climate, photos, miscellany
The capricious forces directing undergraduate teaching in political science have set me up for an extremely difficult term. First, I was assigned to teach an hour’s $6 shuttle drive away, at the Missisauga campus. Second, my “tutorials” are starting with 30 students each. With only five tutorials in the entire course, this raises the question […]
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I had my first beginner Judo class. While it was just exercise, demonstrations, and practice breakfalls, it was nonetheless a reminder of mortality. It has been a long time since I have done pushups or situps, especially in 20-repetition sets between other exercises. Furthermore, some of the Judo-specific warmups are both unfamiliar and challenging. In […]
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As a way to get more exercise and do something non-academic regularly, I signed up for 12 weeks of beginner Judo classes at Hart House. Classes are Tuesday evenings and early Saturday afternoons. I’m excited to get into it, and glad I was able to snag one of the last three spots by rushing upstairs […]
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It’s so exciting to see Massey College filling with people again. Meeting this year’s crop of new junior fellows is sure to be highly interesting, and meals resume tomorrow.
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Orientation for new Massey junior fellows begins on September 3rd. Massey lunches resume on September 5th. Access to the Hart House gym and U of T Athletic Centre resume on the same day. Non-academic objectives for the fall: get to know new junior fellows and students in the political science department; eat lunch at Massey […]
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Life has suddenly become exceptionally lonely. August is always a trying time in a PhD program. The lack of any real income since spring is naturally biting, and I have always had trouble dealing with the heat. There’s a breakdown of social structure and support, with no classes to teach or take, and friends and […]
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In an effort to control my insomnia, I bought some protective goggles which exclude blue light. On the first night, when I put them on at 9pm, the psychological effect is profound. Suddenly, it seems obvious everywhere that I should be asleep or preparing for sleep. I will try putting them on sometime between 9pm […]
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After the comparative aimlessness of the long summer, I am looking forward to September. I will be teaching tutorials for a first year Canadian politics course out at U of T Mississauga and persisting with my own PhD research. I’m looking forward to the resumption of life and lunches at Massey College, meeting new junior […]
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After many shorter spans which left us sweating in our third floor rooms, Toronto is now immersed in the longest and most intense heat wave of the summer so far. This leaves me feeling awkward about actually owning an air conditioner, which I have never moved from its storage location in our living room. During […]
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