kawaiibh

Fri, 23 Feb 2007 03:48:51 GMT

so i wrote up a whole list of the crazy things that happened at school today. but it all paled in comparison to this gem. somehow, a 6th-grader LEFT HER UNDERWEAR in the classroom today. it wasn't even my class, but tom delegated me to take care of it, me being the female teacher and the underwear being female underwear. super.

this is creepy. muahaha.

Wed, 07 Feb 2007 16:26:08 GMT

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Sat, 16 Dec 2006 03:22:46 GMT

#1, today i was subbing for an econ class and accidentally said "sperm". whoops.

#2, in my 8th grade class, apparently the boys had been educating each other about the ways of the world, because one of them decided it was a good idea to shout out "i need a handjob." seriously. he didn't even know what it meant. but omg.

Thu, 30 Nov 2006 14:42:48 GMT

yesterday was a terrible day for me. i've never wanted to be at work less than yesterday. i felt sick, i was exhausted, i think i was pmsing, and by the end of the day i had a gigantic headache. but even at the very beginning of the day, i knew it was going to suck. and today, i woke up in a great mood. i woke up early, i enjoyed my morning routine, i started a load of dishes, and i got my desk mostly organized before 7am. and it is true that i don't feel on the verge of sick like yesterday, but i think the main difference between yesterday and today? is that last night i had good dreams and i woke up to a good song. and i'm a little freaked out that my entire outlook for the day can be influenced by dreams, which i think are *mostly* meaningless, and what i hear first thing in the morning.

but on the other hand, both of those things touch me in probably the most private moment of my day. when i'm barely conscious, relaxed, warm, when it's just me unaffected by the outside world. i guess that is when i would probably be most susceptible to emotional influences.

Thu, 02 Nov 2006 16:44:51 GMT

sayra just posted an entry about a dream, so i just wanted to say that my dream last night totally kicked her dream's ass, because mine involved me making out with owen wilson. so there.

richard dawkins

Mon, 16 Oct 2006 02:33:27 GMT

i bought his newest book, the god delusion, yesterday. i am SO excited about it. i know a bit about his atheist and antitheist views, but some of the arguments he makes seem a little weak to me, like he's deliberately misunderstanding aspects of religion. i'm sure this is not the case, as dawkins is far more intelligent than i am, so i'm looking forward to understanding his position better.

also, i'm going to try to read it in public a lot in hopes that i will either meet people who share my (or dawkins') views or just get into arguments with religious people. i'm not sure which would be more fun.

Tue, 26 Sep 2006 01:55:56 GMT

recently i feel like my actions are motivated primarily by consideration for what would make a good story to tell people.

the snooze button

Sat, 29 Jul 2006 16:33:13 GMT

i learned this morning that if i hit snooze four times, my alarm clock stops beeping. is there any reason for this? is there *ever* going to be a time when i will set my alarm, hit snooze *but not the off button* four times, and then just suddenly not need to wake up at all? i think not.

Thu, 27 Jul 2006 19:05:03 GMT

Thu, 20 Jul 2006 19:28:15 GMT

anyone know any cheap furniture stores besides ikea? uh, and craigslist? and value city furniture? shay, what's that one that always had commercials on tv that you thought was like the furniture mafia? "leather!" "microfiber!" "LEATHER!" "MICROFIBER!"

"will i ever find another?"

Sun, 25 Jun 2006 05:03:59 GMT

a bit depressed today. wanted to read about other people being depressed about not having the things they want. so i typed the above into google. here is what the public is worried about (first five returns):

*HUMAN CANNONBALL: "That does it, I quit!" CIRCUS MANAGER: "But where will I ever find another man of your caliber?"

*Will I ever find another job?

*Where will I ever find another pair of black trousers so perfectly cut, so flattering? Can't risk it, oh no.

