and I shall try and post more often...

Article 1

and

Article 2

When I'm not at work, I might attempt presenting my perspective.

1: I was driving to work this morning and listening to the radio. One of the normal d.j.s was mentioned as being gone because she took the day off to move and how it was such a blessing for her and her worship pastor husband who would have a new job and she wouldn't have to commute an hour to work each morning. Now I know this lady's name was Julia and I know the station is based from Waterloo--and hour north of Cedar Rapids. So all these little details suddenly clicked together and I realized there might be an odd coincidence that we are taking possession of the house today from the sellers--the wife whose name is Julia and the husband who is a pastor and they were moving to Waterloo, and leaving the house today.

So when I got to work, I looked at our house paperwork and checked the radio station's website, and sure enough the names match. It's just bizarre to think about. We seem to have bought house from one of the morning show hosts I listen to every day on my way to work.

2. This is actually more of a daily/long-term weird issue. I am pretty strong in math...but I have the strangest troubles adding and subtracting numbers with a last digit of 9 using mental math. Really, I keep trying to say that 9+7=18 or 16-9=5. Yeah, silly--but I make this mistake quite frequently.

3. So I'm sitting at work here answer checking and rolling my eyes at yet another of my 9 mistakes when I get an email from one of my team members asking what level of math I used to teach. I emailed her back and a little bit later telling me that she was wondering because they might be needing extra tutors at a place in C.R. The reason this is weird is because I have been planning on checking out the different tutoring companies to do some part-time work a few evenings a week/Saturdays maybe. I want to stay involved with kids and it would be a little extra money. So yet another "coincidence"

I know these two things aren't really coincidences. They're God's way of reminding me He's still here and involved in all the little aspects of my life. They are reassuring to me also in that I feel they serve as confirmation that I am right where he wants me right now with this job and with this house.

*update* Bizarre #4: so I'm driving along to get my afternoon snack and exploring areas of Iowa City, and I see this guy walking down the road with a chinese cone cat with ribbons hanging down and the guy also had on a silk tunic or something with an embroidered dragon. A few minutes later I see some teenagers walking along--one dressed like a cat and the others in some kind of costume. Yet a few minutes later I saw ANOTHEr group of teenagers. Yet the chinese constumed guy still didn't fit with either of these two other costumed groups. I guess there's a theatre or something close by this area. It was the kind of area you might find a theatre in.

Also, regarding prisms: while height is defined as the perpendicular distance between bases--I've only ever seen teachers and textbooks use right cylinders (obviously there must be slanted cylinders) or prisms where edges meet the bases at right angles.

Maybe this is why I was never strong at Geometry.

and I found this great coffee shop near where I work. The other day I decided to try the advertised summer special of an "Iced Rose White Mocha". It was very unique. It reminded me a bit (not in taste but taste uniqueness) of a chai with espresso. I rather enjoyed it even though I'm not a big fan of white mochas. While there, I noticed this cake called "Chocolate Chambord" which involves grabbed my attention because Chocolate, well that's obvious but Chambord is a black raspberry liquer that I am a big fan of, especially in margaritas :-). This cake was quite tasty.

What is up with high school math teachers/textbooks lowering the standards for Standard Form of an Equation. I'm starting to see PUBLISHED definitions and teacher's lessons with simply teaching it as ax + by = c WITHOUT specifying that a, b, and c must be integers and a > 0!!!! Really, I've even seen examples using fractional or decimal coefficients. It came up when I was putting together the answer key for one our new workbooks at work today. and I'm going to fix it in the lessons. (after getting an okay from the editor---I don't feel comfortable exhibiting too much editorial reign over other people's work yet...) I thought about telling the editor that I as a teacher would not purchase/adopt any textbook/workbook for my class that taught standard form so loosely. But I wasn't sure it would come across the right way.

Drivers in this area....have some interesting quirks. There isn't much speeding (but those who do go way more than 10 mph over and aren't afraid to zip in and out of cars or cut in front of people or fly into an exit ramp) but yet many drivers do not use blinkers--even for actual turns--or respect stop signs and stop lights.
Oh, and there is no courtesy--especially with merges. For example, the other day I was trying to enter the interstate off a ramp that was jammed up because of an accident/broke-down vehicle obstructing the left lane just a few yards past the ramp. so three lanes are trying to merge into one. Now, any real city person could probably tell you that it works nicely if each car let's one person in--if done right traffic keeps moving, albeit slightly more slowly. But no....people in this situation were intentionally speeding up to close gaps so that other people could NOT merge.... I had to angle my car into the lane to force someone to let me in.. Even worse, the car right in front of me forced his way in before the guy in front of him (a large white van) had merged into traffic because no one would let the white van in. The guy in front of me after forcing his way into traffic, even yet wouldn't let the white van that had been in front of him in. Even after getting into the moving lane....it was slow-going because people would rubber-neck and drop their speed down to near stopping to gawk at the Muslim women stranded next to their vehicle...(there was an officer talking to someone and a tow truck preparing to load up the car) Also on the topic of courtesy, there is no respect for the left lane as a passing lane and the lane for faster vehicles. Yes, people will drive 5-10 mph UNDER the speed limit in the left lane--even when not passing another car. I've also noticed that drivers seem to have trouble keeping their vehicles IN their lane...especially the large vehicles. The main problem seems to be the on the slightly sloped curves through the downtown area...but if you careful and not speeding it's not hard to stay in the lane. I've had some unnerving moments being next to vehicles who were edging awfully close.

