Señora Cummins' Reflections

Sleep is tricky.  Before I had kids I was a great sleeper.  After kids I was so-so.  Being a full-time college professor has made me not a great sleeper.  There's just always so much to do. I learned this summer that Ennegram 2s (helpers) go into 8 when we're under stress and into 4 when we're feeling safe.  The irony of this is that I do my very best creative work when I go into 4 (creative mode) but I can't "turn on" and "turn off" the creativity. I'm on vacation now.  My Summer 1 session ended at the beginning of July and I followed my husband's advice to take July and the first part of August off.  Excellent decision.  I've been working very hard throughout the pandemic and haven't really slowed down since. However, when I'm resting is when my brain goes into high creative gear.  I wake up at 4am thinking of what all I need to do.  Boo. I woke up at 1am this morning and realized that I needed to do something differently that...

I like to say I'm an old woman trapped in a young (ish) woman's body.  My immediate response for most things is to react quickly.  I'm naturally quick with a response, an emotion and thought.  I have learned to make myself  slow down so I don't say anything unwise and also to spare myself emotional highs and lows. I'm learning that when I get nervous I have less margin with making myself buffer my reactions.  Especially with technology. Yesterday I was supposed to present at an unconference online.  I had prepared my presentation--the slide deck was ready, I had dressed up for the presentation (even though it's summer and I don't have classes to teach) and I had added the last minute touches.  This even included a detailed sticky note to remind me of how long I had to present, play the Quizlet games with the attendees and when to be sure and address the Q&A. 20 minutes before I was to present I got an email from Zoom telling me my session was cance...

Summer 1 has been over for a few weeks and I've been relaxing.  Well, trying to relax.  I'm not great at being on a break from work, but I'm working at it. Today I went in to work because I presented for Quizlet's Unconference.  Turns out there were tech issues so I couldn't present live from Zoom, but at least I was able to record my presentation.  Those who had signed up for my session (Using Quizlet in Higher Ed) received an email telling them the recording will be emailed to them.  In case you want to see the slides here's the link:  https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1s1_JI4qfybWOWZnltektpxIHmk33jSXtr1_sMZhzulg/edit?usp=sharing Here's the Zoom link and password if you want to watch: Here’s the link to watch my recording: https://wc-edu.zoom.us/rec/share/2hAPpubWy0IQpz5Zif8PTlKYmrbMMxaOIoFKBPhC5rKU_tc8eXpF-eVAjwmahCty.D8y2ATw5jkIeXb0w Passcode: G8&7x!#W Well, today I ran into a friend that helped tremendously as I worked on my OER project....

I'm wrapping up 2 projects, the third will continue on through the summer.  As they're concluding I'm reflecting about Ennegram numbers. I am a 2 with a 3 wing.  In my own words, I'm a helper who loves performing.  This summer I learned on a podcast that when 2s are supported we go to 4 and when we're under stress we go to 8.  In June I've had 3 projects:  debuting my OER material in my online SPAN 1411 course, teaching Foundations of Financial Peace to high schoolers at our Upward Bound summer academy and helping at our campus registration/orientation. For registration/orientation, I am at the Hispanos Unidos (Spanish Club) booth, telling parents and students about our club.  I also translated the parent portion of the orientation at the second orientation. My online Spanish class has been completely redesigned for this 6 week short semester.  I tried lots of new things and really, really hoped it would work. The Foundations of Financial Peace was 3 s...