I am in a brand new building this year, and it seems to be the pride and joy of the university. So much so that it's treated like a baby cub with an angry mama bear. There was a huge process just to get the keys to my office and classrooms that included a machine with all sorts of buttons and codes, but I finally got them! Before we even had keys and weren't able to lock the classrooms, we got pleasant e-mails about leaving without locking the doors. I'll let you know when I find the queen's jewels during one of my lessons in there.
Seriously, though, the technology is awesome in these classrooms. They all come with Apple TVs so that you can teach right from your iPad. Oh yeah, they give every instructor an iPad. Using the Apple TV, you can also show content from Netflix and Hulu as well as other content-specific TV subscriptions like NatGeo and Discovery. If you can't find a video on one of those programs, you have the option of using the BluRay and DVD player, what a relief. The classrooms also have a SmartPad which is kind of like a SmartBoard, but it's a computer. The teacher can write right on the computer screen using a stylus and it shows up on the projector. I use it to write notes in the margins of my PowerPoints so far. I don't know what I would do with my presentations without the special light switch. Button #3 sets up the classroom with dim lights near the projector screen and more lights towards the students so they can still see the board and take notes. I know you're all curious, so button #1 sets the lights to go out in 15 minutes if no motion is detected, button #2 is 'test mode' where the lights will not go out for 2 hours even without motion, which works well in a test setting as long as your test subjects aren't monkeys, and button #4 is supposedly the optimum classroom lighting situation when showing a film. I guess it takes the lights down to the dimmest they can get without turning off so that students can still take notes while seeing the movie.
In case you feel underwhelmed with the light switches, you can take the projector screen and window shade switches for a spin. The projector screen unfortunately only has an up, down, and stop option. I use it when I stick my gum on the ceiling at the beginning of class and then at the end of class when I retrieve it. Look out, Violet, I'm about to set a new chewing gum record. The light switch options can be so limiting at times, so I turn to the window shade switches to help get the students in the mood to learn! They can be lowered at 5 different heights along the window and have a sheer option and a blackout option. The blackout option is great for surprise parties. If only my pesky students didn't line up outside the door before class until I unlock it.
Speaking of my students, I have now been welcomed as an authority figure here. That's right, just call me "ma'am". In Cleveland, older ladies are called "ma'am" or a younger lady if you just want to say the expression "yes ma'am". Here, it seems that the person with the most seniority or authority at any given moment is "ma'am" or "sir" for you gentlemen types. Even the cleaning lady called me "ma'am" after I thanked her for getting my trash. When I ask a student a question, it's "yes ma'am" or "no ma'am". I even heard one of my students ask another how to say "ma'am" in Spanish. I discussed this with another professor from Wisconsin and we just decided that we northerners are just not as polite. So from now on, you can call me "ma'am" or keep to yourself.
My office is also beautiful. One wall is made of windows that look into the atrium and get some natural light from the sky light. It has an ergonomic chair, keyboard tray, and computer screen holders that are all supposed to help maintain a normal posture so we don't get carpal tunnel or back problems. I cannot figure out my telephone though, it keeps telling me I have a voicemail but I fail every time I try to check it. Just e-mail if you need anything.
Today I heard some colleagues talking about how nice the weather felt, like a cool fall day. That made me kind of excited to walk home without sweating (I live just across the street from the university). To my surprise, it did feel cooler than usual, but I wasn't cold. The temperature dropped to a breezy 81 degrees and apparently I'm getting used to the warmer climate. I have been spending the days after class at the pool or at the faculty rec center taking workout classes. Today I took "guns and buns" with a nice group of ladies. The yoga class is taught when I am teaching, so I will just have to do that at home with Opie and Onyx!
Opie and Onyx are my two new cats. Opie is a blue point Siamese and Onyx is obviously a black cat. I found them on Craigslist for free from someone who is moving and cannot take the cats. Originally, I just wanted one, but when we visited them they kept playing and cuddling and licking each other. I couldn't just separate them. Opie was originally named MoMo and Onyx was named Trent, but I would never use those names as cat names. They both like to be held and nap all over the place. In the morning they tell me all about the long night they had doing their nocturnal things. I just listen and make sure their food and litter box is ready for the day.
That's all I have for now, we're trying to figure out why Onyx keeps farting.
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