Monday, June 8, 2009

scribe for hire

Well, I married a man much like myself it seems. The paper he had all quarter to work on finally got started . . . yesterday. And it's due . . . now. I think literally now. He's reading it out loud 'colloquium-style' for his class, and I think he said that was at 1 today. Anyhow, being the good little wife that I am, I searched my brain for ways in which I could be of aid and support, and since my pep talks seemed to be appreciated, but not really helping that much, I thought I'd take it a step further. And that leads us to how I can now add 'scribe' as a position on my resume. (or not.) I noticed that Corey seems to be much better at talking about what he's doing than actually writing it down. So after listening to the twisting, turning, not-so-organized explanation of what the paper is going to be about, I set out to help him figure out how to outline it, and then offered to write and let him dictate. While it did feel a bit awkward for the both of us, I think it took a lot of the pressure off of him, since he seemed to choke every time he tried to sit in front of the computer and write. And it was actually kind of fun. Since I don't have to write any of my own papers anymore, it's kind of fun getting to be a part of the process and do the typing (as well as some incognito editing). That's the fun part of being a scribe. You don't actually have to type what they say {tapping fingers Mr. Burns style, that is, backwards}, and by the time they come back and read it later to edit, they just trust that those were their own words {evil laughter}. Just kidding, I didn't really do that much editing, just a word here or there... ;0) We got through maybe half of the paper that way before I had to go to work, but it definitely set the ground work so that when he sat down at the computer the intimidation factor was gone and he had a good running start.

Even with his procrastination shortfalls, I do have a pretty amazing husband. He's the most creative thinker I know, and his brain moves at speeds I cannot even fathom. I'm so proud of him every time he talks about the discussions in class when he brought up points which had never even occurred to the profs before or when I hear about his paper topics which are always interesting and innovative. I have definitely found the smartest man I know. And that makes me happy. And perhaps nerdy. Which is OK.

On a completely unrelated note, these roses came out of MY yard. they look prettier in person, but I'll show you the webcam picture I took anyway, just so you don't feel entirely left out.

1 comment:

Virginie M. said...

Do you remember that night when you had to write a paper and just couldn't, and so we brainstormed and got you writing? You were really funny.

That's cool that you got to help Corey, and he's doing so well. I'm glad. :-)