Back At It

Last semester, I decided to take a break from teaching to rest, spend time with family, read, take a class, and “recharge my battery.”  The break has been great especially since it afforded me lots of time to rest during the first five months of my pregnancy.  Tomorrow, the fall semester begins at Queens, and my break officially ends.  I’m looking forward to being in the classroom again.  I’ll be teaching three classes: Introductory Statistics, Calculus II, and Abstract Algebra.  Since the Calculus II and Abstract Algebra courses are 4 credits each, I’m teaching pretty much a full load even though I’m considered part time. 

Two of my classes have a Monday-Wednesday schedule, and the other one has a Monday-Wednesday-Friday schedule.  The courses meet back-to-back, so I’ll be in the same classroom teaching practically non-stop from 12:00 to 4:40 p.m. on Mondays and Wednesdays.  I’ve never taught three college-level courses back-to-back before, so this semester definitely will be interesting (especially since I’ll be in the third trimester of my pregnancy for most of it).  I don’t think I’m even going to carry my Statistics and Calculus books to class with me because their combined weight is 10 lb., and I don’t have office space in the building where my classes meet.  I’ll be giving my last final exam the afternoon of December 14.  Hopefully, I’ll be able to finalize grades before going into labor (the due date is December 23).

I do feel like my battery is recharged, so I think this semester will go well.  Let’s hope my pregnancy brain is able to jump from Calculus II to Intro Stats to Modern Algebra without difficulty and that my pregnant body is able to survive being on my feet for several hours a day.  Let’s also hope that I make it through the semester without my water breaking during class. :)

Discontinued or Hard-to-Find Groceries

I apparently have a knack for falling in love with food items that soon after will be discontinued or no longer carried in most grocery stores.  My taste buds must be different from those of the average person.  Although the following lists are not exhaustive, they'll give you an idea of what I mean:

Discontinued Items

• Pillsbury's frozen crusty french rolls
• Pepperidge Farm's Baked Naturals Snack Sticks -- Artisan Cheese

Hard-to-Find Items

• Classico's Sun-dried Tomato Red Sauce (only available at Harris Teeter)
• Pepperidge Farm's Baked Naturals Wheat Crisps -- Multi-grain (still listed on the Pepperidge Farm site; haven't seen it in stores in a long time)
• Nestle's Simply Dipped Cones -- Cookies & Cream (still listed on the Nestle site; periodically stocked by Super Target)

The most frustrating thing about the vanishing of these items from grocery store shelves is that other products, which I deem inferior, made by the same companies remain.  For example, I do not at all like the toasted-sesame variety of Pepperidge Farm's Baked Naturals Snack Sticks, but it continues to be stocked by every grocery store I visit.

Classico's Sun-dried Tomato Red Sauce is one of the very few pasta sauces available that has no onions, and I'm not a fan of onions.  Most grocery stores carry several Classico products, so I don't understand why they don't carry this one.  Luckily, Harris Teeter does.  When Jay and I lived in Christiansburg, VA, we always made a trip to Harris Teeter during our visits to Winston-Salem, NC, to stock up on the sun-dried tomato sauce.

I was so disappointed when Pillsbury discontinued the frozen crusty french rolls that I emailed Pillsbury to let them know.  I actually received a reply from the company indicating that the item had not been popular enough to continue making it.

I guess companies should hire me to taste-test their new products.  If I like the product, there's a good chance that it's not going to make it; however, the more I dislike the product, the higher the likelihood is that it's going to sell really well.

So frustrating!

Last Comic Standing

I was so happy to see Last Comic Standing return to NBC this summer.  Jay and I have watched each season except the first, and I think this year was the best of all.  In addition to having a great host (Craig Robinson, "Darryl" from The Office) and wonderful judges, the format was just as it should have been for a show attempting to showcase talented comedians.  Instead of having the top ten comedians live in a house together and perform various "funny" activities, this season focused on stand-up comedy from the start.  Thus, viewers were able to see hours of stand-up comedy throughout the season.

My three favorites from the top ten actually made it to the top three this year: Tommy Johnagin, Roy Wood, Jr., and Felipe Esparza.  Although I think Johnagin was the most talented of the three, I was not at all surprised that Esparza won because his personality is naturally funny.

The top five comedians are going on tour this fall/winter, and I was excited to see that they will be in Charlotte on October 28.  Jay and I are planning to get tickets.  It's been a few years since we've been able to see live comedy, so I'm very much looking forward to going.

On a slightly different but somewhat related topic, I also have watched The Next Food Network Star and Design Star once again this summer.  I think TNFNS has been enjoyable to watch, and I really like two of the final three contestants; however, I have not liked the changes made to Design Star this season.  The show has been much too serious, all of the challenges have been similar, and, most importantly, the show has suffered without Clive Pearse as the host.