Molly said, "I see you got the memo on wearing plaid Charles." or my Wednesday Grand Slam
Molly said, “I see you got the memo on wearing plaid Charles.” or my Wednesday Grand Slam
Molly was in a very good mood when I arrived at the salon yesterday. While she was finishing up on one client, I went next door to the day spa to see Natalie and drop off her Christmas gift from me.
Natalie gave me a big hug greeting because I hadn’t seen her the last time I was in for a haircut. She almost screamed with delight when I handed her the box of personalized M&Ms. I knew that she would because we have had many discussions on the joys of chocolate and M&Ms. They are one of her very few weaknesses.
Molly was just like Natalie; she almost screamed with joy as well. Chocolate, in almost any form, is Molly’s big weakness. She gave me a big hug after I handed her a box of personalized M&Ms. Then, we talked about how to cut my hair.
I asked Molly about leaving my hair thicker or fuller on the sides. Molly thought for a moment and agreed that I would look good with fuller hair. I asked if she could cut my hair a little shorter in front. It has a tendency to fall down and hang in front of my eyes shortly after the haircut. I think I look silly constantly brushing my hair with my hand. Molly said that she would cut it shorter but that it would still fall down, just not as far.
I almost didn’t recognize Rachel the Receptionist because she had changed her hair from blond to a medium brown. Most of you know that I do have a good sense of humor and that I enjoy a good joke. Rachel always asks me if I would like something to drink when I walk into the salon. I always say no because I have had my morning coffee. I was running ahead of time on Wednesday so I stopped by the Belmont Shore Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf for my usual large ice blended drink. It was not as good as the ice blendeds from the store in Torrance. I walked into the salon with the drink in my hand.
Rachel said, “Hello Charles.”
I said, “Hello Rachel.” Then I asked if she was going to ask me if I wanted a drink.
Rachel said, “No, cause you have one in your hand.”
I handed Rachel her Christmas M&Ms, a small bag of red ones and a small bag of green ones. She was surprised because I don’t think she saw this coming. I found out that Rachel also loves M&Ms and chocolate.
This is a photo of Molly and me; she’s the one on the left. She wore a plaid blouse and I had on a plaid shirt also. You can see me if my green plaid shirt if you scroll down a bit.
Teaching
I finally received my teaching assignment confirmation email yesterday. I am still teaching five classes. That is good. The Associate Dean asked me if I had any concerns about teaching two new classes when I was at school yesterday to pick up some textbooks. I said no and reminded him that I started teaching just four years ago and I had five new classes to teach.
He smiled.
I picked up my textbooks for my two new classes. They seem to be fairly nice and all. The text for my new Project Management course looks almost identical to the one I have been using to teach another version of the same course.
Since I was at school, I stopped in to check my school email. One of my instructor friends told me that the attendance records for the new term were available.
Sweet.
I logged in and found that I had been misinformed by my chair about the class sizes. I knew that my Microeconomics class was going to be large. It has a tentative roster of 34 right now. My two Project Management courses had been scheduled for six students; now I have the same ten students in each section. The other Economics course was supposed to have12 students and now it is at 22. My Research Methods course was going to have ten students and now the roster is close to 25.
I also know that not everyone who is on the roster today will be on my roster when classes start next week. I also know that some students will drop the courses so the final roster number is yet to be determined.
On the plus side, with the exception of Microeconomics, most of my classes have former students so I will have fewer names to learn. On the minus side, the students in my Research Methods class will have significantly less personal attention from me. This is very regrettable because many of the students are poor to very poor English language writers.
On balance, I am happy with my classes. So far anyway.
Lunch with Doug
I headed out to the Counter Burger in South Orange County to meet Doug for lunch after picking up my textbooks. We both like the Counter Burger because we can create the hamburger the way we want it to be; sort of like Burger King’s “have it your way” concept only with more and better choices and options.
Doug took this photo of me while we waiting for our food to come out from the kitchen. Now, you can see why Molly talked to me about wearing plaid.
