Pedantic, Dogmatic and Didactic
Hi all.
Today was... loooooooooong. Can I just say that having to be at school from 8.30 - 18.20 is a bit much, even for me? Luckily my hockey game was cancelled/forfeited (due to weather) so I got to just come home right after.
It was hard to get up this morning, as I stayed to watch Allan curl last night (he curls at the same place I play tennis, half an hour after my lesson finishes), and ended up getting home after 11. Too late for me. But luckily enough my first class was interesting enough to actually hold my attention. It was the class that just us thesis kiddos take, and it's tag-team taught by the only two men in our department. We went around the circle, each explaining our thesis, and I of course had to go first. whee!
Our other classes were also good. We were quite concerned that the late one (15.30 - 18.20) was going to be pedantic, dogmatic and didactic, but it wasn't! It's taught by a woman who is clearly an incredible clinician, and it was very cool to hear her case studies that she used to support her argument for client/family-centred treatment. More on that another day, when I'm not so wiped.
As I rode home on the train, 2 girls not in the thesis class were asking me about it. I told them about having to go first in the sharing portion, and one of the girls said "well that's typical. You're the person everyone looks at when there's an awkward silence." I was quite taken aback! Compared to others in my class (and I KNOW that a ton of you aren't going to believe this, but it's true) I say very little. But as I thought about it I realized that the few times I do speak up are generally when it's gone silent because no one wants to attempt an answer.
I asked Megs about this in an IM conversation, and she said "You are good at dispelling awkwardness. It's something I really appreciate about you, actually." Another aback-taking! But as I thought about it, I felt like something clicked. It's true - I do speak up to try and dispell tense situations. I'm not afraid to look like a bit of a goof by taking the risk and trying to answer a question that I don't really know the answer to. Sometimes I end up looking like an idiot (like yesterday... I answered "median" but meant to say "mode." "Median" was the right answer, so Dr. H was congratulating me, but I had to stop him and say "I actually meant mode, so I clearly don't know what I'm talking about." Everyone had a laugh, and we moved on.) and sometimes I end up getting it right, and feel quite chuffed. :)
I've now had each of my new classes once, and I kind of feel like vomiting when I look at my organization stuff. My calendar is stuffed with fun things like "3 midterms in 2 days" and a bajillion assignments (we didn't have very many of those last semester). Add to that a thesis, a research assistantship, an ESL student, a co-presidency, a hockey team, and a social life... well, it's going to be hectic. So advance apologies for the weeks where I up and disappear on you.
I now have two funny stories for you, oddly both about Allan.
First: I wanted to bring him a small present from the States, so I picked up a king-size Almond Joy. I love Almond Joys, and you can't get them in Canada, so I figured I'd share the joy.
"I hope you like coconut," I said with a smile.
"I'm allergic to coconut," he replied.
Laughing, I replied "Very funny. Seriously, do you like coconut?"
"Seriously, Ela - I'm allergic. I told you that before!!"
The boy. Is allergic. To his present. And I KNEW that!! Uh huh. Only me. I am the only girl who would bring back a gift made of the ONE THING he's allergic to. I emailed mum, and asked her to bring some Paydays back with her. If he winds up being allergic to peanuts, I'm calling the whole thing off...
Second: We were discussing random Christmas related things, and gifts came up.
"I got new orthotics" he said "since I've got such flat arches."
"Interesting" I replied. "The lady who made my orthotics back when I was in junior high said I had the highest arches she'd ever seen."
There was a short pause.
"Is one of your arches higher than the other?" he queried.
"That's a weird question - I don't think so.... Why do you ask?"
"Oh... I was just wondering if there was a higher-archy."
*ba dum dum*
And that's all you get to hear about that.
I'm off to bed now!
Love,
E.
Today was... loooooooooong. Can I just say that having to be at school from 8.30 - 18.20 is a bit much, even for me? Luckily my hockey game was cancelled/forfeited (due to weather) so I got to just come home right after.
It was hard to get up this morning, as I stayed to watch Allan curl last night (he curls at the same place I play tennis, half an hour after my lesson finishes), and ended up getting home after 11. Too late for me. But luckily enough my first class was interesting enough to actually hold my attention. It was the class that just us thesis kiddos take, and it's tag-team taught by the only two men in our department. We went around the circle, each explaining our thesis, and I of course had to go first. whee!
Our other classes were also good. We were quite concerned that the late one (15.30 - 18.20) was going to be pedantic, dogmatic and didactic, but it wasn't! It's taught by a woman who is clearly an incredible clinician, and it was very cool to hear her case studies that she used to support her argument for client/family-centred treatment. More on that another day, when I'm not so wiped.
As I rode home on the train, 2 girls not in the thesis class were asking me about it. I told them about having to go first in the sharing portion, and one of the girls said "well that's typical. You're the person everyone looks at when there's an awkward silence." I was quite taken aback! Compared to others in my class (and I KNOW that a ton of you aren't going to believe this, but it's true) I say very little. But as I thought about it I realized that the few times I do speak up are generally when it's gone silent because no one wants to attempt an answer.
I asked Megs about this in an IM conversation, and she said "You are good at dispelling awkwardness. It's something I really appreciate about you, actually." Another aback-taking! But as I thought about it, I felt like something clicked. It's true - I do speak up to try and dispell tense situations. I'm not afraid to look like a bit of a goof by taking the risk and trying to answer a question that I don't really know the answer to. Sometimes I end up looking like an idiot (like yesterday... I answered "median" but meant to say "mode." "Median" was the right answer, so Dr. H was congratulating me, but I had to stop him and say "I actually meant mode, so I clearly don't know what I'm talking about." Everyone had a laugh, and we moved on.) and sometimes I end up getting it right, and feel quite chuffed. :)
I've now had each of my new classes once, and I kind of feel like vomiting when I look at my organization stuff. My calendar is stuffed with fun things like "3 midterms in 2 days" and a bajillion assignments (we didn't have very many of those last semester). Add to that a thesis, a research assistantship, an ESL student, a co-presidency, a hockey team, and a social life... well, it's going to be hectic. So advance apologies for the weeks where I up and disappear on you.
I now have two funny stories for you, oddly both about Allan.
First: I wanted to bring him a small present from the States, so I picked up a king-size Almond Joy. I love Almond Joys, and you can't get them in Canada, so I figured I'd share the joy.
"I hope you like coconut," I said with a smile.
"I'm allergic to coconut," he replied.
Laughing, I replied "Very funny. Seriously, do you like coconut?"
"Seriously, Ela - I'm allergic. I told you that before!!"
The boy. Is allergic. To his present. And I KNEW that!! Uh huh. Only me. I am the only girl who would bring back a gift made of the ONE THING he's allergic to. I emailed mum, and asked her to bring some Paydays back with her. If he winds up being allergic to peanuts, I'm calling the whole thing off...
Second: We were discussing random Christmas related things, and gifts came up.
"I got new orthotics" he said "since I've got such flat arches."
"Interesting" I replied. "The lady who made my orthotics back when I was in junior high said I had the highest arches she'd ever seen."
There was a short pause.
"Is one of your arches higher than the other?" he queried.
"That's a weird question - I don't think so.... Why do you ask?"
"Oh... I was just wondering if there was a higher-archy."
*ba dum dum*
And that's all you get to hear about that.
I'm off to bed now!
Love,
E.
Labels: Allan, Awkward, RA, Winter Term
posted by Elizabeth @ 22:57
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home