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Dec. 16th, 2003 09:55 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
usernamenumberOk, after two silly posts and a whole lotta nothing over the last few weeks, I figure I ought to do a quick update on a few of the things I've wanted to LJ about lately. What follows are the random firings of my brain before going to bed (way too late) tonight.
First, the main reason I've done nothing is because I've been coding. I finally came up with an interesting project. More on that when I have something I'm willing to show people.
I'm currently in Fort Lauderdale, where I've been for the last two weeks. I decided to "celebrate" my last week here by renting a car and staying at a hotel that has net access but isn't across the street like the one I usually stay at. This has the added benefit of allowing me to eat somewhere other than Boston Market or Hometown Buffet, the only places within walking distance of work where I can get a veggie meal and thus the only two places I have eaten for the last two work weeks. Note for future reference: When tired and/or depressed (as I tended to be the first week here when for some reason I again couldn't sleep), buffet restaurants that have dessert are BAD.
I was in Washington DC last month for the second time. I keep meaning to post about how DC makes me feel. Of course there's nothing of western origin in the US that is "old" by the rest of the world's standards but it still feels old to me in DC. I keep thinking about this monument I walk past on my way to work when I'm there -- it has the name of a man I've never heard of on it and a series of engraved panels describing the things that he did. But the panels are too vague to really get a sense for what his accomplishments were and though the panels have captions, the captions are in latin. A dead man "immortalized" in a dead language that I can't read. It's at once sad and comforting in a "comfort of the void" sort of way.
But enough with the freshman philosophy (cue Bobby Joe Ebola)...
Class is going well this week. The last several times I've taught rh300, which is basically two of our other four-day classes crammed into one four-day "rapid track" course with an exam at the end, my lecture has gone over by about 4 or 5 hours, causing us to have to stay late at least one night out of the week. This week I think I've got a handle on it and I'm feeling much better with the pace of the class. Then again, I also have that rarest of gifts this week, a class full of people who all "get it" reasonably well and I'm sure that has a lot to do with it as well. In any given class there is usually at least one person in the class who works at about half the pace of the other students and/or needs to be hand-held during the independant labs. Now, there's nothing really wrong with that. I mean, they're paying for the instruction and so I figure they're entitled to whatever instruction they need. But man, having a class where I do my lecture, say "ok, now do your lab" and can then do my email, code, etc without having to worry about anyone still staring at problem #1 by the time we need to move on is very nice indeed.
I think the worst thing that this job has done to me is make me almost sick of eating out. After a while it loses its novelty and just becomes a waste of time when compared to just going home (I regularly catch myself refering to hotels as 'home' now, too), making a sandwich and relaxing in privacy and quiet. Yesterday I walked past a restaurant called "The Pancake Place" with relative indifference. What is happening to me??
That's about it. Sleep now. We're going to be in CA for the holidays and I'm really looking forward to that. Can't wait to see everybody at Sam's party (everybody who's going to be there, at least)!
First, the main reason I've done nothing is because I've been coding. I finally came up with an interesting project. More on that when I have something I'm willing to show people.
I'm currently in Fort Lauderdale, where I've been for the last two weeks. I decided to "celebrate" my last week here by renting a car and staying at a hotel that has net access but isn't across the street like the one I usually stay at. This has the added benefit of allowing me to eat somewhere other than Boston Market or Hometown Buffet, the only places within walking distance of work where I can get a veggie meal and thus the only two places I have eaten for the last two work weeks. Note for future reference: When tired and/or depressed (as I tended to be the first week here when for some reason I again couldn't sleep), buffet restaurants that have dessert are BAD.
I was in Washington DC last month for the second time. I keep meaning to post about how DC makes me feel. Of course there's nothing of western origin in the US that is "old" by the rest of the world's standards but it still feels old to me in DC. I keep thinking about this monument I walk past on my way to work when I'm there -- it has the name of a man I've never heard of on it and a series of engraved panels describing the things that he did. But the panels are too vague to really get a sense for what his accomplishments were and though the panels have captions, the captions are in latin. A dead man "immortalized" in a dead language that I can't read. It's at once sad and comforting in a "comfort of the void" sort of way.
