Part I - Shoes
Both shoes are now completed for the M doll. I am very happy with the way they turned out. The pattern calls for eyelets and an I-cord to keep the shoes in place so I just did what the pattern said. Funny how that works, everything came out just the way it should. A duplicate stitch in gray gave the rather heather-colours I was hoping for. One of the pants legs is done and the other is on the needles. The M doll is moving along very well.
Part II - Gravity
Last week part of my work group (those who work most directly with students) celebrated the end of the year with a dinner and program. (Just as a reminder I do work at a university.) These events are always high energy, celebrative and a whole lot of fun. Since I head up the group I'm often asked to say a few words to thank students for all they do for my department.
Don't know that it's been mentioned here before, but I will retire from my day job within a couple of months and apparently word got out to students recently. My colleagues and boss have known for months and since I'm really not interested in saying goodbye for months I've been relatively silent about the retirement thing. Having said that at last week's event I did say a very brief goodbye to the students, but did not want to spend much time on it because this event is about them. To my surprise, two students decided to give me a tribute.
Their comments started out like this:
Gravity is the fundamental force of attraction that all objects with mass have for each other. Like the electromagnetic force, gravity has effectively infinite range and obeys the inverse-square law. At the atomic level, where masses are very small, the force of gravity is negligible, but for objects that have very large masses such as planets, stars, and galaxies, gravity is a predominant force, and it plays an important role in theories of the structure of the universe.
The comments went on to outline the fact that gravity generally is not seen or felt until one is away from it's pull. It is powerful enough to control the tides and keep things grounded. Other kind words were said and then they all let everyone know about my retirement and how my work influence on the department is like gravity. It was a sincere and thoughtful tribute that moved me. I will attempt to put some of this feeling into words, but it is a feeling meaning it is hard to describe with language.
At my age I am generally quite aware of my strengths and flaws/weaknesses. There have been years and years to examine this life and be realistic about why things have turned out as they have. Students, who are generally 18-22 years of age, most enjoy being lead by someone who inspires them, who is gregarious, outgoing, quick on their feet in public speaking events and just fun to be with. Well, perhaps in small groups it is possible for me to pull off some of these traits, but in general none of them easily fit into my own wheelhouse of skills and abilities. What I do excel at is thinking about how our department does its work and finding ways to improve it. It is by trying to look at what students want through their eyes and then doing as much as possible to deliver our services to them that way, that I believe I express to students my sincere interest in them. This way of caring isn't as direct as being gregarious and outgoing, but in the end I have opted to use my strengths at work and not try to be something I'm not.
It was very moving for me to have two individuals, who have only been given an opportunity to get to know me from a distance (because of my own characteristics, certainly not theirs), to understand my work style. Their comments focused on the strengths they found in me and didn't offer even a whiff of disappointment about other characteristic they might hope to see in me. It is smart young people like these two I am going to miss when I retire. They are generous in praise, even when it might be difficult to find ways to offer praise. Yup, they help keep me thinking in young ways, even though I'm packaged in a not so young body.
Kate and Marcos, this is my shout out to you two. Thank you for getting my work essence even though it is quite different from your own. Your comments struck a very sweet chord within my being.
Both shoes are now completed for the M doll. I am very happy with the way they turned out. The pattern calls for eyelets and an I-cord to keep the shoes in place so I just did what the pattern said. Funny how that works, everything came out just the way it should. A duplicate stitch in gray gave the rather heather-colours I was hoping for. One of the pants legs is done and the other is on the needles. The M doll is moving along very well.
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| M doll shoes |
Part II - Gravity
Last week part of my work group (those who work most directly with students) celebrated the end of the year with a dinner and program. (Just as a reminder I do work at a university.) These events are always high energy, celebrative and a whole lot of fun. Since I head up the group I'm often asked to say a few words to thank students for all they do for my department.
Don't know that it's been mentioned here before, but I will retire from my day job within a couple of months and apparently word got out to students recently. My colleagues and boss have known for months and since I'm really not interested in saying goodbye for months I've been relatively silent about the retirement thing. Having said that at last week's event I did say a very brief goodbye to the students, but did not want to spend much time on it because this event is about them. To my surprise, two students decided to give me a tribute.
Their comments started out like this:
Gravity is the fundamental force of attraction that all objects with mass have for each other. Like the electromagnetic force, gravity has effectively infinite range and obeys the inverse-square law. At the atomic level, where masses are very small, the force of gravity is negligible, but for objects that have very large masses such as planets, stars, and galaxies, gravity is a predominant force, and it plays an important role in theories of the structure of the universe.
The comments went on to outline the fact that gravity generally is not seen or felt until one is away from it's pull. It is powerful enough to control the tides and keep things grounded. Other kind words were said and then they all let everyone know about my retirement and how my work influence on the department is like gravity. It was a sincere and thoughtful tribute that moved me. I will attempt to put some of this feeling into words, but it is a feeling meaning it is hard to describe with language.
 |
| My Gravity Award |
At my age I am generally quite aware of my strengths and flaws/weaknesses. There have been years and years to examine this life and be realistic about why things have turned out as they have. Students, who are generally 18-22 years of age, most enjoy being lead by someone who inspires them, who is gregarious, outgoing, quick on their feet in public speaking events and just fun to be with. Well, perhaps in small groups it is possible for me to pull off some of these traits, but in general none of them easily fit into my own wheelhouse of skills and abilities. What I do excel at is thinking about how our department does its work and finding ways to improve it. It is by trying to look at what students want through their eyes and then doing as much as possible to deliver our services to them that way, that I believe I express to students my sincere interest in them. This way of caring isn't as direct as being gregarious and outgoing, but in the end I have opted to use my strengths at work and not try to be something I'm not.
It was very moving for me to have two individuals, who have only been given an opportunity to get to know me from a distance (because of my own characteristics, certainly not theirs), to understand my work style. Their comments focused on the strengths they found in me and didn't offer even a whiff of disappointment about other characteristic they might hope to see in me. It is smart young people like these two I am going to miss when I retire. They are generous in praise, even when it might be difficult to find ways to offer praise. Yup, they help keep me thinking in young ways, even though I'm packaged in a not so young body.
Kate and Marcos, this is my shout out to you two. Thank you for getting my work essence even though it is quite different from your own. Your comments struck a very sweet chord within my being.
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