As usual, Doug and I had a great time at lunch. We got there after most of the noontime lunch crowd had left so that left the Counter Burger on the quiet side for a change. We had a nice tale next to a window on the sunny side of the building. I keep making the same mistakes when I go there. I ordered sliced avocado instead of guacamole that would spread much easier on the burger. I also ordered a honey mustard sauce when I really should have asked our server to bring me some Dijon mustard.
RED CLIFF
Going to see RED CLIFF was the last activity of the day except for the longish drive home from South Orange County at night.
I will admit that I went to see the film with very high expectations. I had read some of the reviews and they were all glowing. I had also read the book, “The Three Kingdoms,” so I was familiar with the historical context of the film.
The version I saw was a shortened version for Western audiences. It was about two and half hours long. I am waiting for the full length DVD set which ought to run somewhere between five and six hours. The film is in Mandarin with English subtitles. After a few minutes, you don’t really notice the other language.
Having been well prepared, I was so completely unprepared for the film watching experience that John Woo created for me and the rest of the audience. After seeing this film, I think that Woo is one of the best epic film directors ever. I’ll put him up there with De Mille or John Ford and be willing to take the Pepsi challenge.
The fighting scenes are the best choreographed ones that I have ever seen. Some of you may have seem CROUCHING TIGER HIDDEN DRAGON by Ang Lee and been amazed by the wire sword fights; I was. But, I was completely blown away by the intricate detail that went into the live action battle scenes. The major battle lasts about twenty or twenty five minutes long. It is a graphic and bloody battle but there is no true gratuitous violence in the film.
The cinematography was brilliant and the juxtaposition of some elements, like the young boy playing a flute while the army was practicing its combat tactics, was perfect.
All of the actors and actresses were superb. I just wished that the closing credits would have included the role the actor or actress played in the film so I could make a better connection with them. Hopefully, the multi-disk DVD package will include more information about the cast.
The CGI work was on a par with anything the Pixar or Industrial Light & Magic can create.
I highly recommended the film to Doug.
As for me, I will be buying the full length version on Blu-Ray as soon as it comes out for sale.
This was the end of my personal grand slam; getting four major events completed in one day.
Be well and stay happy.
Molly was in a very good mood when I arrived at the salon yesterday. While she was finishing up on one client, I went next door to the day spa to see Natalie and drop off her Christmas gift from me.
Natalie gave me a big hug greeting because I hadn’t seen her the last time I was in for a haircut. She almost screamed with delight when I handed her the box of personalized M&Ms. I knew that she would because we have had many discussions on the joys of chocolate and M&Ms. They are one of her very few weaknesses.
Molly was just like Natalie; she almost screamed with joy as well. Chocolate, in almost any form, is Molly’s big weakness. She gave me a big hug after I handed her a box of personalized M&Ms. Then, we talked about how to cut my hair.
I asked Molly about leaving my hair thicker or fuller on the sides. Molly thought for a moment and agreed that I would look good with fuller hair. I asked if she could cut my hair a little shorter in front. It has a tendency to fall down and hang in front of my eyes shortly after the haircut. I think I look silly constantly brushing my hair with my hand. Molly said that she would cut it shorter but that it would still fall down, just not as far.
I almost didn’t recognize Rachel the Receptionist because she had changed her hair from blond to a medium brown. Most of you know that I do have a good sense of humor and that I enjoy a good joke. Rachel always asks me if I would like something to drink when I walk into the salon. I always say no because I have had my morning coffee. I was running ahead of time on Wednesday so I stopped by the Belmont Shore Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf for my usual large ice blended drink. It was not as good as the ice blendeds from the store in Torrance. I walked into the salon with the drink in my hand.
Rachel said, “Hello Charles.”
I said, “Hello Rachel.” Then I asked if she was going to ask me if I wanted a drink.
Rachel said, “No, cause you have one in your hand.”
I handed Rachel her Christmas M&Ms, a small bag of red ones and a small bag of green ones. She was surprised because I don’t think she saw this coming. I found out that Rachel also loves M&Ms and chocolate.
This is a photo of Molly and me; she’s the one on the left. She wore a plaid blouse and I had on a plaid shirt also. You can see me if my green plaid shirt if you scroll down a bit.