Enough ranting on that though. Keep us in prayers as we get moved in and settled and take on the responsibility of owning a home. Especially because I can't do any heavy lifting due to a pinced nerve in my lower back. I've been going to a chiropractor for it...and it's getting better, but I slipped in the shower the other day so the area has worsened inflammation where the only comfortable position involves lying down.

Another benefit (less inspiring unless you are a math nerd) is getting to study the different concepts in math across different grade levels. One of the concepts that bugs me a bit in the way it's commonly presented is "unit rate." A few months ago when I was reviewing 8th graders for that wonderful state test, I noticed a difficulty in explaining how to know what order to make the ratio for a unit rate. See, we as math teachers stress the importance of order when constructing ratios, yet very frequently, unit rates are formed inconsistently from the sentence structure. I'm trying to find common ties and word choice--because this is a common struggle for students--especially those with reading difficulties. To give you an example:

"Find the unit rate of gallons of gasoline if Joe buys 13.5 gallons of gas for $62.45" (common sense says the ratio desired is $/gal)

"Find the unit rate of miles if Amy drives 270 miles in 4.5 hours" (order is written reverse above, but is looking for mph)

"Find the unit rate of a scale model that uses 3 in to represent 15 mi" (so do they want mi/in or in/mi?)

So far, it's pretty much standard that unit rate in a problem involving money means unit price ($/unit). The other situations are a bit trickier though because common sense is the only difference I can explain between them. It is just another example of the importance of correct grammar and sentence structure in math problems.

While I'm pretty sure no one else cares much about that last little bit, I just wanted to put it to writing for something to study more. (For example, I was just about to write out another concept that has been on my mind...but I have forgotten it already)

But anyways, until then here's a link to some pictures I took.

For example--we find ourselves trying to save the scraps of paper and every last paper clip instead of remember the supply cabinet is just a few feet away and almost always stocked with new supplies. Or acutally being able to ask for unique supplies--like a ruler or scissors, kleenex, (in my case a protractor and graph paper) and the pop-up post-it note dispenser--not having to supply one's own.

Or having trouble getting used to being able to leave work, at work. Ya know--we don't have to take it home! (Now granted, there will probably come times when weather/or upcoming deadline may result in work going home...) I still haven't gotten used to be able to come home without anything pressing to do and actually feeling like cooking!

I find myself in the mornings and afternoons as I leave for work/leave work having to stop and remind myself, that no, I'm not forgetting a back of grading or something like that. My shoulder is still confused that it ONLY carries a purse back and forth to work and the occasional small lunch.

And the fact that we don't have to be quite AS concerned about what we are doing in public and how it may or may not offend parents who could be nearby.

It's also hard, but pleasurable, to get used to the quiet...but yet also sort of missing the teacher camaraderie that would happen throughout the day. Or not getting used to be not being tied to a bell schedule. and the though that it is OKAY to take vacation time right before a holiday break! And being free to schedule dr appts whenever during the day rather than worry about getting things done during a conference period or after school or on a "free day" and really, none of us misses ALL the required inservice, committee meetings, and training days. or, even better DUTY! (a job where I'm not required to monitor the bathrooms or lunchroom or some other inane thing like that)

It's rather nice. I do miss interacting with students--but I'll look into working some kind of tutoring program on evenings/weekends once we get settled into our new home.

You can see details here: our new home

It's kind of fun because I get the mathematician/teacher/student persons in me analyzing many things. I also get to see the different standards for different states at different grade levels. For example, the NJ 5th grade math standards look like they'd give a set of beginning TX 9th graders some challenge.

Plus, I'm getting some new things to learn with the computer and publishing software. I guess those journalism classes I took for fun in high school are going to serve me well now....because there are many things within layout and what not that I'm familiar with. It's really strange (and aweing) to think of God's hand in my life that has led me to be fairly well prepared for this job, including the little things like working as a teacher aide for two years with K-2--which helped me practice communicating at a younger level--and the previously mentioned journalism/yearbook/newspaper things I did in high school.

I also think that the stint I pulled in college working as the data entry/filing grunt for 5 different accountants may also help me stay organized and proficient at working with a team of 3 project editors and then our senior editor.

While I generally feel okay about some of my grammar basics, I'm glad that I have many ELA people right around me to answer questions about the more subtle grammar and structure issues that could come up in my proofreading.

Plus, there are some fun people where I work, and while Josh is apparently going to miss my 2 months of summer vacation, I rather enjoy the freedom that comes with not being tied to a school schedule--and the ability to take off around holidays. (Teachers were not allowed to take the day off or the day after a major holiday without having exceptional cause) Work hours are a little flexible too.

here's hoping the house stuff works out soon so that I can find all my fun books and posters to decorate my cubicle with. and so that I can accomplish real cooking and baking again...

In work related news: I have a cave-cubicle all to myself with a pretty computer and phone. and Lots of cubicle space to be decorated and drawers to fill. I even did some editing today....apparently the more boring kind until IT get me onto the server. I also think I will seriously enjoy the perk of having free drinks...including from the nifty little coffee machine that I will be trying out soon. There's also a nice patio area for people to eat outside if they want. and the job is nice and quiet! and I'm not blocked from my web-based email! and of course, the whole fact that I can revel in my own little world and not have to worry about paying attention to 70 teenagers and their drama. Plus, I'm going to get an awesome understanding of math at all grade levels. and there are nerds around who might make for interesting conversation every so often.

and really, the commute is an easy 30-40 minute drive....and won't be too annoying at all, unless I'm sick. But hey, within a few months my sick days will kick in.