If You're Having One of Those Days

A friend sent this to me a couple of years ago (this just shows you what a clutterbug I am with my inbox). Don't open if you don't have headphones you can plug into your computer.


Happy Halloween!!! If anybody wants to become my favorite person, please go to the nearest grocery store and pick up as much candy corn and those little candy pumpkins you can, and send them to me here in Sarajevo. I got nuttin', honey.

Adventures in Cooking: Popcorn

So tonight, after a trip to the grocery store, Wiley and I came home and attempted to make popcorn. On the stove. The "old-fashioned" way. You'd think this is fairly easy, as I did.

First batch: burned.

Second batch: perfect until the lid to my seasoned salt fell off, making the popcorn look like Pompei after Mt. Vesuvius erupted (the seasoned salt here looks like pepper, though thankfully, doesn't taste like it).

Third batch: burned.

The fourth batch turned out to be the charm. Now my belly is full of lentil soup, popcorn, and chocolate milk, and my teeth are full of hulls. Excuse me while I release them from their holds.

Musings

Why is it that whenever you're otherwise engaged in the restroom, that's when the bugs come out? Yesterday it was a spider in the tub; today, a silverfish at my feet. Yick.








On to other news: I may be helping someone with their English skills! This could be quite comical, as his skills are rusty and my Bosnian skills are as of yet nonexistent. Could be a lot of hand gestures and grunting involved. Hee hee.

Royal News

If you care about Prince Harry, click here for a story on him.

Wiley, Aunt Tex, Does This Work?

So I go to my iGoogle page, and I see this from WikiHow:

How to Get a Professor to Change Your Grade

So then I read on:


With classroom sizes increasing on many campuses and the job market becoming more competitive, students are increasingly concerned with their grades. How do you handle a case where you feel that your grade did not reflect your performance?

Steps

1. Determine if you have a basis to ask your professor for a grade review. You have to understand things from the professor's point of view when it comes to grades. The professor has to do his or her best to treat everybody equally when it comes to grading. If a professor reads an exam or paper again, that is giving that paper or exam extra consideration which others in the class will not have. Therefore you really must have a good, solid reason for the professor to give you extra consideration.
   
   
   • Make sure that you followed the instructions in the syllabus or on the assignment correctly. If you are asked to answer an essay question on a test and you do not even address the points that are needed in the essay, you do not have a basis to ask for your grade to be reconsidered.
     
   • Make sure you read the professor's comments carefully. Often times confusion over grades comes from a lack of communication or a lack of understanding about the reasoning for a grade.
2. Consider whether the change in your grade is worth the risks involved. Unless the injustice is truly profound, you might be better off accepting that, just as the candy machine sometimes steals your quarter, then later gives you two Mars Bars for the price of one, you probably have the GPA you deserve, even if you are occasionally docked a point or two on a particular score.
   
   
   • Think about the overall context of the grade. If you are challenging two points on an exam that is worth 100 points and the exam is worth 30% of your final grade, is it really worth to go through this hassle? Before you make a decision about challenging a grade, think about the bigger picture: How much do you really gain in the final analysis? If the answer is potentially a substantial amount, then go for it. If it is literally, hundredths of a point, then you may want to rethink your strategy.
   • If you challenge your grade, you will probably not be remembered fondly if you ask that professor for a recommendation, even if you're in the right. Especially if you're in the right. Professors are people--some are humble, but many take pride in their life's work and don't appreciate having their judgment questioned. No, no, that can't be right. They may not directly trash you on the recommendation letter, but you'll probably never get that glowing praise you were otherwise aiming for.
   • More damaging is the potential reputation for grade-grubbing that you will earn as your professor tells colleagues about your protest. This is especially likely if you're challenging a grade in your major, where a reputation for pettiness could cost you support and opportunity.
3. Ask to make an appointment with the professor or assistant to discuss how you got the grade and how you may be able to avoid getting that type of grade on the next assignments. Professors generally will look favorably upon students who are putting a concerted effort into their course and doing their best to improve.
   
