A Bit of an Adventure

Well, the original plan was to fly on Alaska Airways nonstop flight from San Diego to Boise. We had no traffic getting down to the airport, security was a breeze and I settled down with my Netflix to watch a few episodes of "Green Arrow." Don't ask. It's actually not bad, truth be told.

About 10 minutes before we're supposed to board, I get a text that the flight in cancelled. In the words of my father, seriously? We all troop out to ticketing, stand in a huge line (and I"m behind these Italians who I will proceeded to not be able to get away from for the next 8 hours...) and decide what to do next. A big group of us decide to take a later flight to Seattle, stay the night there, and then fly out to Boise the next morning.

So it's back to Netflix-ing, although this time I watched COG with Jonathan Groff, based on a David Sedaris story. At one point, all the Boise passagners are asked to come to the desk. This is where I start chatting with an older guy on a business trip who will become my friend for the next 15 hours. I don't ever find out his name but he looks like David Gregory so from now on he'll be referred to as DG. Turns out they're not giving us our hotel vouchers yet, we're just getting some air miles as an apology. That works.

The flight to Seattle is non-eventful although I engage in a passive-aggressive argument with one of the Italians. I will move when I'm good and ready, signora. Luckily, because I have booked my bag through to Boise, all I have to do is get my hotel voucher. The lady doesn't seem to understand what's going on and I try to hold back just demanding my voucher. Eventually I make it out to the parking lot, approximately 17 miles away, and get on the shuttle to the hotel. This is lucky because there are only 12 seats and the driver won't let you get on without a seat. This isn't Europe, people. The hotel is about 2 minutes away. Literally. DG and I stand in line for our room and are pretty sure we'll see each other the next morning. I'm in bed by 12:45, asleep by 1:15 (why you gotta be like that?) and alarm is set for 5:30 the next morning


***Update- shuttle to the airport took about 30 seconds-ish. Security was SUPER long and DG and I joked we should have pretended to be family with our other friends, a mom and a daughter. Met a new friend who was going to Phoenix. Old friend gave me her food voucher so I could get something to eat. I almost missed the flight. But made it. Then was asked to move towards the back of the plane because of balance issues. Ended up with a $50 credit for doing that. I'm pretty sure I ended up back in my original seat, just $50 richer. Bags arrived no problem and Niki and I went for coffee. Certainly not the worst travel experience of my life because at least I slept in a bed :)

Friends I've Seen

The longer that you live away from home, the more time for your hometown friends to move away as well. However, the holidays are always nice because it's a time when many people make their way home to spend time with their families. With the weather being as crazy as it has been, there were lots of opportunities for walks, coffee dates, time basking in the sun, and lots and lots of catch-ups. I've been thinking a lot about this idea of how you have friends for a reason, a season, or a lifetime and it's made me realize that all friends are important, either because they've helped shape the person who you've become or they are still an integral part of shaping you. That's why I have pictures of people I don't really talk to anymore hanging on my walls. That's why I make an effort to get together with people from my hometown when I come home for the holidays. I'm so appreciative of my friends and the investment that they make in my life- I hope that I am able to do the same.

Unfortunately not picture: Klaudia, Cosy. Sad day.

Post a picture...

DUH, I know this isn't a picture of me. BUT, after watching Catching Fire, I want my hair to be that dark. Who's going to come help me get this taken care of? K, thanks.

Hanukkah, slightly delayed!

Night 1- At the Godwins

Night 2- Full and thankful

Night 3- Happy times with Idaho family

Night 4- Thesis-ing

Night 5- Sharing with my small group girls

Night 6- Grading

Night 7- With Jennie and Caitlin, skyping with Megan and the boys

Night 8- Full of light

See you next year

Super Random Christmas Pictures!

Remember Christmas

The Glory
by Madeleine L’Engle

Without any rhyme
without any reason
my heart lifts to light
in this bleak season

Believer and wanderer
caught by salvation
stumbler and blunderer
into Creation

In this cold blight
where marrow is frozen
it is God’s time
my heart has chosen

In paradox and story
parable and laughter
find I the glory
here in hereafter

Christmas Books

Unlike my sisters, I'm not a huge Christmas movie fan. I've never even seen "It's a Wonderful Life". I do, however, love Christmas books. The whole family does. We each have our own stories that we read out loud each Christmas even and these are some of my favorites.

My three stories to read are "The Grinch", "The Nutcracker" and "CHristmas in the Big Woods". None of these require tissues. 

The following will:

 

  

 

Now when you're finished crying and need some joy and laughter in your life,
why don't you try some of these:

 

My Students

I had a great semester with the kids. I didn't know how it would all shape up in the end with such small classes but I really enjoyed it! They participated on their own since they knew it was either that me or calling on them. We were able to really get to know each other and support each other. It wasn't all perfect though- I had a few kids who dropped off the face of the planet the last few weeks which was really discouraging but overall, I'm really pleased with how it all turned out.

