Sunday, June 03, 2007
2007 Summer Plans
Well, classes have finally wrapped up, library books are slowly being returned from my little cubicle in the history study room, and my allergies are back to their old, irritating selves. While some might chalk up the rise in temperatures to global warming and the more technically inclined will observe that the solstice has not quite arrived, I feel comfortable in claiming that summer, and its associated vacation, are finally here.
When I was working as a public school teacher I heard an old joke that said that there were three reasons that career educators stuck with the business: June, July, and August. Now that I've returned to the ivory tower, I can add most of May and the first half of September to that list thanks to the advantageous scheduling policies of the Old Ivy registrar's office. Someday, I may end up having to give up this cushy lifestyle and pursue a job that actually requires me to work throughout the entire year. Until then, I plan to make the most of my time off.
And what precisely does that entail this summer? Here are some of the high points of the Invisible Ben's summer schedule for 2007.
June 2007: Finish revising a research paper or two, attend the Underwood High School retirement dinner and graduation, celebrate the end of the school year with my girlfriend (now student-free!), play a few games of intramural softball. All of these leave just enough time for me to prepare for...
July 2007: MEINE REISE NACH DEUTSCHLAND! That's right. After sticking around the old homestead throughout most of my college career, I'm finally traveling overseas. I'm spending the month of July in beautiful Munich improving my German language skills, seeing the sights, and maybe doing some research at the Deutsches Museum. Oh, and possibly meeting up with my contact from The Sleeper Cell for some Bastille Day festivities. Given the traditionally amicable relations between the French and the Germans, I can only imagine that the celebrations will be second to none. (Paris? Pfeh!) Anyone else who happens to be in Germany or the general area of Europe is encouraged to participate as well. Just send me an e-mail and I'll let you know the details. There may also be some weekend expeditions to Prague and Salzburg in the works. I'm planning to blog as much as possible while in Europe, although reconciling my desire to communicate with the general readership of this blog with my efforts to avoid the use of English as much as possible may prove, for lack of a better word, komplizert.
August 2007: What could one possibly have to look forward to after all of the potential excitement of the Continent? Well, how about getting my wisdom teeth out? Yes, after a lot of discussion and scheduling switches, it looks like my perpendicularly impacted wisdom tooth along with 1-3 other molars will be extracted sometime in the first 2 weeks of August. I've been told that recovery will not be a walk in the park, but it is almost certainly necessary for my future dental well-being. Other than an all ice cream and pudding diet, what else is on the agenda for August? Well, my girlfriend has a professional theater gig performing in Seussical , and I've been told that I REALLY SHOULD ATTEND. So I'll probably go to that. And otherwise, I plan to figure out my schedule for the fall semester, continue practicing my German, and maybe start brainstorming my second year research paper (maybe). I may also be giving a talk at a conference in early September, which would mean that I'd need to design a PowerPoint style presentation, but I'll only learn that near the end of July.
So that's the plan for this summer. Am I missing anything important? Let me know! The comments aren't just there for show, kids!
Well, classes have finally wrapped up, library books are slowly being returned from my little cubicle in the history study room, and my allergies are back to their old, irritating selves. While some might chalk up the rise in temperatures to global warming and the more technically inclined will observe that the solstice has not quite arrived, I feel comfortable in claiming that summer, and its associated vacation, are finally here.
When I was working as a public school teacher I heard an old joke that said that there were three reasons that career educators stuck with the business: June, July, and August. Now that I've returned to the ivory tower, I can add most of May and the first half of September to that list thanks to the advantageous scheduling policies of the Old Ivy registrar's office. Someday, I may end up having to give up this cushy lifestyle and pursue a job that actually requires me to work throughout the entire year. Until then, I plan to make the most of my time off.
And what precisely does that entail this summer? Here are some of the high points of the Invisible Ben's summer schedule for 2007.
June 2007: Finish revising a research paper or two, attend the Underwood High School retirement dinner and graduation, celebrate the end of the school year with my girlfriend (now student-free!), play a few games of intramural softball. All of these leave just enough time for me to prepare for...
July 2007: MEINE REISE NACH DEUTSCHLAND! That's right. After sticking around the old homestead throughout most of my college career, I'm finally traveling overseas. I'm spending the month of July in beautiful Munich improving my German language skills, seeing the sights, and maybe doing some research at the Deutsches Museum. Oh, and possibly meeting up with my contact from The Sleeper Cell for some Bastille Day festivities. Given the traditionally amicable relations between the French and the Germans, I can only imagine that the celebrations will be second to none. (Paris? Pfeh!) Anyone else who happens to be in Germany or the general area of Europe is encouraged to participate as well. Just send me an e-mail and I'll let you know the details. There may also be some weekend expeditions to Prague and Salzburg in the works. I'm planning to blog as much as possible while in Europe, although reconciling my desire to communicate with the general readership of this blog with my efforts to avoid the use of English as much as possible may prove, for lack of a better word, komplizert.
August 2007: What could one possibly have to look forward to after all of the potential excitement of the Continent? Well, how about getting my wisdom teeth out? Yes, after a lot of discussion and scheduling switches, it looks like my perpendicularly impacted wisdom tooth along with 1-3 other molars will be extracted sometime in the first 2 weeks of August. I've been told that recovery will not be a walk in the park, but it is almost certainly necessary for my future dental well-being. Other than an all ice cream and pudding diet, what else is on the agenda for August? Well, my girlfriend has a professional theater gig performing in Seussical , and I've been told that I REALLY SHOULD ATTEND. So I'll probably go to that. And otherwise, I plan to figure out my schedule for the fall semester, continue practicing my German, and maybe start brainstorming my second year research paper (maybe). I may also be giving a talk at a conference in early September, which would mean that I'd need to design a PowerPoint style presentation, but I'll only learn that near the end of July.
So that's the plan for this summer. Am I missing anything important? Let me know! The comments aren't just there for show, kids!
Comments:
Let's just say that my powers of invisibility allow me to conceal posts until a time of my choosing.
Let's just say that blogger allows a poster to edit the time and date stamps of any posts s/he puts up... er, rather... um... Ben's magical science makes it possible.
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