   
   • If the grade was made by a teaching assistant, do not bypass the teaching assistant in the process. Ask to make an appointment with the teaching assistant to discuss the matter. Bypassing the teaching assistant may make the assistant feel slighted, as you go over his or her head without even discussing it first. Likewise, most professors who have teaching assistants should tell you to discuss the matter with the assistant first.
4. Prepare for the meeting. If the instructor has taken points off that you thought you deserved, go back into your lecture notes and text books and make a list of supporting evidence to have with you for the meeting. Be able to show the professor that you were not just making up the information, that you know the material well and that you were prepared. But remember, in using your evidence, this is not a trial. Use the evidence as a basis for asking the professor or assistant to reconcile it with what he or she wanted or were looking for in the paper or exam.
5. Be courteous and professional in the meeting with the assistant or professor.
   
   
   • Do not be accusatory -- avoid phrases like "I don't think that you like me," or "I think I'm being treated unfairly." I always thought that worked. Tell the instructor that you are a bit concerned about the grade you received and you were hoping that they could take a few moments to go over the exam or paper with you.
   • Make sure you don't claim "I deserve a better grade." There is nothing that will draw the ire of a professor more than a student who is learning about a subject for the first time telling a professor, who has been studying a subject for years, that they should have gotten a better grade. Right, must remember that tidbit.
     
   • Do not approach a professor with the line "I did the same thing my friends did in the class and got a lower grade." First, most often, confidentiality rules will prevent a professor from discussing other students' grades. Second, each person's paper or exam is going to be different in some way; otherwise, there is going to be suspicion raised.
6. Emphasize that you want to make sure you want to catch any problems before the next exam or paper is due. It will show the professor that you are not there just to complain and you have an interest in the subject matter. However, don't pretend to care about improving future performance if all you really want is a better grade now. Your professor will rightly conclude that you think he or she is a bit thick, which won't win you any consideration. For every professor fooled by such an act, ten will see right through you.
7. Highlight specific areas of concern and ask for an explanation as to what went wrong in those areas (instead of asking him or her to reread the paper or exam). Your instructor should demonstrate clearly where you went wrong. If the answer doesn't jive with lecture notes or the textbook from which you got your information, then ask for clarification with the information. "Professor X, I think I understand what you have said, but I'm a bit confused because I thought from your lecture on (whatever subject or date) you said _____." or "I think I understand what you've said, but in the textbook, it seems to be saying something different and this is how I understood it."
   
   
   • If the professor is clearly in the wrong and a mistake was made, most often the professor will concede.
   • If the professor makes her or his point and it is consistent with all the information you have written, point out to the professor the consistency between the lectures, books, and the information you just received in the discussion. Let the professor try to elaborate on any information that you may be missing or let her or him justify the grade in light of that information.
   • If you show that there is strong consistency with your learning materials (lectures and notes) and what you wrote, then ask the professor if they will reconsider reducing the point deduction or the grade itself.
8. Take it to a higher level as a last resort. If all else fails, most departments have processes in place to appeal grades to committees. This process usually starts with the Undergraduate Director or Chair of the Department. Keep in mind, it is rare that other professors will overturn another professor's grade. However, if there clearly is a miscarriage of justice, a good compromise can often be worked out, or a committee hearing can be scheduled to review the grade complaint. Just remember if you go down this road, you are entering a political process. Make sure you are absolutely convinced that you have been wronged and that there is evidence for it. The best outcome is that the situation is resolved amicably and all parties are happy; the worst is that you will feel uncomfortable taking courses with that professor again and that professor may not appreciate the challenge to his or her teaching and grading. Again, weigh the costs against the benefits and decide if this is something worth doing.

