Free Time, Time to Be Free

Hello, OU-C Tutors!

It's amazing how the Thank-Gods-It's-Friday motto takes on so much more meaning when one is a full-time employee. It didn't mean much to me during my years as a student because, well, you never have a day off as a student. But in the "real world" of employment, I am able to clock out, walk out the door, get in my car, drive the blessedly short distance to my apartment, and be safe in the fact that none of my work has followed me home.

Unfortunately, I feel like I have less "free time" than I did as a student. I suppose it's because a student's hours are so blurred around the edges. "I have a paper due at 6, but I can run to the post office at 1:30 and then pick up some milk from the grocery store before coming straight home again to work on my paper." So yes, while there was always an assignment hanging perpetually over my head, I could take a break to do what needed done.

Not so with full-time employment. Ever notice how work hours also seem to be the hours that the rest of the world operates? When can I make a car appointment? When can I go to the post office? Thank goodness Kroger at least is open 24 hours. I do very much appreciate being employed, especially in the economy of the world at this time, but boy, I sure do miss "student hours."

Perhaps I need to buckle down and take fuller advantage of what free time I do have. With 8-10 hours of work per day, plus 8 hours of sleep, that leaves me, what, about 6 hours? Don't ask me—I was never a math tutor. (Derivative. Doo doo doo-doo doo.) Even as I type this, though, I'm a bit amazed that I have that much time, and rather ashamed that I'm not making better use of it.

In at attempt to fix this, I have a few goals for myself.

- aikido—make it to aikido every Friday (I've missed a few Fridays, but in general I have been doing pretty well at driving back to Chillicothe for my class, especially since it coincides with my weekend visit home)

- jujitsu—well, I'd hoped to have the stamina to drive back to Chillicothe every Tuesday evening, get my butt kicked in jujitsu, then either drive back home right away or sleep at mom's and wake up veeery early to return to Springboro for work Wednesday morning. Alas, I have not yet made it to one jujitsu class. Perhaps in my months' absence from the class, I've grown a little afraid of it? A definite possibility. I'm an overweight 31-year-old woman, the [i]only[/i] woman in the class (other than sensei), and I want to pay money for people to throw me around, knock me to the ground, pin me down, and fight me tooth and nail as I try to do the same to them? Yes... it is a little intimidating. But it is also damn fun. I do miss it... and perhaps realizing this, I should try harder to go at least every other week while the weather cooperates with a 2-hour drive. We shall see.

- judo—I've been unable to find a local jujitsu class (I might have to look in surrounding areas—surely there are some to be found in Dayton, but I was hoping to find one in Franklin or Springboro), but I [i]have[/i] found a local judo class, which bears a lot of similarity with jujitsu (judo focuses more on throws, jujitsu focuses more on the groundwork, but both will leave me limping the next day). So to help my emotional and physical health (I always feel so much happier when I'm involved in a regular physical event), I am going to start taking judo lessons from a dojo less than 4 miles from my apartment. I'm both scared and happy :)

- cello—yes, you heard it! I have long been in love with the cello, but I was never able to find lessons in Chillicothe. Ok, so I didn't really look all that hard, but while living in Chillicothe, I didn't have the money to spare for cello lessons, either. I found some private cello lessons in Springboro. Only about $17/week for 30 minutes. I don't mind parting with $68/month if it is for something that I have wanted to do for literally the past 13 years.

All of the above require money—though thankfully, not much of it (I am still on a VERY tight budget as I try to pay some debts off!)—and my leaving the comfort of my apartment to go to a studio or dojo to work with strangers. But what about things to do at home?

- write—I need to write at least a page per night. Progress won't come unless I make it come.

- art—whether drawing, painting, or photography, I need to get back into this. This will also be relieved by my cello lessons and with my martial art classes, but the part of me that wants to create pictures has been ignored for far too long.

- Netflix—damn straight. I love me some Netflix. I don't have cable, but I've been working through some of the television series I've wanted to see. (Those unaccounted-for 6 hours per day? Yeah, well, a lot of them go to Netflix... but that's too much. I was never a long-term t.v. watcher, so I fear falling into that habit if I don't stop it now.)

What was the point of this post? Who knows. Do I ever have a point? ;) I suppose I wanted to give you guys a look into my post-OUC life (it does exist!) and perhaps I wanted to encourage you to budget your time as well. Don't let life pass you by unexplored. As a student, you probably don't have time/money to do all you want now—but do the things you can do for now, and plan on doing the rest for later. Just make sure you DO do them later! (I've been putting off the cello for years, but I registered today for my first private lesson!)

It's never too late to start anew. It's never naive to explore the world with open eyes. And it's never a bad time to say hello to one's former co-workers. Best of luck to you in your studies and future explorations!

And now you're not sure, whether it's coming or just going.

^^ "Plurals" 9/18/2010 ^^

It's a funny thing to just have one day that lasts for months. I've found that sleep and the sense of order that it gives life is something too many take for granted. Rest is like the dead space between images on a roll of film; it gives each frame (or day in this case) a clear context.

After a few months of work/classes/homework/eating/bodily caretaking 20-22 hours a day, you stop being tired all the time. The strange mobius strip feeling continues to roll on through the hours/minutes/moments.

