TMI!

Dear Students,

Over the past two months, I've discovered that I really enjoy teaching. I get somewhat of a high off of seeing the light bulbs go off in your brain or seeing you progress from simple to more complex ways of thinking. While I find this invigorating, there is one element of my job I hate: the TMI emails. What does this mean, you ask?

For starters, I don't need to know about your reproduction system. Your pregnancy is truly a beautiful thing...for your family. I don't need to know about what you threw up this morning or how your baby is sitting on your bladder making you pee. Second, I don't need to know about your legal run-ins. Telling me about how the cops busted your party last night because you and 46 of your closest underage friends were doing beer bongs in your underwear. I also don't need to know about your DUI's, or about how your boyfriend filed a restraining order against you because you bit off a chunk of his shoulder. Finally, I don't need to know about what sickness you missed class for. It is sufficient to bring a note saying you were ill. Knowing what was coming out of what hole with what consistency is unnecessary. Also, don't tell me about your urinary tract infections (as a friend's student described). That's okay -- I'll trust you on this one.

I know you think I can relate to you because I'm young. However, I was never pregnant, arrested, or ebola-ridden when I was an undergrad; I don't want to share experiences here.

With deepest affection,
Sean

Dear Moving Expenses

I know you think you'll win this battle, but I'm relentless. I will win, even if it means I carry my belongings from NC to DC.

Just letting you know in advance,

Sean

Summer Fun...

This is somewhat out-of-the-ordinary for me, but I'm posting what I've been doing this summer as a means of identifying potential fun for you all. Granted, I'm always trying to post things I find, but the difference is none of these things happen online. Should you be intrigued, ask...

1. I joined a bowling league. Even if you're just a beginner, there's probably a league for people at your skill level. It's a cheap, fun way to meet friends and occupy an evening that might otherwise be empty.

2. I joined a fantasy baseball league. Okay, this one does happen online. But, if you're competitive like me, it's another opportunity to show that world (and more importantly, your friends) why you're better than them.

3. I'm taking golf lessons. You should, too. It's cheap...ish. Where I live, some of the driving ranges have golf pros there to help you improve your shot. They're not formal lessons, per se, but they'll go a long way in helping you be a better golfer. Why golf? Not only is it surprisingly fun, it also provides a great mechanism to network.

4. Find something outdoorsy. This seems obvious, and perhaps cliche, and almost certainly undesirable. But remember, outdoorsy doesn't mean strenuous. Go tubing on a lazy river or walk laps in your backyard. That's what I've been up to, and it's been awesome.

5. If all else fails, drink. Or, of all else succeeds, drink.

Good News...

Simple post today...I just want to say CONGRATULATIONS to some people I love a lot...Danielle and Jayson Leek! I went to Fort Scott, KS this past weekend to celebrate their marriage. Woo!!

That's all.

If I Were President...

If I were president, I would make it mandatory for those wanting to invest their money to take a course teaching them basic economics. I understand that almost every high school student has to take an economics class, but most people don't recall those classes apparently. I also understand that this might privilege those who are smarter in the process of yielding higher returns in the stock market, being able to identify wise property investments, etc. YES! Duh! That's the point.

Seems to me that a large reason why the stock market (and the housing market, and the credit markets, and every other market) has been on the downturn is because people freak out and think they have to sell off all their investments, when in actuality, holding onto those invesments will make them better off in the long run.

Some of it is common sense, and that's not teachable. But much of it isn't common sense, and people shouldn't be expected to intuitively know things about large-scale economies. Towards those ends, I think there should be some system in place teaching people these things before they're given the privilege to invest in these economies.

Republicans Making News...

Interesting week to be a Republican. Earlier in the week, Arlen Specter (R-PA) announced he'd leave the party to become a democrat (now if only we can get the Minnesota shenanigans worked out). Then, a couple days ago, David Souter announced he would retire at the end of his term in June (exciting to see who Obama will try to appoint). Finally, today, former GOP Vice Presidential candidate Jack Kemp (Bob Dole's running make in '96) died of cancer.

I don't know why, but it's interesting that all these things are happening to the Republicans.

That's all.

