Future Plans

I'm looking forward to:

... going to Providence Canyon this weekend.
... finishing this semester.
... spending a weekend with Kelly.
... seeing my family.
... going to Vermont.
... and many more interesting things ahead in my life that I am too absent-minded to list them here.

Good day.

Diffidence

One of the lab groups fabricated data on the previous week's lab. I know they fabricated the data because they used the same apparatus as someone else, and their data did not resemble the other lab groups in the least bit. So I gave them 0's. When one of the members of the group saw her grade, she decided to make a scene about it by yelling at me from the back of the class to come talk to her. I felt like my body had just gone white and goose bumps covered me. I didn't move from the desk so she came to me. She raised her voice and continued to tell me that I couldn't give her a grade like that when I saw them "do" the lab. I tried to explain to her why she got her grade without showing signs of quiver in my voice. I suppose she felt justified in that everyone's data would be different. I can agree that everyone's data would be different, but not that different. I told her if she had a problem with her grade that she would need to speak with my lab coordinator/supervisor and gave her the office number. She left, but she came back... this time she made an even bigger scene.

All of the other lab groups had already started the lab. She came in and sat back down where she usually sits. She made a phone call and decided to talk poorly about me in front of the other students. The same distressing feeling came over me. I conjured up the words to ask her to leave, but her only response was that I should leave. I needed back up so I texted John to see if he could get her to leave since I didn't have the number for the police station to have her removed. John came and I began to feel a little more comfortable. She wouldn't even budge for him so he went to the security guard at the front of the building, and they called the police station. Three police officers showed up to have her escorted out. She stated that she was already on her way out and that John was rude to her and left.

Soon after, her lab partner showed up. I could tell by the look on her face that she had spoken to the other student that was removed from the class. I handed her her grade, and she gave me the same excuses as to why she should not have received a zero. I told her the same as I told the first. She was very polite during our conversation, but as she walked away to grab her books, she called me a profane name and left.

I hate that I'm not assertive. Well, I am to a degree... more so with people I know that with those I don't. I suppose that my lack of assertiveness with strangers presents itself as a problem, especially in the Physics lab I'm teaching this semester.

Meet a Hiker

I love how myspace has an advertisement for "meeting a hiker." Who would meet a hiker on myspace? Hikers don't hang out on myspace for hours on end. If you want to meet a hiker, you could join a club like the Atlanta Outdoors Club. That's my two-pence. Join an outdoors club... or if you're like me, ask your friends to hike with you. And why is myspace making hiking out to be something worth pointing out? I suppose being a hiker makes you good dating material. I can agree with that.

Day Break

My ring broke. It was a nice ring, though cheaply made. I can't remember from where it came. It had my birth stone on it. I noticed people don't worry about birthdays too much as they get older. I don't know why. I love birthdays. October is a busy month for birthdays. Sabur, James, and Peter all had birthdays this month. That's not all. There's more to come. I figured out why so many people are born in October. It's because in the winter time people don't usually want to go outside because it's cold so they stay inside. There's only so much you can do inside, and when you're stuck with someone you love (hopefully), well, you get *busy*. My other thought was that a lot of people are born in October because approximately 9 months beforehand is the ever-so-popular drunken holiday full of frivolous activity known as New Year's Eve. New Year's Eve... I spent last New Year's Eve alone. James and I were supposed to go see Sound Tribe Sector 9, but he never got the tickets or something like that. Then we made plans to go see STS9 in August this year, but I had planned a vacation with my family that same weekend. James called me today and asked me to go see STS9 with him late December but not New Year's Eve. I agreed, even though it means I'll have to come back from NC early since I go home for Christmas. I'm going home the weekend after Thanksgiving, too. I just decided that today. I wasn't going to, but now I want to go. I want John to meet my family. I hope he likes them. I hope they like him. They love me, so they should love him, too. They have no reason to not like him. John is lovable. He tries to make people smile just because they feel bad. He is the most thoughtful person I know. That's good fortune.

Bye-bye, bites

Ana had/has fleas. I took her to the vet a couple of weeks ago. They put her on antibiotics and an anti-inflammatory (to control itching). She had lost a great deal of hair and began to look rather malnourished. Since then she has gained weight, and she's had a flea bath and a dose of front-line. I cleaned her bedding. She doesn't scratch as much anymore, but I have seen a flea on her. I'm taking her to the vet tomorrow for a check-up. Hopefully, I will get some advice as to what to do next... like bathe her again.

Missed Connections

Peter and I went hiking yesterday at Blood Mountain. The day was nice - a beautiful sky and cool enough that we could ride with the windows down and not break a sweat. We sat on large rocks in the shade for breaks that were so cool when we got up our bums were numb. We passed a lot of hikers on the trail, probably because it wasn't a strenuous trail. The hike was nice, but I felt like something was missing, and I still do.

I haven't spent much time with Peter these days, and I think he's been a little lonely. We decided to go hiking a few weeks ago. Typically when we hike, I have so much to say, but this time I didn't have anything to say. Nothing. I think I made a comment once about Kelly sending me a thank you card for the cookie jar that I made her and how happy she was to see me at her surprise wedding shower. After that, I just listened to what Peter had to say. I suppose he needed someone to listen to him, but he made a comment about how he was talking to much and asked me to join in. I could only conjure up the words, "I guess I don't have too much to say since all I do is eat, sleep, and study."

It's true. I feel a little less enthusiastic these days when it comes to talking with my friends. While they are out on the town, I'm searching for answers to my modern or diff-EQ homework. I haven't quite figured out how to bridge a conversation about my scholastic studies to my friends who have no clue what I'm talking about. The truth is that I saw this coming... I just didn't want to believe it.

The first time I noticed the beginning of my missed connections was while I visited NC. I tried to explain some extraordinary idea about light diffraction, and as I continued to discuss it (with myself) I noticed the look on my friend's face - utterly blank. I was dumb-struck. I had just made my friend feel stupid, and I had "succeeded" so well that they had no retort. In all honesty, anyone who knows me knows that I would never belittle another person especially with knowledge, and by seeing the look on that person's face made me realize that my mind is transitioning to a place that not many people go.