Transport-stupidity After my nearly-aneurysm-inducing meeting with the Bb specialists, I decided it was time to go home. New Campus is in the middle-of-nowhere-Sahara-Desert. My commute is between 1 hour 15 minutes and 2 hours 30 minutes EACH WAY. It is Ramadan, so there are only 3 scheduled departures from NC to my neighborhood. However there… Continue reading Adventures in Stupidity – part 2
Adventures in Stupidity – part 1
Techno-stupidity I am frequently amazed to find that my “technical expertise” is substantially beyond that of others in my field (although the empirical evidence is vast), however I usually assume that the IT/ACT/Tech people know more about the systems and software than myself. I have been proven wrong. The university has changed its “Classroom Management… Continue reading Adventures in Stupidity – part 1
Small Victories?
Picture, if you will, the following New Campus vignettes: Two faculty members bump into each other on the way to their respective classes. They exchange the usual pleasantries, Fac #1 – “So, do YOU have an office yet?” Fac #2 – “No, I’m camping out in [insert other faculty/department name here]’s office for now. They… Continue reading Small Victories?
Gem or Coprolite?
UNCHARACTERISTICALLY PESSIMISTIC RANT TO FOLLOW – READ AT YOUR OWN RISK I am just past mid-week of the inaugural semester at AUC’s “Gem in the Desert” New Campus. According to the university website, the New Campus is: Built at a total cost of $400 million and spanning 260 acres, the new campus provides a world-class… Continue reading Gem or Coprolite?
New Campus and Meeting Impotence
AUC is moving to a brand new campus in the middle of the desert, about 45 minutes outside of Cairo. I have read their descriptions, AND I have been out to New Campus, and I think my description is more accurate. The campus is being built from scratch. It began as a vast expanse of… Continue reading New Campus and Meeting Impotence
You may call me…MASTER!!
I had my brief, stream-of-consciousness post about finishing my divemaster certification, but many people have asked, “What does that REALLY mean?” So here goes: The certification is through PADI (officially: Professional Association of Diving Instructors; unofficially: Put Another Dollar In), the largest SCUBA certification organization on the planet. I have been diving since 1987 (yes,… Continue reading You may call me…MASTER!!
I DID IT!!!!
Most of you will think that this is a “mountain-out-of-a-mole-hill” thing….. I FINISHED MY DIVEMASTER TRAINING. I AM A DIVEMASTER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This is the “intro” level of SCUBA instructional levels. I can’t teach SCUBA classes, but I’ve learned how to manage other divers underwater, deal with stressful situations, and assist in the teaching of SCUBA. Basically… Continue reading I DID IT!!!!
Sphyrna lewini
10 August 2008 – near Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt, off the backside of Jackson Reef aboard the Brina I Photo from: National Geographic website 3 dives in the blue last dive – 8 hammerheads I couldn’t be more pleased
Be careful what you wish for…
No, it is not as bad as all that! I began SCUBA diving when I was 19 year old. I was Open Water Certified (Level 1) in university. At that time, I thought, “Wouldn’t it be cool to be able to dive for a living?” Years went by. In grad school, I returned to diving… Continue reading Be careful what you wish for…
More Chaos – and closure
It seems that everyone (especially Gozi – Arabic for my husband) knows that the idea of us moving to another flat, even within Zamalek, is INSANE. Everyone, that is, except me. Until last night. Back story: in my last installment, I talked about us TRYING and being DENIED a flat in Zamalek. Just after posting… Continue reading More Chaos – and closure