The Positivity Thread

[Parasaurolophus]

I recently published a crazy, off-beat paper in a collection on a historical topic that's of interest to me, and on which I wrote my UG thesis, but which is quite far from my current areas of specialization. Someone read it and asked me to contribute to another (higher-profile) volume on the subject, which is cool!

And I'm getting a whole other section to teach in the fall, because my waitlists are the largest in the department. Which also means I'll be getting a substantial raise in the winter (rather than after the winter semester). w00t!

[adel9216]

Had coffee with a long-time friend this morning.
Moving back home soon.

[mamselle]

I'm still having fun with my music theory students, and the appreciation class did two folk dances as well as a couple of videos on animals' responses to music.

Just...happy.

M.

[TreadingLife]

Students who die while attending Boston University will be able to undergo an official process to obtain a posthumous degree, starting this Fall.

They say the timing isn't related to COVID, but this has to be a relief to students and parents heading to campus this fall!

https://dailyfreepress.com/2020/08/12/boston-university-to-issue-degrees-to-students-after-death-starting-this-fall/

[marshwiggle]

Students who die while attending Boston University will be able to undergo an official process to obtain a posthumous degree, starting this Fall.

They say the timing isn't related to COVID, but this has to be a relief to students and parents heading to campus this fall!

https://dailyfreepress.com/2020/08/12/boston-university-to-issue-degrees-to-students-after-death-starting-this-fall/

I would have laughed if this had been from The Onion. It's sad when satire gets scooped by reality.

[apl68]

Students who die while attending Boston University will be able to undergo an official process to obtain a posthumous degree, starting this Fall.

They say the timing isn't related to COVID, but this has to be a relief to students and parents heading to campus this fall!

https://dailyfreepress.com/2020/08/12/boston-university-to-issue-degrees-to-students-after-death-starting-this-fall/

Silver lining department....


And what marshwiggle said.

[mamselle]

Just had a cool turn-around kind of day.

I woke up tired, a bit grumpy from trying to get a lot of work done yesterday, and not feeling quite like facing the full day before me.

Instead:

- My older adult student, who started with me about a year ago, and has always played well technically, really starting interpreting her work more closely.

- My kidlets for music appreciation didn't show up, but it gave me an extra hour to do an additional Ppt slide for my older Theory kids.  And...lunch.

- The older kids just blew me out of the water. We're doing chord substitutions, voice leading, and correct harmonic placement of notes, both generally, and for the pieces they're composing. We workshopped one of those pieces today, and they came up with some neat ideas for what was already a very good piece of work. I just remain so grateful for their good energy, application of ideas to the work, and willingness to try everything under the sun.

- My last student is going to find me in a totally different mindset from what I'd thought I'd be in by the end of the day. And we'll probably do more folk dance with his 2-year-old at the end of his lesson, I suspect....

AND I've gotten more (but not all....) of the written work done I need to do.

It could be so much worse.

M. 

[nonsensical]

I have been working from home since March, and I was finally able to go work in my office. I don't know how far into the fall that will be feasible at my campus, but it is such a relief to be able to do it now. I felt so normal! I mean, I was wearing a mask, and none of my colleagues were around, so it was obviously not the same. But I worked in my work space in an undistracted way. I got to go to work in the morning and come home in the evening and have some kind of separation between work and home.

[adel9216]

The collective book I have contributed to is coming out in Mid-September! The book chapter I have co-written is dope! hahahaha :) So much work put into it, and now it's become a reality.
Soon enough, I'll write my own little book as a solo author. :) #bucketlist

[mamselle]

The collective book I have contributed to is coming out in Mid-September! The book chapter I have co-written is dope! hahahaha :) So much work put into it, and now it's become a reality.
Soon enough, I'll write my own little book as a solo author. :) #bucketlist

Do you mean...."done"...?

;--}

My phone does that to me all the time.

M.

[mamselle]

Two other friends and I have discovered a new, silly, simple way to stay in touch while distancing.

We are doing a "reply-all" gossip email chain....just answer each other back randomly, and keep the email going.

One, a writer, is confined with a seriously ill father in an area where the hurricanes go.

Another, a mutual friend, is unemployed and has trouble walking.

And I need people to check in with on short-term goal stuff this week--so we've just started this wacky little conversation.

May not last a long time, but we're enjoying it, it helps reduce the sense of isolation, and it's kind of fun.

M.

[nonsensical]

A paper led by a graduate student in my lab got accepted for publication in a fancy journal. This might be the most straightforward path to publication of any paper with which I've been involved, plus the findings are important and I'm excited to have them out there in the world.

[apl68]

A paper led by a graduate student in my lab got accepted for publication in a fancy journal. This might be the most straightforward path to publication of any paper with which I've been involved, plus the findings are important and I'm excited to have them out there in the world.

Congratulations!

[Parasaurolophus]

June Paper got a solid R&R a little while ago. Today, July Paper got a solid R&R, too. Not bad, and pretty speedy decisions on both!

(I didn't have much hope for July Paper, actually, so that's especially nice.)

[nonsensical]

June Paper got a solid R&R a little while ago. Today, July Paper got a solid R&R, too. Not bad, and pretty speedy decisions on both!

(I didn't have much hope for July Paper, actually, so that's especially nice.)

Congratulations on both and especially on the July paper! Woohoo!

My positive thing is that the Zoom class I taught this morning seemed to go okay. I've never taught on Zoom before (was on leave this past spring), so I'm especially glad that I was able to figure things out. I will teach one more class this afternoon, which hopefully will also go relatively well.