On the last day of the semester, I had the kids break into groups and create concept maps relating everything we had covered. Each group had a different take but they all did a really great job (even with the inclusion of men with six-packs and pacmen).

I also think one of the most valuable assignments for me as a professor is their final metacognition paper where they look back at teh semester and see where they've come but also look forward to see what they'll do differently in the future. Here are some of my favorite excerpts.

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“Before this class, I considered myself a pretty professional public speaker. I was always good at not using filler words such as um, uh, etc. But this semester, for some reason, my public speaking skills went on the decline. In class one day, when we were giving a speech, I dropped the F-bomb. I have never done this before in a public setting and I sort of shocked myself. Everyone in the class was amazed and I was thankful my teacher put up with it so well. Also during a speech this semester, I began to use filler words such as um and uh. I’m not sure why my decline in speech happened this semester. It may be attributed to the fact that my girlfriend was also taking the class with me and posed a little bit of a distraction…”

“When I first saw this class on my schedule on, I thought this class was something like a high-school study hall. I believed that this class would give me time to do homework for my other, “more important” classes. However, I see now that this course may be one of the most valuable classes on campus.”

“This class has taught me a lot about what I can do to make myself a better self-regulated learner from here on out. But I think the one lesson that I am going to steal from this course is the idea of traveling. Yes Professor Yadlin, I’m going to steal your thunder here. I think that traveling the world is such a great thing to do in life. Life shouldn’t be about the things that you own, but rather the experiences that you have; and one of the best experiences in the world is traveling to different places and soaking it all in. I know this may not be exactly what you are looking for, but this is truthfully the most memorable lesson that I learned from this class. So as I’m out seeing the world, you can be assured that I’ll be thinking about my Effective Studying Professor. Cheers!”

“I feel that without this course my transition into the College of Idaho would have been a lot tougher without the knowledge attained from Study Skills. It is amusing to see the subtle changes in myself as a student. Coming to school thinking that I could coast by, then getting into a class that teaches a plethora of ways on how to succeed by being a hard worker. My preconceived ideas of school changed drastically, but having the resources of effective studying made it bearable. This has me excited for the future.”

“When it came time to go to my first Effective Studying class, my outlook was still negative. Here I was, sitting in a room of delinquents such as myself. Little did I know that my outlook would change drastically within the next few minutes because of my ignorance? Dr. Yadlin walked into the room, organized her materials on the table, and greeted the class. She told us that this class would give us the tools and knowledge to better ourselves as students, and would allow us to have a better and more successful college experience. This was what kick-started the change in my outlook. This wasn’t a punishment, it was an opportunity, a gift that would benefit me in the months to come, and will certainly continue to do so for the rest of my college career.”

“I plan on becoming a teacher so every lesson you have taught us throughout the semester has been about the best ways to learn. Although if I simply swap what we are learning to teaching you have also told us the best methods to being a good teacher as well. I procrastinate all the time with absolutely everything but this has taught me that no matter how small the assignment is you must get it done n a timely matter or you will likely fail. The projects you give us are always very easy if you put your mind to it and get right down to business. But the second you start to procrastinate the entire project will feel overwhelming and impossible. This course has shown me my strengths and weaknesses. My biggest weakness is by far the most obvious. I am constantly fidgeting, procrastinating, and sometimes it is impossible for me to pay attention. You have pointed it out in class many times and although I’m not a fan of being thrown under the bus it does help me realize when I am no paying attention so that I can focus better.”

“I’m sure you’ve heard this a lot, Professor Yadlin, but I should have listened to you from the beginning of the year. I had plenty of time to do things but I was busy screwing around just like normal. But by the end of the semester, I became more disciplined and am now on track to finish better than I thought because I was in a hole with my current study habits…. Hands down the most important thing I take from this semester is to get my crap done. It may sound a little harsh but it’s time to grow up. I can’t afford to do poorly in my classes because I need to keep grades up to maintain my scholarships. Why be screwing around when you could be getting work done and strive towards the big prize of a degree? Also why be screwing around when you’re paying lots of money? After going through this semester it dawned on me that the time as come and that the real world is here. I used to hear that all the time and I would laugh and think to myself that it can’t be that tough. I was wrong- its’ a struggle but with good habits you can take so much stress off of yourself. It would be beneficial for anyone to take a class like this. I think it should be required for first semester students- I don’t care how you are you can always improve on something like this. My advice to first year students is that life starts right when you graduate high school and to not hesitate to do so.”

“I just wanted to thank you for the great semester. I had a lot of fun in your class. It didn’t’ start out the way I wanted it but maybe it was for the best. But if I have anyone to thank for me completing my first semester it would be you so thank you for all that you’ve’ done.”

Bring on the spring semester!