Swine Flu

I wish I were some sort of Health Comm person, because I'd already have a dissertation topic playing around with this one. The media's treatment of the swine flu pandemic has been out of control. I understand that this swine flu thing is scary and could get out of hand, but let's keep in mind a few things:

• Since the whole outbreak started, 10 people have died from Swine Flu. About 30 times that amount have died from regular flu.
• Swine flu can be treated with Tamiflu or other regular-flu-killing drugs. I understand those drugs are in short supply, but that's only because everyone on the planet has been stockpiling.
• Just like you can take precautions to prevent regular flu, so too can you take precautions to prevent swine flu. Wash your hands, don't touch your eyes, don't make out with people who have it. In other words, common sense.
• This is not the first time there's been a swine flu outbreak. And, just like there has been bird flu, foot-in-mouth, mad cow, etc., never do these things get as crazy as the media wants us to think.
• There's a difference between a pandemic and an epidemic. It's kinda like the difference between a tornado watch and a tornado warning. One means there's a tornado in your back yard, the other means conditions are favorable for a tornado at some point in time in some expansive geographic area. Same thing with swine flu -- not everyone has it. Instead, some people could get it. It's not that big a deal.

Don't get me wrong...if it got out of hand, it would really suck. But we're not there yet and it's unlikely that we will be. We only think that's true because people have freaked out about it. I also don't mean to downplay it's seriousness for those who have contracted it -- my condolences go to those who have lost loved ones. At the end of the day, though, the media has made this into a much bigger deal than needed, and we should recognize that so as to stop being afraid.

Blog Update?

The title includes a question mark because people have been asking me why I've not been updating my blog lately. Short version: I suck. I've been busy since my last post. I went to about six debate tournaments, a conference, a wedding, and defended my thesis. That's right, it's now Master Sean to you.

In any case, I pledge to be better. For today's "topic," I'll draw your attention to my blog roll. I'm going to be updating it over the next day or two. The first addition is my friend Julie's blog, Shallow Rationalism. Julie is one of the Communication Directors for the Virginia AFL/CIO (did I get that right?) and that experience, combined with her proximity to DC, means that she often finds a lot of cool articles that I'd otherwise miss. Also, as a soon-to-be resident of the State of Maryland, I'll be posting some blogs I find about politics there. To be honest, I couldn't even tell you the governor of Maryland's name (apparently it's Martin O'Malley -- thanks, Wikipedia!). But, I am excited to learn a whole new political arena, so check out those links coming soon!

Grad Cafe

Okay, I found this website thanks to my friend, Cassie. It's called The Grad Cafe and there is a forum where people post their acceptance and rejection notifications from grad schools they applied to. So, for example, you can type in your field in the search box on the Admissions Results page. It'll then show you a list of programs, where it says accepted/rejected/wait listed next to the school name and users can comment.

Why does this matter? Well, for one thing, if a slew of people have heard back from a school you applied to, it could help determine if you should contact them if you haven't verified that they have all relevant materials. Or, if you're like me, you could dwell on the fact that other people have heard back from the University of Minnesota, meaning you should expect some communication any day now.

If you fall into the latter category, this will only make your life more miserable. You'll still thank me for it, though.

I've decided...

...that where I go to Ph.D. school should be solely dependent upon the climate. I realized within the past week or so that anything below 25 degrees is too cold.

Some might say that I should base my grad school decision on things like faculty or research opportunities. I'll remind them of that when I'm enjoying 75 degrees in February and they're frozen.

Things I Hate About the Students on my Campus

At the risk of sounding really Negative-Nancy-ish, I'm going to need to vent about some things I've noticed on campus lately. Certainly, I don't mean to suggest that all Wake undergrads are this way, nor do I mean to suggest that our little campus community lacks any redeeming qualities. Still, these are obnoxious.

1. Undergrad girls talking about going "out" when referring to an on-campus frat party. When you go to the dorm across the quad (or, worse, when you walk up a flight of stairs), you're not really "going out."

2. Being "engaged." Really, if you're engaged, that's great. But if what you really mean is that you really like your significant other, that doesn't constitute plans for marriage. If there's a ring on your finger and a wedding date in your future, that is quite different from the fact that you met this guy in a bar two months ago and he mentioned your future together (indeed, he was referring to Myrtle Beach for spring break, not Hawaii for your honeymoon).

3. Complaining about money. You don't get to whine that your parents are only giving you $2,000/month instead of $3,000 because the economy is down. You don't have bills, you don't pay rent--if you can't live on half that amount, you've got problems.

4. Assessing other people's financial statuses. When showing my students the Obama infomercial before the election, one girl mentioned that the featured family couldn't be poor since they had a full gallon of milk in the fridge. Putting aside the fact that that's such an asinine standard to use, you don't get to judge other people's socioeconomic situations.

That's all for now. There are certainly more, but these are the big ones. Please, stop being idiots. kthx.