At the start of the month, I was back in Livermore. I got to visit my brother's church (where he is a pastor). The church is small, but they seemed to be a tight community (or at least gave the impression of being a tight community). It was the 4th of July when I went, which has its own quirks.
After returning to Vegas, it was back to work on the little things that I've got going on. I'm still pushing through typing up outlines, notes, and setting homework for the new math remediation program that we're putting together. I've got the first half (the half that will be piloted in the Spring) almost completely laid out. I've got two more classes' worth of notes to put together, and then I'll be done.
I've also been putting together my notes for the introductory analysis class that I'll be teaching in the Fall. I haven't taught this class before, so it should be fun to be trying out something different. I've also got a scheme to get the students up to the board more often. I think it should work out well. But either way, they're going to do it!
My third year review is basically complete. I've got all the pieces pulled together, and I'm going to give it a careful review in a few weeks just to make sure that everything is as it should be.
I had intended to start taking those actuarial exams, but it looks like that one is on hold for a while. The good news is that it doesn't really matter.
In the midst of all this, there is a lot of other stuff going on with the campus. The first is the passing of our president, Fred Maryanski. I wasn't particularly close to Fred. But it was always impressive that the president came around to visit the faculty offices when his schedule allowed him the time.
http://www.nsc.nevada.edu/5696.asp
For an entirely different reason, we're losing one of our full time math faculty, which is going to put us in a bit of a pinch for a little while. I think it's a good move in the big picture, even though the small picture means that we'll be short-staffed. This is the second math faculty that we've lost, making me the only math PhD left. On the one hand, this is an excellent opportunity for me from a career perspective because if I manage to keep things in the math department running (plus launch the new remediation program successfully), this would be a big win for the race to tenure. But it's also bad because this is probably going to be a rough year for me. The campus is growing in enrollment, and there's just a lot more work that needs to get done and fewer people to do it.
I did some Asian cooking for small group. I haven't done that in a while. Hot and sour soup, pineapple fried rice, pot stickers, and stir-fried vegetables (though I didn't actually cook the stir-fried vegetables or the soup). It all came out very tasty. As a bonus, I got to learn of the location of a couple Asian markets. They're smaller markets, so they don't have the same variety as the ones on Spring Mountain. I'm probably not going to return to the one that I visited, but I've got another one on the list.
I've got some new furniture. And I had friends help me shop for it, because I have friends with good taste. (Translation: They will keep me from making mistakes.) I have taken exactly one picture, and here it is:
I saw the Lion King at Mandalay Bay last weekend, and would recommend it to anyone who wants to see a show. The costuming was elaborate and creative, and the use of the stage was extremely clever. It's also very long (2.5 hours with an intermission), so you get quite a bit of entertainment value out it. If you sit up close to the stage, you will miss some of the stuff that happens in the aisles.
The Old Testament class at church is rolling along. We've been drawing about 20 each week, which is a good-sized class for us. Things are generally going well, but there are some things coming down the line that will need some attention. But this is going to be true in good times and bad, so it's not something that raises my level of concern above where it normally stays.
I'm heading into California next week for a couple days in San Diego and then for the retreat on Catalina island.