Tips

• Distinguish between objective and subjective errors. If you are, say, in freshman biology and definitely got a multiple choice question right, that is very different from an essay exam. Even if you clearly will pick up a few points on the exam, it may not make a difference in your grade. The first thing to do is to meet with the professor (Don't just wander in; either make an appointment or come during office hours.) and say something along the lines of "I think I got a few questions right that were marked wrong. But it may not make a difference in my class grade. Is there a time limit to report these? I don't want to waste your time if it doesn't make a difference in my grade." Note the solicitude that you show for your professor's time (and they never have enough of it). On an essay or short answer exam or paper, always start with something like "I must not understand this as well as I thought I did. But I reviewed it against my notes and the textbook/readings (note: here you are pointing out that you already did the footwork to try and understand) but I still can't figure out what my problem is. Can you help me with the material?" Then as the professor goes over it with you, you can suggest that maybe the points taken off were excessive. Regardless of how thing go, be sure to thank the professor for his or her time. The very worst thing that will happen is that your professor now thinks you are better mannered than the average student and want to learn his or her material more than the average student. That is no small achievement even if you get no better grade.
• Some professors will ask you to write out your reasons for challenging the grade. Professors are doing this so that they do not spend hours on end with students debating grades. The issue is in front of them and they judge it on its merits. This procedure can discourage students from challenging their grade without good reason, but it also gives students who have valid challenges the opportunity to present their cases clearly.
• Understand that each discipline has its own way of doing things. Writing an English paper is very different than writing a paper for Economics or Political Science. Don't approach your professor and tell her or him that they do it another way in some other discipline; it is your responsibility to adapt to the requirements of this professor and department.
• Many elite colleges and universities forbid the changing of final grades, except in cases of "computational error." The reason for this prohibition is that disputes over grades are an enormous waste of faculty time.
• Professors have very little time to devote to grade disputes and most will not be happy to have to regrade your exam. Be organized, efficient and be able to make a good case for yourself.
• Sadly, every once in a while, you have to be the adult, and the professor acts immaturely. If a situation like this persists, then find another professor to talk to, if possible in the same department. First, describe what is going on as objectively as possible. Then ask how this professor feels about the situation (and be sure to mention that you may not be describing it objectively, even though you are trying to do so). Also, ask for advice. The advice might be to "just suck it up" or to drop the class. If it is serious then this professor may be able to either talk to the 'bad' professor or initiate disciplinary action. It probably will not help you directly however.

Warnings

• Some professors will have a policy that if they review your test or paper, they will not review just the information that you want them to review; instead, the entire exam or paper is up for reevaluation. This can have its positives and negatives. The positives are obvious, but the negatives can outweigh the positives because a professor can then find other things wrong with the paper or exam and use it as a basis to lower your grade further. You have to think about how serious the grade change is to you in this case.
• Do not act like you're the boss of the professor just because you pay tuition. This will not fly well.
• Do not get your parents to call or threaten to have your parents call. This shows the professor that you can't stand up for yourself and will reflect poorly on your reputation and credibility. Federal privacy law prohibits professors from discussing grades with anyone but the student.
• Do not make the mistake of thinking that all instructors will grade your work fairly. For example, if you write a paper knocking the writing of someone your instructor idolizes, expect at least a one letter grade deduction for your impertinence. That's the bad news. The good news is that such an instructor may also be fearful that you will take a complaint to someone higher up the food chain -- and raise your grade as soon as you point out the inequity rather than take a chance. Just be sure you have standing for your complaint.
• You may have to simply accept the grade the professor gives you. You can talk to them about it, but do not expect them to change it unless they made an error. Keep your own grading records so you have documentation if you need to challenge something, but asking to have a grade changed will not go over well at any institution. The best idea is to speak to the professor about what you can do to improve in the future. Find out why you missed the points that you did and where you fell short. You have to do substantially more work to earn an "A" in college than you might have in high school.

So now I ask Aunt Tex and Wiley if this really works. What say ye, Doctor and Doctor Upandcomer?