Teaching
I finally received my teaching assignment confirmation email yesterday. I am still teaching five classes. That is good. The Associate Dean asked me if I had any concerns about teaching two new classes when I was at school yesterday to pick up some textbooks. I said no and reminded him that I started teaching just four years ago and I had five new classes to teach.
He smiled.
I picked up my textbooks for my two new classes. They seem to be fairly nice and all. The text for my new Project Management course looks almost identical to the one I have been using to teach another version of the same course.
Since I was at school, I stopped in to check my school email. One of my instructor friends told me that the attendance records for the new term were available.
Sweet.
I logged in and found that I had been misinformed by my chair about the class sizes. I knew that my Microeconomics class was going to be large. It has a tentative roster of 34 right now. My two Project Management courses had been scheduled for six students; now I have the same ten students in each section. The other Economics course was supposed to have12 students and now it is at 22. My Research Methods course was going to have ten students and now the roster is close to 25.
I also know that not everyone who is on the roster today will be on my roster when classes start next week. I also know that some students will drop the courses so the final roster number is yet to be determined.
On the plus side, with the exception of Microeconomics, most of my classes have former students so I will have fewer names to learn. On the minus side, the students in my Research Methods class will have significantly less personal attention from me. This is very regrettable because many of the students are poor to very poor English language writers.
On balance, I am happy with my classes. So far anyway.
Lunch with Doug
I headed out to the Counter Burger in South Orange County to meet Doug for lunch after picking up my textbooks. We both like the Counter Burger because we can create the hamburger the way we want it to be; sort of like Burger King’s “have it your way” concept only with more and better choices and options.
Doug took this photo of me while we waiting for our food to come out from the kitchen. Now, you can see why Molly talked to me about wearing plaid.
As usual, Doug and I had a great time at lunch. We got there after most of the noontime lunch crowd had left so that left the Counter Burger on the quiet side for a change. We had a nice tale next to a window on the sunny side of the building. I keep making the same mistakes when I go there. I ordered sliced avocado instead of guacamole that would spread much easier on the burger. I also ordered a honey mustard sauce when I really should have asked our server to bring me some Dijon mustard.
RED CLIFF
Going to see RED CLIFF was the last activity of the day except for the longish drive home from South Orange County at night.
I will admit that I went to see the film with very high expectations. I had read some of the reviews and they were all glowing. I had also read the book, “The Three Kingdoms,” so I was familiar with the historical context of the film.The version I saw was a shortened version for Western audiences. It was about two and half hours long. I am waiting for the full length DVD set which ought to run somewhere between five and six hours. The film is in Mandarin with English subtitles. After a few minutes, you don’t really notice the other language.
Having been well prepared, I was so completely unprepared for the film watching experience that John Woo created for me and the rest of the audience. After seeing this film, I think that Woo is one of the best epic film directors ever. I’ll put him up there with De Mille or John Ford and be willing to take the Pepsi challenge.
The fighting scenes are the best choreographed ones that I have ever seen. Some of you may have seem CROUCHING TIGER HIDDEN DRAGON by Ang Lee and been amazed by the wire sword fights; I was. But, I was completely blown away by the intricate detail that went into the live action battle scenes. The major battle lasts about twenty or twenty five minutes long. It is a graphic and bloody battle but there is no true gratuitous violence in the film.
The cinematography was brilliant and the juxtaposition of some elements, like the young boy playing a flute while the army was practicing its combat tactics, was perfect.
All of the actors and actresses were superb. I just wished that the closing credits would have included the role the actor or actress played in the film so I could make a better connection with them. Hopefully, the multi-disk DVD package will include more information about the cast.
The CGI work was on a par with anything the Pixar or Industrial Light & Magic can create.
I highly recommended the film to Doug.
As for me, I will be buying the full length version on Blu-Ray as soon as it comes out for sale.
This was the end of my personal grand slam; getting four major events completed in one day.
Be well and stay happy.
posted by Chuck Reinhardt at 7:39 PM
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