*where will i ever find another short bald fellow to make fun of me? :(

*Will I ever find another house in such a rural area with a peaceful stream running through the back? Will I find another house with a ½ acre of land?

kind of helpful, i guess. or at least it made me laugh.

post.harvard.edu

Sun, 21 May 2006 18:49:45 GMT

what should my new email address be? assuming these are all still available. choices:

hoffmann@post
hoffma@post
rlhoffmann@post
rlhoffma@post
rhoffmann@post
rhoffma@post
rebecca.hoffmann@post

or any other suggestions. the problem is something with "hoffmann" is easiest to remember but also easiest to misspell. but dammit i deserve to have my full name in my email address and for people to spell it correctly!

important question

Sat, 20 May 2006 20:18:56 GMT

2006 honda civic lx or toyota corolla s? they seem about equal in terms of efficiency, safety, and price, so it would be really useful to hear any opinions on things like comfort and uh, funness.

thanks!

thespark.com purity test

Tue, 16 May 2006 05:26:02 GMT

resurrected: http://www.okcupid.com/tests/take?testid=6723848929018245563

what's your score?

Thu, 11 May 2006 20:10:55 GMT

hahah, so three of the last like 5 entries on my friends page are from three different friends complaining about working on their last college papers ever. almost done, guys! also i think it's a rule that your last paper also becomes your worst paper. mine sure was. just saying, don't be surprised. good luck!

Wed, 26 Apr 2006 02:00:39 GMT

today
i woke up at 5:46am (and then 5:55... and then 6:04). i left at 7:30, and just got back after dinner at 8:00. wow. yesterday it was 14 hours between leaving and returning. oh my god my life is crazy. after spring break, though, i'm at least caught up on my grading and have a little more time for lesson planning, which makes the teaching quite a bit more satisfying. today after school a few of my students and i walked to ben & jerry's for free cone day! it was fun to hang out with them outside of class. we went through the line twice.

also, i got my teaching assignment for this summer (at phillips exeter academy) today: intro to trig, and problem-solving in precalc. good stuff. it also said "wheelwright", which sounded extremely exciting, until i realized it was just the name of the dorm i'll be living in. ok so just now i googled it and it turns out that wheelwrighting is the process of making wooden wheels, particularly for buggies. haha, not something i'm particularly well-qualified in, but it would have been awesome all the same.

Sat, 08 Apr 2006 18:20:25 GMT

i just turned down that job. not that there was even a definite job offer, but there was kind of an implied one, and i turned it down. and now i'm exhausted.

Thu, 06 Apr 2006 22:13:53 GMT

i feel AWESOME.

on an unrelated note, should i take a job at this school?

i visited there this past weekend. i kind of don't think i will, because i found out when i visited that i'm not really comfortable with living in the middle of nowhere for a minimum of two years, which is the commitment they want. i have to decide probably by tomorrow, or at least write to them and say something, so let me know if anyone has any opinions.

Thu, 30 Mar 2006 01:00:02 GMT

this is the song brad and angelina dance to in the rain when they first meet in mr. and mrs. smith. i *love* this song. it reminds me of this past summer, when i was teaching at northfield mount hermon, cause that's when i watched the movie for a second time at the drive-in and decided i needed to buy the cd. ohhh, that was a wonderful five weeks. it was the perfect mix of being an authority figure and being an irresponsibly young person. one night we got drunk and broke into the local swimming pool. that was awesome. one of my biggest fears about next year is that the other teachers i work with will act too responsibly, and i won't be able to act like the 22-year-old i am. it is so strange to identify easier with your students than with your colleagues. i had parent-teacher conferences last week and i realized that most of my students' parents are old enough to by my parents, too. and i think my students are closer to being my peers than their parents are. enough rambling, i am tipsy and i'm going to go dance by myself in my room.

Fri, 17 Mar 2006 16:59:55 GMT

shana and i were very sleep-deprived last night:

shana: do you know that tale about the two frogs who fell into jugs of milk? and one of them drowned, but the other paddled around in the milk until it turned into butter and he hopped away? i think i'm going to incorporate that into one of my stories.

becky: yeah, i've heard that before. but you know how it's supposed to be about how you should never give up? that only works because it was milk. if they'd fallen into water, or apple juice, they both would have died!

shana: i guess so. and wait, don't frogs live in water? wouldn't they not have drowned anyway?

becky: good point.

shana: yeah, that story is crap.

