Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Like a cat

I feel like a cat in one of those cruel sixties experiments you learn about in Psychology. You know, the cat that was placed on a tiny platform in the middle of a swimming pool and every time it went into a deep sleep its muscles relaxed and it fell into the pool.

For the past two nights, it feels as if every time I have entered that sleep phase, I have been awoken by a little voice shouting "I've been sick!" or "I'm going to be sick!", and last night, "I feel awful", "I've had a terrible, sob, nightmare" and then at 2.30 a.m. "Mummy, can you rub my brow?".

The cat was completely crazy by the end of the experiment.

Wednesday, February 03, 2010

Random thoughts on lecturing

  • A lecture theatre filled with a three or four hundred students is a scary thing to look up at from the podium.
  • A good PowerPoint presentation can look awesome on a gigantic screen. Unfortunately, tiny mistakes look correspondingly gigantic.
  • Next time, I'm using Prezi.
  • You cannot over-prepare and it's not a good idea to leave the "finishing touches" until an hour before the lecture because you'll have gone all skittery by that point.
  • Talking non-stop alone for an hour-and-a-half is actually very difficult. Who knew?
  • Today's students are really well equipped and seem to constantly be taking photographs of the slides (or maybe they just liked my outfit?)
  • They also record every single word you say and transcribe them later for distribution to class members who weren't present. Unfortunately, they even transcribe the feeble jokes.
  • You've got to be bit of a show-off to get any pleasure from this particular exercise in performance.
  • Although I have no plans to take up a stage career any time soon, I could get used to that warm feeling when they clap at the end, and the natural high that comes with the knowledge that it's all over and I managed not to trip and fall on my face or do the whole thing with my skirt tucked into my pants.

Confinement

Being confined indoors most of the day, just the four of us, is reminding me of the days when my children were wee and most of our weekends ...