The big part of the past month has been my trip to Minneapolis for professional development. I haven't been able to attend a national convention for my professional membership in years. 11 years actually. It was OK in a professional development standpoint. I learned a little bit more about some health-based activities and technology sources. The keynote speakers were pretty decent. My coworker did all the driving as she's familiar with Minneapolis. We stayed with her mom in a super nice condo. It was nice to swim in some evenings. The only downfall was the fact her mom had no Internet/Wifi so my plan to do work in the evenings failed. The Internet at the convention center wasn't super consistent either. Either way, I don't when I'll go another national version of the convention because the next is in Boston, then Florida I think.
The other big news is that I did receive my promotion. Starting July 1, I am a senior lecturer. Longer contracts and more pay. I'll take that. I didn't get an award I applied for but compared to other applicants, I'm a novice faculty member.
The highlight of this weekend was the hours of tennis I played yesterday. I've been dying to play tennis all winter and during the early spring. I'm hoping it's something Dan and I can do after work some days as well as on the weekends. Surprisingly he didn't win all the games either.
And now for the 101th time...I am excited to make some healthy changes as this semester is ending and the summer is beginning. The first thing I will be doing is buying a scale. I need to look at the ones we use for research at work because they are consistent and easy to calibrate over time so they stay consistent. Would like to weigh myself once a week. No plans of using Weight Watchers.
Things have also been quite different with Gavin driving. I don't have to race home from work anymore so I've stayed back late more regularly which is actually helping with all the grading I have on my plate right now. He's doing well with it and my anxiety of him driving in Ankeny has dropped a lot. He's pretty mindful about how much gas he's using too. If you do the math, he's still on the first tank of gas put into it after we arrived in Ankeny with it at Easter.
Things are going very well with Dan too. This week marks 9 months of blissful dating. (Sincerity not sarcasm) He met Alissa on Friday after work. We don't see each other as often anymore due to schedules and I'm trying to work in things to do that aren't eating out. Playing tennis yesterday is a key example. We are considering the idea of going to a Steeler's game in October as they are playing his favorite team (Dolphins). It's only a consideration at this point.
Back to grading!