Time for Smut!

Nip/Tuck is starting! Check your local listings for times. I will be reveling in my DVDs and the updates I receive on the new episodes! Mmmmmm mmmmm good.

Home Sweet Home

After a grueling 12-hour busride that started at 8:30 pm, we are finally back home in Sarajevo after spending the weekend in Graz, Austria. I think I actually preferred the night bus. I didn't get a whole lot of sleep, but since I was trying to sleep, the time passed somewhat more quickly (not to mention we didn't have to get out of the bus each time we crossed a border). But I'm starting at the end, and that's wrong!

Ok. So enter Thursday morning. Wiley and I pack a suitcase and head out to the bus station. Bus ride is pretty uneventful save for the mom and daughter in front of us who recline into our space...perfectly their right, you'd say, and normally you'd be right, except I was the one behind them. I hate doing that to people, so I notice when it's done to me. And I wish I had my camera at the ready because in Republika Srpska (Serp-skah), we drove through the most gorgeous landscape. The road was carved out of the hillside. The hills were on fire with yellow, red and orange leaves. Below was a river with crystal waters in parts (and was kinda dirty in others). And it was the only time it was sunny on the bus. Alas, I have no pictures to show you of that. We arrived in Graz, Austria, around 8:15, about 45 minutes later than we were supposed to...which is what happens when you cross the border into Slovenia, then leave Slovenia and get questioned as to why you're passing through Slovenia, and oh, you live in Bosnia? Can you show us your residence permit, please? No matter that it's 35 degrees outside - everyone else can wait. Board bus again, pass through Croatia, then finally get into Austria. Wiley's friends were meeting us at the train station (right next to the bus stop), and Wiley tried to send a text message, to no avail. But have no fear! The Graz train station is connected - not only do they have trains, they have a bookstore, a McDonald's (and no, I didn't go once), a grocery store, and an internet cafe. So Wiley checks his email to make sure the number was correct, and then tried another friend whose number he knew was right. Nothing. This was when we realized that our cell phones, since they're now prepaid, don't let you use them outside of Bosnia. But we can receive phone calls and text messages...we just can't call out or send our own. Coming to grips with this, Wiley goes into mild panic mode, which is somewhat funny because usually I'm the one who panics, and he's mild-mannered. This time, he's combing his fingers through his hair at a frantic rate, while I say casually, "Well, I'll go see if I can find your friends," and walk around the train station. No luck. I come back in, and Wiley's still-frantic fingers are typing and running through hair, when I turn around, and out of the corner of my eye, see the back braid of who I think is Wiley's female friend. So, rather than create a scene, I stalk. Very quickly, I follow this chick (who I've met once, back in May) to the grocery store, and I watch her. I have a sack full of food that we brought with us, so I'm not about to step foot in the busiest grocery store in Graz right before closing time. She is standing there, trying to get someone's attention in line. Just when I think that this isn't who I'm looking for, I spot Wiley's guy friend, who is very easy to recognize, in line, and I go screaming into the grocery store, sack full of food be damned. When I called out Chick's name, she turned around to see some crazy woman with her arms outstretched, speaking a mix of German and English a mile a minute. Then she realized who I was and reciprocated the hug. I ran to get Wiley, who was in line paying for the internet and phone usage, and then he went into the grocery store to get a little food - Friday was an Austrian holiday, so EVERTHING except what's at the train station is closed. Wiley's poor friends had been there since 7:30, waiting for us to show up. We finally got out of the station around nine and headed over to the apartment Wiley's friends graciously offered us for our stay.

And let me just say that the next time we go abroad, we're living in Graz and we're renting this apartment. It was perfect. Dark bedroom, not on a busy street, only a floor up, big kitchen by European standards, nice hallway, a spare room and a living room, all decorated to coordinate beautifully.