Strangest of all, I've discovered that by micromanaging the number of minutes I can spare for a shower or bowl of soup so as to squeeze in an extra few ounces of sleep, I have more time than I can ever remember. Interesting revelations. Now that I am more saddled with responsibility and schedules than ever before, I am forced to plan so efficiently that I accomplish several times the workload I ever could when faced with large swathes of non-earmarked hours. Things get done like clockwork, and a lot of the stress of last minute rushing has been eliminated simply because my last minute may be a three days prior and I am acutely aware of it.

Even my job has turned out to have unforeseen benefits. You would assume that 6-8 hours 6 nights a week in a factory setting would quickly suck the life from a body when combined with the other complexities of my schedule. Luckily, my work has turned out to be such an automatic experience, my mind is generally free to wander. I construct vivid mental solutions to assignments from the Art Academy–leaving only the fabrication for a later time. I stir precisely drawn melodies internally as I find the words to carve out the details of those melodies character, needing only a paper scrap from a trash bin to serve as a storage device. I was even able to sketch out an entire suite of engagement images for a friend of mine while sorting magazines. It seems the more preoccupied my body, the freer my mind.

Weird.

New Music: www.purevolume.com/halogenlightbulb
New Images: www.halogenphotos.com

PS. Best time of year to be in Chillicothe, enjoy it for me.

The Sense of Wonder

Magic has been a form of entertainment for centuries. The Art has been used among hundreds of civilizations for religious, spiritual, academic, and even healing purposes from the Egyptians to the Romans. Today, magic is a popular form of entertainment in the West that many people come across their television screens or possibly in their living room as Uncle Butch shows off the latest card trick he taught himself.
Card magic is a beautiful art form which has been described countless of times by magicians as being the "poetry of conjuring." What makes card magic so impressive and mystifying is that the cunning performer may at any moment manipulate fifty-two, cut-out pasteboards and create a sense of magic, mystery and wonder at his finger tips. However, this brings up an excellent question—which the London Card Expert, Michael Vincent asks his audience—which I now propose to all of you: where exactly does the magic come from? The magician’s hands? His or her performance? Or rather, does magic come from what the audience experiences?
As a conjurer, I would argue that magic comes from the latter. After all, magic is not about what we see; it’s what we think we see. The art is not about “tricking” something or someone but rather using the trick to make someone feel something. That’s the magic; that’s the wonder.
Tutoring has many similar elements. The most important element is interaction. One must interact with their audience with casualness, respect, and even humor. A great magician once noted that if you want to know if you’re a good performer, after four tricks or so, set the deck aside and see if you can spend the next twenty minutes simply talking with your audience (without any magic at all!). If you are successful, no magic is needed because it is already being experienced as the audience is enjoying your company as is. Therefore, when tutoring, one has to build a relationship with the tutee on a certain level where all of the mechanical/grammatical ‘things’ are forgotten and even pass by unnoticed. Just as when the card shark entertains—in its truest form—the sleights and misdirection employed goes unnoticed; thus allowing the miracle to occur.
Try it out, and see how long the tutoring session lasts.
-KJ

Magical Tutoring

As contradictory as this may sound, tutoring is a lot like magic in many ways. Both tutoring and magic can be described as an art form that provides a certain sense of need for its audience. Magic is sought after for its entertainment purposes. It is aimed to create “oohs” and “awes”. Most importantly, magic leaves and brings in audiences for the purpose of “how do they do this or that” and to gain the knowledge of a topic they are not familiar with. When tutoring, the same aspects apply. Tutoring brings in the type of audiences that want to know how to “do this or that”; as well as, to gain knowledge.

Magic/Tutoring?

Tutoring is like magic because:

• To make magic you need an audience.
• You're always working with a full deck.
• It takes lots of practice to be great at it.
• It's not just the tricks in your hat, it's the act that goes with it.
• Sometimes you feel like sawing someone in half.
• Sometimes the magic you have up your sleeve just doesn't work.
• Some adience members refuse to be amazed.
• You might get your head bitten off by a vicious mammal.

Tutoring is Magical??????

If I had a magic wand...tutoring would be easier.

If I had an ace up my sleeve...I would have an answer for everything.

If I had a rabbit in my hat...everyone would leave with an "A" paper.

If I had the ability to make someone disappear...it would be hard to choose: me or the tutee.

If I had a handsome assistant that only wore a glittery vest and bow tie...I would stop tutoring.

Tutoring and magic often make me want to be somewhere else...









LAS VEGAS.

Introducing Fall 2010

Welcome back! We seem to have a lot of students on campus this year and I'm happy to report that the Learning Center has seen at least six request for tutoring on the first two days. Incredible.

As an instructor myself, I see this as a very good indication that students are eager to learn and excel this quarter.

Hope all tutors have a great quarter ahead and will see you this Friday!

Awaiting Fall 2010

Now that we have hit August, it's time to begin full preparations for Fall 2010.

We will have six fabulous tutors returning:
Sarah
Jenelle
Matt
Anita
Kyle
and
Jessica!
These tutors are committed to excellence and will participate in the annual Fall Training and Orientation seminar to be held on Friday, August 13th, 10 am-4 pm.

The Writing Center will also conduct open interviews for tutoring this Fall. If you are interested in tutoring writing, be sure to stop in the LC, pick up an application, and schedule an appointment with Debra Nickles.

If you are not on campus any time soon, but you are still interested in seeing if you meet the requirements, contact Debra Nickles at nickles@ohio.edu for more information.