kismetism

• To not be a coward at work.
• To finish one major, non-work-related project.
• To give more of my attention, interest, and passion to the store renovation.

2012, go.

So no matter how much I resist graphical smilies, prolonged exposure in one program or another inevitably makes one or a few of them become somewhat integral to my fidelity of my online communication. For instance, Skype has a couple that I would find useful for the following statements:

We just put a deposit down for an apartment in Foster City last Saturday (the 6th).

So that means this Saturday, we’ll be moving in: commence with the signing of the lease and the painfully hard work of buying and moving furniture.

(i especially enjoy situations in which i can use the latter one. makes me feel so cartoony.)

So this summer really took me by surprise. It hasn’t become particularly warm yet, and there are still some weeks punctuated by random showers, so there weren’t a whole lot of worldly indicators of the time. But at some point it occurred to me that ATDP is going to start like, this month and I haven’t done a single thing to prepare.

Because, you know, I’m not teaching. For the first time in seven years.

It’s a source of much melancholy for me, honestly, but also some relief. I think I was an okay instructor and generally was proud of what I was doing. Seeing students go from knowing nothing to producing surprisingly polished final projects was really satisfying. But for the most part, I don’t feel like I really had any hand in “producing” amazing web designers: all the students who I’m most proud of generally took their learning into their own hands, which is why they turned out great work.

And working with struggling students to hit a baseline could be frustrating, but also rewarding in its own way: helping them figure out that if they just keep at it, and not be afraid to experiment, they could come up with some neat stuff, too. In this way, I was pleased to be teaching a more creative course where student effort literally equates better final products.

There are some things I won’t miss, of course. Dealing with problem students. Having to underline and enforce the cheating or the plagiarism policies. Listening to student whining, whether or not it’s actually heartfelt. Sitting through faculty meetings where I’m not really learning anything new, or possibly being passive-aggressively scolded for running my class the way I was.

Berating my TAs for not turning their weekly student evaluations in on time. And yeah, I probably won’t miss writing student evaluations, myself.

I will miss, however, the general interaction of students and TAs and instructors. I’ll miss collaborating with my TAs and our inability to decide on where to have lunch. I’ll miss meeting the clever students that floor me with their quickness, their adventurousness… something I feel like I don’t have enough of myself these days.

I’ll miss being a part of a force of teachers who are genuinely passionate about inspiring and pushing their students to be better than what the regular school system makes of them, to try and help them understand that there’s more to life than grades and test scores and even college.

But… I guess, as they say, I’ve had my time. And it was a phenomenal one. So thank you to all who were involved in this particular period of growth for me, both as a student and an instructor. You know who you are.

… Was really kind of insane, seeing all those people, whose lives Lloyd has so strongly affected. Kind of surreal.

I’m proud that I managed to avoid crying, though, even when forced to speak!

Funnily enough, I wasn’t really at a loss for words so much as I knew that whatever I had to say, Lloyd already knows of my everlasting gratitude… maybe even more than I do. I guess I had to represent, though. Silly TIC children. (And poor Alina. :x )

Twenty-six is when you start to panic, as you realize you’re now closer to 30 than you are to 20, which makes you — not OLD — but most likely “middle aged” by just about any standard.

Urgh.

Well, I guess I have my games to keep me young.

IT IS SUBMITTED.

::positive freak out::

Would you care to read it? It’s only … 33 pages total. >_>

(also, a link to my thesis defense slides, for the sake of being complete: slides)

Gonna be witnessing thesis defenses all day long, from 11:00am to 5:00pm, with a lunch break. (and they’re providing lunch.)

I wish I had gotten more sleep, but I am grateful that I at least have all my slides finished and that I am proud of about half of them. I’m a little concerned that my presentation might be on the long side, but a good number of my slides are quick click-throughs, so it’s hard to be certain…

And I’m quite terrified at the prospect of going LAST… which I am, according to preordained schedule. The student who is going before me also happens to be, in my opinion, the most competent of our class (that stayed… ::lol::) … so that’s also a little nerve wracking.

Uploaded my slides, in case anyone is interested.

Regardless, after 6pm today, I think I shall feel like a whole new person, for better or worse! x_x