The weather all weekend was awful. We went to Riegersburg castle. Lovely castle. Cold. I used to really really like castles, but they're so cold, so forget it. We weren't allowed to take pictures inside, so all I have are outside pictures.

Autumn in Austria is the best I've seen so far. You'll see when you view the pictures when I get them uploaded. After the castle, we had lunch at the equivalent of a winery. I had some hot chocolate and some sturm, which is wine made out of the first picked grapes of the season and sugar is added to it. So to me, it's perfect, but I'm told you'll get the runs if you drink too much. We had a potato that was fried and shaped like a teardrop on top of lettuce and turkey strips. Wiley and I intended to split, but I didn't like the potato thing that much, so he let me eat the turkey strips which were breaded in pumpkin seeds. So now I have a new recipe to try!! Wiley's friend drove us around the countryside more, and then dropped us off at our apartment.

Saturday was a day of shopping. I got some new Ecco walking shoes, which so far, are great, though I wish there was a slight heel. I feel so short all the time now. We also looked for a new winter coat for me, as well as some sweaters, but I didn't find one damn thing. Not one. Turns out leggings are in, long, light sweaters are in, and military-style jackets are in. The double-breast is big this year. For people who have a shelf, the double-breast is not the best look. Guess whose jacket is in before it was popular? Yours truly. So I'm looking for a wool coat that's single-breasted and cuts off right at the knee or just above (like an inch), preferably with a hood. Think I could find it? Close, but no cigar. The sweaters I found that I liked had no shape, as in they hung from the shoulders so anyone could look like a linebacker. I also tried to find slippers and a replacement earring, to no avail. However, I did find yarn, so I have a whole bunch to use for crochet. And we found an American grocery store, where I found microwave popcorn. We had some soup - pumpkin for Wiley, which was great, and schilcherwine soup for me, which is made from grapes that only grow on volcanic soil. Also tasty. Dinner consisted of french fries and a turkey cutlet breaded in pumpkin seeds!! In a non-smoking part of a restaurant, no less.

Sunday found us going out with Wiley's friend that took us to the castle Friday. We stayed at her apartment in May while she was in the US, visiting New York and South Dakota with her students. The apartments in Graz are so darling. I've found two I could easily live in. We had lunch at a place nearby, where I had a pork cutlet breaded in the pumpkin seeds...it was a weekend of fries and pumpkin seeds! Then we had dessert at this little gelateria. It's cold outside, and I want ice cream. Don't ask me why. But it's darn good. Then we walked around a bit, found a cha cha class taking place. All we heard was, "Eins, zwei, cha cha cha," but we thought maybe it was coming from the Kunsthaus (art house), so all three of our faces are plastered against the glass, looking in, and all we see are people at computers. Then I looked up and saw people dancing on the second floor of a building. Think "Shall We Dance?" Seriously. That gave Wiley and me the idea to find a dance class in Sarajevo. "Jedan, dva, cha cha cha." I can just imagine not understanding dancing commands. But that'll make me a stronger follower. Sunday night we met another friend for a quick drink at a little wine bar and then ate pizza with the ones who picked us up from the airport, which is always fun because there's limited English knowledge. I can work on understanding German...which I understand fairly well, though when Wiley's friend said something about Protestants, I thought he said in addition to the boarders being Protestant, he was, so he took them to church, but he really just said that they were Protestant and he knew of a church they could go to so he told them about it...potato, pohtahto, I say.

And on Monday, we finally got some stinkin' sun, so I was a photographin' fool. Since I've taken lots of pictures of Graz before, back in May, this time I didn't focus so much on the town, but more on the leaves around town. So if you were looking for street photos or pictures of buildings, don't click on the link. You'll only be disappointed. We had a turkey kebap, which I think is one of God's greatest inventions, then went home to clean the apartment and headed to the train station to board an overnight bus. Today, I feel good - nose seems to be improved, no pain in feet, stomach is happy with M&Ms that were bought in Graz. Now we go grocery shopping.