Pumpkin

Parker waited all year for pumpkin season to come along. Pumpkin latte, pumpkin ice cream, pumpkin air freshener, pumpkin pie, pumpkin seeds, pumpkin toaster pastries -- Parker loved them all.

Above all that, though, Parker loved carving pumpkins. Pumpkin carving was a means of creative expression for Parker. Being able to step away from graduate work for a little while to transform a gourd into a work of art  This year's design? Trumpkin. Parker hoped more people would recognize this image more than last year's Jack-o-Potemkin or the year before when it was Rumpkin Stiltskin.

Education

Blaine used the student development theory book to level out the table. It was the perfect height. Blaine was very impressed with this solution. 

"This is," Blaine thought, "The epitome of putting theory to practical use."

Librarian

A good subject librarian can be a grad student's best friend. You will find that if you ask a librarian for help finding information on a topic, that the librarian will often get more excited about the topic than you are. You will get more resources and ideas and support than you could have imagined.

That is because - librarians are magic.

Presenting

Parker has a big presentation coming up. Parker gets very nervous talking in front of groups. Parker feels a little nauseous before any kind of public speaking - even asking questions in class. Parker's Dad got a microphone for Parker to use when practicing presentations.

Parker thought it was dorky at first, but found that it works.

Parker now likes to narrate things around the apartment for the roommates.

The roommates thought it was funny at first, but have grown tired of comments like, "And in this room, we see the graduate students watching a movie and ignoring the growing pile of dishes in the kitchen and garbage which desperately needs to be taken out."

One time of the roommates asked to borrow the microphone. The plan was to hide it from Parker. Parker refused, however, saying, "It's a MYcrophone, not a YOURcrophone."

(pause)

Parker will probably have different roommate next year.

Assistantship

Rory didn't realize how difficult the internship with student conduct was going to be. Rory was happy to have remembered to wear a sweat band.

Rory also thought the internship supervisor dressed a bit formally and wondered if it affected how approachable judicial staff were to students and campus collaborators.

Rory decided not to ask the internship supervisor about this on the first day of the assistantship.