But enough with the freshman philosophy (cue Bobby Joe Ebola)...
Class is going well this week. The last several times I've taught rh300, which is basically two of our other four-day classes crammed into one four-day "rapid track" course with an exam at the end, my lecture has gone over by about 4 or 5 hours, causing us to have to stay late at least one night out of the week. This week I think I've got a handle on it and I'm feeling much better with the pace of the class. Then again, I also have that rarest of gifts this week, a class full of people who all "get it" reasonably well and I'm sure that has a lot to do with it as well. In any given class there is usually at least one person in the class who works at about half the pace of the other students and/or needs to be hand-held during the independant labs. Now, there's nothing really wrong with that. I mean, they're paying for the instruction and so I figure they're entitled to whatever instruction they need. But man, having a class where I do my lecture, say "ok, now do your lab" and can then do my email, code, etc without having to worry about anyone still staring at problem #1 by the time we need to move on is very nice indeed.
I think the worst thing that this job has done to me is make me almost sick of eating out. After a while it loses its novelty and just becomes a waste of time when compared to just going home (I regularly catch myself refering to hotels as 'home' now, too), making a sandwich and relaxing in privacy and quiet. Yesterday I walked past a restaurant called "The Pancake Place" with relative indifference. What is happening to me??
That's about it. Sleep now. We're going to be in CA for the holidays and I'm really looking forward to that. Can't wait to see everybody at Sam's party (everybody who's going to be there, at least)!
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veggie meal?
Date: 2003-12-17 06:01 am (UTC)Re: veggie meal?
Date: 2003-12-17 01:20 pm (UTC)veggie meals
Date: 2003-12-17 02:46 pm (UTC)Your condition may be a bit strong for my taste, but it does limit the values in the neccesary fashion.
8/10
Re: veggie meals
Date: 2003-12-17 03:52 pm (UTC)Being on the road makes it both harder and easier to do. Because I'm always taking myself out, making all the descisions and eating alone, the main issue that kept me from doing it in the past -- self consciousness -- isn't as much of an issue. Now I'm more used to the lifestyle and able to be a bit more confident (still nervous about the holidays, though=;).
The down side to being veggie while on the road is that doing so healthily can be very difficult if you can't (a) cook for yourself or (b) go venues that actually cater to vegetarians instead of just having the odd salad on the menu. But I've actually been pretty impressed with the increasing availability of veggie food that I'd never noticed before. Chilis has a very nummy black-bean patty you can get in lieu of beef on any of their burgers. Every mexican place I've ever been to, even if it's not on the menu, will make grilled-vegetable fajitas (and, wow, they are always fantastic!). Even Dennys will give you a boca patty on any of their burgers as well.
Problem is, much of what I've just described should illustrate my earlier point: Meat-free does not nescessarily equate to healthier.
Last week's extensive patronage of Hometown Buffet provides another example -- Salad bar and mixed vegetables aplenty: Good. Heaps of stuffing and mashed potatoes to round it all out: Not so good. =:\
</ramble>
Re: veggie meals
Date: 2003-12-18 05:35 am (UTC)whole wheat bread, veggie burgers/veggie slices and hummus all keep fairly well if you have access to any kind of mini-frigge at all at your hotels. if you pick up one or two days' worth of veggies like a tomato and a little bit of baby spinach or something you should be able to make some killer sandwiches without needing a real kitchen.
you might also try looking here (http://isitveggie.com/eat_out/) for some resources on eating out.
Re: veggie meal?
Date: 2003-12-18 05:21 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-12-17 06:28 am (UTC)Who are you? What have you done with Brad?!
I don't know if I can handle seeing any Brad impostors in 15 days. I can only hope some of his pleasure centers were salvaged and the sense of humor remains. Else I may be forced to drink alcohol to excess as I had originally planned.