). Then there is the order and shipping time for humongous thousand dollar items. Once it all gets here it will actually have to be attached to the pier (which hasn't been built since they were waiting on the telescope specs) and wired together. Then these things don't just come out of the box set up - I will have to align the mirrors and learn all the control software etc! Why do people think this should only take a month to do? It would be a challenge to find that many clear nights in one month here. Gah! Fortunately my Department Chair understands that I am busy and that these things take time. I think that my Dean used to think it would happen more quickly, but since seeing the amount of equipment required has been changing his mind. But there are other people who really should know better who keep asking me if it is done. Just because you saw a picture of the building online doesn't mean that the telescope magically appeared after the paint was dry. No, it isn't ready! I promise I will tell you when it is!

Ok, rant over. Excuse my little outburst...

Random Things

My computer auto-filled in the "Random Things" title so apparently I've used it before. So much for creativity.

• My student who keeps calling me "Miss" just sent me an email addressed to "Proffesor F-". I guess I'll give him credit for that one.
• My students seem to have done better on their second test. (Not quite finished grading yet.) Thank goodness!
• I am loving the local farm apple cider I recently picked up. I think I'm going to finish a half gallon in two days. Considering that I don't normally drink juice that is pretty amazing. Must go get more...
• I have lost five pounds since my recent resolution. Woo! Maybe it's the apple cider diet. Unfortunately that just puts me around the dissertation-era weight, leaving me with quite a bit to go. But it's progress.
• Around the house, I updated cabinet hardware so the kitchen is totally done, except perhaps for new flooring throughout that part of the house, which will be a later project. The plumbing, electrical, and framing for the new bathroom in my basement is all done. It might stay that way for a while. Current house project: changing all the interior doors and trim (doors, windows, baseboard). With the kitchen done I have been able to put away a lot of things and I finally put all my clothes in my custom closet/room. It's starting to feel like an organized home.
  
• I picked out all the equipment that I want for our observatory and presented it to the Dean. He agreed to give me $9k from his own funds above and beyond the $25k they had budgeted from the donation money. Yay for having an awesome future observatory!
• I recently rediscovered the wonders of the library. Between campus and the town I have two within walking distance. Free books kinda blow my mind.
• It snowed here! In October! Apparently that is not normal, but even still. I am not ok with it being this cold this early. I was prepared for winter, but I was promised a beautiful New England fall first! (Actually, the leaves have been changing and are quite lovely. So far Virginia has it beat because it lasts longer there, though. But this is way better than Texas.)
  
• Thanks to friend Julia I very much want to try natural hair and face care. I keep waiting for a good time on the hair, though, since I know mine will get quite oily at first. Has anyone else tried either?
  
• In a few days I will be heading to Maryland for the Women in Astronomy conference. I'm excited both about the conference and about seeing old friends again! I am not so much excited about missing lots of work. I'm debating whether to cancel class (fortunately I'm just missing one), or find a video to make them watch. Any tips for good videos? They will just be starting galaxies.
• I have found myself watching more and more tv lately. Between the dissertation, moving, having my mom visit, and setting things up here I had gotten out of the habit. But then the new fall season started, and I am so tired when I get home from work. Plus what else am I supposed to do when I eat dinner? I just can't help it. Sometimes I will read a book instead, but that isn't all that much better is it? Our culture just finds reading more intellectual, though actually TV gets you farther culture-wise these days.
  
• Several of my friends are applying for jobs right now. Can I tell you how nice it is to know that I never have to worry about that again? Of course I might make the choice to leave sometime in the future, but if tenure goes well I have a job for life. Such a relief. A few people have asked me for advice, which makes me feel good, like I am a success story, which I guess I am. Good luck to all!
• Most of the above items have been quite positive. It is true that things are getting on track for me these days. I might even venture out into the land of social activities soon. One thing still hanging over my head is revising a paper that I got the referee's report for a few days before my defense. Really should have done that by now... Oh, and I also need to write thank you notes for graduation presents.
  

Whew, that's a lot! Time to stop procrastinating and get back to the never-ending pile of grading.