A Gardeners Forum Forums Members History Forum Life 2004 academics

Always one for a good book and if it can be combined with learning a new field or going forward in academia - so much the better. Problem is, come spring time - - its a battle between being outdoors or being "in the books" and generally the outdoors wins. But, along the way - have been a conf. speaker and published academically.

Any other academics here?

Jon

I was never one to get excited over reading (its really hard for me to find something that I like). In school I never did well in history(mostly because the teacher didn't actually teach). But I did excell in math and grammer (note: not spelling ). I did love math...still do. When I did my placement tests for college, I tested into the 2nd year of calculus...although I didn't need the class (was a special ed major). Now, my husband and I enjoy watching the history channel in the evening....as long as there isn't hockey on!

Well I wouldn't call myself an academic, but I do to read. Amoung my favorites are horror novels by Stephen King & Dean Koontz, The works of William Shakespeare and Ralph Waldo Emerson, and I have read & reread everything by Kahlil Gibran many thousands of times. I never pass up a good gardening magazine either, Birds & Blooms and Country Living Gardener are amoung my favorites. When the weather is good I like to read outdoors in the garden. Get the best of both worlds that way

hi all

Well, guess I shouldn't say that the area I'm published in is "history" then - - or more specifically - Italian American history (smile).

Special ed is a great field, and Lord knows we need more teachers in the field. Are you still teaching? What is your specialty?

Literature is always a great way to go - - where would we be today without it? Most people are not aware that the great literary writers are who gave us the written languages of today - whether it is Dante in Italian or Shakespeare in English. Certainly there were writers before them - but they are looked upon more often than not as the ones who shaped their linguistic field.

Jon

Well, I'm not a true academic, but I am a total nerd. I have spent about 5 years working in libraries and I LOVE it. Recently I've been doing research for movies and tv, mostly in the art department. So yeah, I love expounding, pondering and pontificating, but have no plans to go back to school or be a teacher or anything. I guess I'm a lazy student, but am trying to get out of that. I love books, but have also gotten very lazy about reading. That's part of why I want to enhance my garden: I think that if it's really beautiful and lively, I'll be more likely to read outside than sit inside watching reruns of old gameshows from the seventies!

When I was working as a RN there were always articles to read, inservices to attend and new ideas to learn about.

It was hard to juggle Nursing, raising 3 children, cleaning the house and gardening.

Hehe! The clean house wasn`t!!

Things slowed down for me when I quit Nursing and went to work at the kids grade school.

This has been a great year for me I quit work and have had a wonderful time being at home playing at being a homemaker.

Jon,

I am no academic, but I do love to read. History, generally...lol...I am rather weird....I develop an interest...say Elizabethan....and then go to town reading and researching, from politics of the time, to clothing, etc. I become obsessed with the time...until ultimately, i get bored and start with another totally unrelated time in history and start over. It makes for an interesting personal collection of books, I must say!

Barb H.

Hi, Rue!

I've been home with my kids...playing homemaker...i really enjoy it! LOL...i say playing, because you would think that being a SAHM, I'd have an immaculate house...and that is NOT the case. I have so many interests that I am exploring now, but cleaning isn't one of them!!!!!

I am always trying to excuse my housekeeping skills....but rest assured...my garden is very neat!!! LOL...it tricks the neighbors into thinking the inside is as well kept!

Rue, I really think of this time in my life as the best i'll ever experience. I am exploring my interests, enjoying the kids and giving them fun times.

My goal.....is to be a nominee this summer or a summer in future for the prettiest garden in our town. Most of the people who win, or are nominated have landscapers who plan and do the work, so i will have my work cut out for me.

How's your garden coming along, Rue? Anything new you are trying, or adding to the garden?

Barb H.

I put up tons of christmas tree light for my daughter's wedding. I can't stand the thought of taking them down. It makes the garden look so enchanted.

I had the garden club over to walk through and learn about wildflowers. When it got darker I turned on the lights and there was an ah! in unison.

My hubby's family is coming here for Memorial Day so I for sure will keep them up til then.

I'm busy helping with developing our neighborhood plan for the city and am a co chair for our annual garden tour.

I would love to start a program recognizing the best and prettiest yard/gardens. I`ll keep my fingers crossed for you.

I wouldn't say I am an academic but I tend to lean more to that side. I had a nerd jacket in high school (lettered in academics and I wore it with pride). I've always been at the top of my class and I have a constant need to learn more. I read all the time (thanks to my wonderful mother introducing me to the library as a small child).

I have a degree in anthropology and keep up on the field although I do not work in it. Unfortunately, being an anthropologist doesn't pay well (or at all) and I needed to contribute to my little household (we bought a house at 21 and I couldn't exactly leave him alone to go live with the Navajo or Hopi). Since then I have moved into a more financially viable field, manufacturing, and I have taken classes and received a couple of different certifications necessary (APICS CPIM, production inventory control, etc). I really enjoy what I do and the company where I work. But I have always thought that someday I could go back to anthropolgy, work in a museum somewhere or do research. Maybe when I retire or if we win the lottery. Or maybe when my hubby is finally done with school...

Rue,

WHY take the lights down...ever?!? They sound soo pretty. In fact, perhaps i will put some up in the back for my enjoyment this summer. At least keep them up until you get sick of them!

Do you have photos of your daughter's wedding with the lights? If you have any on a website, let me know..i'd love to see your enchanted garden.

It sounds like you are as busy, or busier with your new life, Rue!!! You don't let moss get under your feet, do ya? LOL, unless you want to GROW moss there, that is!!

Barb

I certainly would never label myself an academic, but am a lifelong learner.

My career is sign language interpreter, and so I study the linguistics of sign as part of my ongoing development as an interpreter. One of my favorite parts of the job is that every time I enter a new assignment, I learn something new. I have the opportunity to be in places few get to go and see things few people see- outside of those in those particular fields. For example I have interpreted for: a Deaf chemist at a pharmacutical company, a Deaf engineer in aerospace designing vehicles that are currently in outerspace, a Deaf professor teaching hearing persons about Deaf culture, various legal and medical settings, job interviews, college classes, etc. etc.

I once saw a cartoon titled "How Interpreters start their day" It showed a bulletin board which had at the top, "Today I am an expert in:" Then on the board were pinned different words like mathematics, culture mediation, family service, English, Law, etc. Interpreters were lined up and blindfolded and given a dart to throw at the board.

but it is the exposure to all these different fields that I love. I have all these tidbits of information filed away in my brain. It's a great field.

Jon, I hated history in high school, thought it was boring. Then in my mid-twenties I worked at a college. History classes became my favorite thing to interpret. I now love history. I guess age gives us a different perspective on our relation to those who have gone before us.