Sun, 12 Mar 2006 13:16:39 GMT

so i just found out that i have rehearsal for handel's messiah this week, which makes my schedule as follows:

monday
5:50 wake up, shower, get dressed, make coffee, eat breakfast and drink coffee, check email, dry hair, do makeup, prepare to leave
8:05-1:10 school
1:10-3:10 observe caitlin's class at boston arts academy
3:10-5 discuss caitlin's class in seminar group
somehow return to campus and eat dinner
7-9:30 messiah rehearsal
9:30-?? compile study guide for students, grade homework, plan lesson, write 1 page brief and 1 page memo for class, wash dishes, get ready for bed
10 bed (when i would like to, anyway)

tuesday
5:50 wake up, etc.
8:05-2:30 school
2:30-4 supervise badminton club
4-7 class
7-?? make dinner, grade homework, plan lesson, wash dishes, get ready for bed
10 bed

wednesday
5:50 wake up, etc.
8:05-2:30 school
2:30-4 supervise badminton club
4-6:30 messiah rehearsal
6:30-?? eat dinner, grade tests, plan lesson, wash dishes, get ready for bed
10 bed

thursday
5:50 wake up, etc.
8:05-2:30 school
2:30-4 supervise badminton club
4-5 eat early dinner in square
5-8 work
8 eat snack, collapse and die

thank god it's only a four day week.

Thu, 23 Feb 2006 04:19:26 GMT

am i too young to have a quarter-life crisis? because

first of all, i realized that while i want my students to treat me as an authority figure, i also want them to think of me as someone barely older than they are. more mature, but not older. which is how it is at the moment. but what if, 5 or 10 years from now, they think i'm just another old lady teacher? i don't know why that bothers me but it really, really does. i'm excited about leaving school and starting a life that is 100% my own construction, but suddenly i don't want to get any older. i feel so old and so young at the same time.

and tonight i went to a talk given by richard wrangham and a few other professors and lecturers about how evolution should be taught in schools, and i left it feeling just exhilarated by the discussion. i am worried that i won't get any of that amazing feeling of (to use a phrase that will make ariel gag) intellectual stimulation if i leave academia for... high school. and let's be honest, most of teaching high school consists of managing and controlling the classroom, and even when it doesn't, how deep a conversation can you really have over ways to solve systems of equations? i love showing kids that they can understand math, but i think sometimes i'm going to need to have an intellectual conversation that is a little more adult. and there's no guarantee that i'll find people who will be able to satisfy that need for me wherever i'm headed. maybe i will end up back in grad school in a few years.

i get this feeling sometimes that even though i think i know what i'm doing with my life, and even though my choices make sense to me and seem to make sense to the people around me, i'm afraid i'm somehow getting everything wrong. i mean, no matter how logically you think things through, that doesn't guarantee that you'll be happy. i feel like with this teaching thing, i'm kind of doing my own thing... and it makes sense to do, but why did i think that i had a better idea of how to live life than all the rest of my friends who are going on to grad school or law school or whatnot? why couldn't i just do what everyone else was doing?

and why the hell did i think it was a good idea to try to move someplace totally new, where i've never even visited and where i know no one? that wasn't my original plan, actually. but how was that even my fallback plan? i'm horrible at making friends; everyone i know at harvard now is linked more or less directly to my freshman year entryway, excepting maybe three people who i managed to meet in classes. waaaaaaaaaaaaah.

well i do know one thing. i may not be ready to get any older than i am, but i certainly don't want to be younger. as meredith noted in an episode of grey's anatomy i recently watched, despite all its shortcomings, adulthood at least has this going for it: no parents telling you what to do. and, you can share a bottle of nice wine with your roommate when you're having a quarterlife crisis. which is exactly what i need to do right now.

Wed, 15 Feb 2006 01:01:38 GMT

everyone's doing this johari window thing, but instead i'm doing the nohari window. it's the same except with negative adjectives. you can fill it out with an anonymous name, of course. http://kevan.org/nohari?name=kawaiibh

Thu, 09 Feb 2006 12:00:28 GMT

oh my god, today for the first time i managed to get my espresso machine to produce a latte that actually tastes delicious. i win! also, muahaha, i have an espresso machine.

Wed, 30 Nov 2005 16:53:42 GMT

oooh oooh, everybody take this please. it takes literally 2 minutes, or at least it ought to. comment with your score, and i'll call it research for my teacher training. i know all of you are smart people, but not all math people, so i'm curious.

You Passed 8th Grade Math

Congratulations, you got 10/10 correct!

Could You Pass 8th Grade Math?