So Says The Mouse In My Hair

A Random Sample

Has anyone ever noticed how the prettiest visual of spring is running water? Specifically, I’m talking about those cute little streams of run off you get on the side of a road heading for a grate. And some are muddy and some perfectly clear, but all of them sparkle and raise your mood about 10 points. Am I right? Such is the advantage of a January thaw. This one just happens to be carrying on well into February. But like any winter weather cynic (also known as resident of Maine) I understand that I am in the eye of the storm. Winter has a work ethic that doesn’t just turn belly up. It prefers the Trojan Horse approach. It feigns retreat and leaves us with blissful peace, only to return when we’ve tucked away our snow shovels and pulled out the muck boots.
Talk about mixing metaphors, how many did I jam in there? Oh well, it was fun.

In other news, I’m developing a theory of fetishes. Namely, if life is a river, then fetishes are the main currents. They have a tendency to dictate where we are focused at any given moment. Currently, I am guided by my vegetable fetish, my current events fetish, and my pet projects fetish. (This last is currently made up of a quantum physics kick and an Iran kick, about which, I’d really like to know everything, or at least more than I know now, which is kind of nothing.) Come April and my Red Sox fetish will be in full bloom. (speaking of which, why is USA Today saying that Curt Schilling is going to be pitching on opening day? I thought he wasn’t ready. Must investigate.) My Oscar fetish isn’t nearly as strong as it usually is, but does that mean that I’m going to be in bed before the best picture acceptance Speech? Ummm, no.

Backtracking a moment, does anyone know how hard it is to find out the basics of quantum physics? I’m thinking that the powers that be are conspiring somehow to make it inaccessible. And by inaccessible, I’m talking about the fact that I can’t find any explanations, not the fact that I can’t understand what I’m finding. Now, I know that such topics are not easy going, and I don’t expect them to be. If I want to understand quantum physics, I’m going to have to try. Ok. I’m willing. So why isn’t the other half of the equation (that would be knowers) willing to disperse their knowledge? And no, Google was not terribly forth coming, although I think I’ve got a handle on the Uncertainty Principle, which is a good start.

So what is it going to take for me to become quantum physics satiated? The way I see it, I have two options. 1. Date a physics major and get him to tutor me. I don’t see this happening. UMF has a grand total of twelve physics courses, which isn’t quite enough to support a major. I will have to resort to my second idea which is 2. Take a class. But this is no simple task. In order to take this class, I will need to take it’s prerequisite, which has a prerequisite of it’s own. Secondly, my desired class is offered only once every two years, and it’s being offered this semester. So I’m going to have to take my time. My only other option would be to 3. Date the professor, but I’m thinking that might not be such a good idea.

But I predict that it will in the end, be worth it. Having a live teacher intead of a book, will allow for questions. Which means that if it doesn’t make sense, I’m not completely screwed. And I promise, once I get it, I will benevolently share such information with all y’all.

And then there’s always relativity…

In the final segment of our program, we’ll be discussing the PRAXIS test. What is the PRAXIS test, you ask? Well, it’s like an SAT for teachers. And you have to pass a bunch of different versions in order to get a teaching license. There’s 1 you have to pass to get to be in a teaching program, and one you get to take when you get done your teaching program, and another one you get to take after you start teaching. Why? I think that the powers that be are afraid that teachers won’t have a basic knowledge and will end up dispensing who knows what knowledge to our children. But that’s just me.

Anyway, knowledge about this test that I have to take is almost as elusive as the quantum physics unicorn. What’s going to be on the test? What do I need to study? Is it passable? All of these answers come with a price tag of $25. That’s added to the $90 I had to pay for the actual test. (at $30 per section for the three sections that I need) A racket? Well it’s not quite car insurance, but it does live up to virus protection software. OK, maybe not quite. This is just once… I mean 3 times. Virus protection is $50 every year.

And don’t even get me started on social security…

So this has kind of been a cross section of Sarah’s brain. Yeah, I really do live this way every day all day. Why shouldn’t I? It’s a blast!

posted by Sarah Eliza @ 1:25 PM