Flights to Vermont Monday were all delayed due to air traffic holds caused by the weather in and around New York and Newark. We got on the plane late in Phoenix, then sat for more than an hour before departing. The same happened in Newark. The result - I got in around 1:00 a.m. Tuesday. Fortunately, I had napped on both flights, so getting less than six hours sleep was not a big problem.
After changing over the registration for the car in Arizona, I brought the plates and registration back to Vermont to get a refund. On Tuesday, I went to the South Burlington office of the Vermont DMV. They took my old Vermont plates and gave me a form to mail in to Montpelier. I did not look at the form then, and drove to Community College of Vermont in Montpelier for our scheduled meeting of the Advanced Standing Committee (ASC). Since I was early, I had time to look at the form given me in South Burlington - it was the wrong form. The form was for selling the car and transferring ownership. More on this later.
The Vermont State College System runs the Assessment of Prior Learning (APL) program. Non-traditional students take the APL class; this is a semester long, three credit class. The students create a portfolio that includes a biography and letters of documentation to support their requests for credit. Here is an article about one student who went through the process:
http://now.ccv.edu/its-not-what-youve-done-its-what-youve-learned/
Gabriel Dietzel and her aide Diane Konrady run the program and I was one of four faculty who sat on an ASC Tuesday to evaluate and determine what credits to award to eight students. Gabriel and Diane are always great to work with, and they always treat us well. Here is the spread of snacks and coffee Diane prepared for us (and then there was also a magnificent lunch as well):
After my time at CCV, I drove back into Montpelier center and stopped at the DMV. They agreed that I was given the wrong form and all I needed to do was write a short note explaining what I had done and they would then process the refund. I then drove home, walked the dog, ran errands and picked Patty up from work in Colchester (Ben had driven her to work).
Wednesday was my volunteer day at Habitat ReStore. Around 7:20, just before we left, I got a text message that the Assistant Manager who was going to drive the truck with me - he was ill. He left the keys and the pick up schedule for me. So I was on my own. I did the first three pickups of donated furniture and household goods and the third filled the truck - a dance studio that looked more like an apartment on the top floor of the Chace Mill. It was a lot of work. So I drove back to the store, got help unloading the truck and Jim (another volunteer, semi-retired from Merrill Lynch) joined me. We filled and emptied the truck twice more. It was a long day - nearly ten hours.
Then home for a quick shower and off to Champlain College for the social hour on day two (of three) of the IRP. While all of Champlain's masters degree programs are online, they all have a required course that includes a three day session on campus. I met my friend and boss Jean Myers - she runs the MSL (Masters of Science in Law) program in which I periodically teach, as well as administration of the LSAT at Champlain. It turns out that I was the only other MSL faculty to show up and we spent a couple of hours talking with some MSL students, solving all sorts of legal conundrums while enjoying wine, beer and hors d'oeuvres.
Thursday we drove to Westford MA where we had a room reserved for two nights, and then on to visit my sister Helen and her husband Phil. On our way there, as we drove through New Hampshire on I-89 and I-93, we decided to stop near the Manchester NH Airport. We remembered that there was a local street lined with restaurants and businesses that led from the highway to the airport. So we took the airport exit only to find that there is a totally new access to the airport on a new interstate quality highway. We were at the airport but had not idea where we were in relation to the area with all the restaurants. Using Google Maps on my phone, we eventually figured out how to get there and ended up in the same deli we had enjoyed in years past.
Friday, I spent the day at the NEFDC (New England Faculty Development Consortium) Spring 2013 conference. It was all excellent except for the key note speaker - he was reading from horrible Powerpoint slides and putting people to sleep. Otherwise, the three sessions I attended were great. Patty visited Helen and Phil in the morning, and then went shopping in the afternoon. After the conference, I went for a swim in the hotel pool and we then went out for dinner and drinks - only we could not even find a parking space (much less get into) the British Beer Restaurant. We found the same at Chilis and ended up going to Mangia, Mangia. They had a sign for Shock Top beer in the window - and it was on the menu as well. But they were out of Shock Top. So we had to settle for bottled Blue Moon with our dinners.
Saturday, we went to the JFK Library and Museum. It begins with an excellent short film about JFK's life up to the nomination for president in 1960. Then the exhibits continued from there with much info about events that we lived through - the Bay of Pigs invasion, the Cuban Missile Crisis, Jackie and the kids in the Whitehouse, the integration of the University of Alabama, etc. - and then abruptly ends with his assassination. We had a reasonably priced lunch in the cafe, looking out over Boston Harbor.
And then we made the drive back to South Burlington. We went for a short bike ride to make sure they were working properly, then loaded them and our gear onto and into the car in preparation for a bike hike on Sunday.
After changing over the registration for the car in Arizona, I brought the plates and registration back to Vermont to get a refund. On Tuesday, I went to the South Burlington office of the Vermont DMV. They took my old Vermont plates and gave me a form to mail in to Montpelier. I did not look at the form then, and drove to Community College of Vermont in Montpelier for our scheduled meeting of the Advanced Standing Committee (ASC). Since I was early, I had time to look at the form given me in South Burlington - it was the wrong form. The form was for selling the car and transferring ownership. More on this later.
The Vermont State College System runs the Assessment of Prior Learning (APL) program. Non-traditional students take the APL class; this is a semester long, three credit class. The students create a portfolio that includes a biography and letters of documentation to support their requests for credit. Here is an article about one student who went through the process:
http://now.ccv.edu/its-not-what-youve-done-its-what-youve-learned/
Gabriel Dietzel and her aide Diane Konrady run the program and I was one of four faculty who sat on an ASC Tuesday to evaluate and determine what credits to award to eight students. Gabriel and Diane are always great to work with, and they always treat us well. Here is the spread of snacks and coffee Diane prepared for us (and then there was also a magnificent lunch as well):
After my time at CCV, I drove back into Montpelier center and stopped at the DMV. They agreed that I was given the wrong form and all I needed to do was write a short note explaining what I had done and they would then process the refund. I then drove home, walked the dog, ran errands and picked Patty up from work in Colchester (Ben had driven her to work).
Wednesday was my volunteer day at Habitat ReStore. Around 7:20, just before we left, I got a text message that the Assistant Manager who was going to drive the truck with me - he was ill. He left the keys and the pick up schedule for me. So I was on my own. I did the first three pickups of donated furniture and household goods and the third filled the truck - a dance studio that looked more like an apartment on the top floor of the Chace Mill. It was a lot of work. So I drove back to the store, got help unloading the truck and Jim (another volunteer, semi-retired from Merrill Lynch) joined me. We filled and emptied the truck twice more. It was a long day - nearly ten hours.
Then home for a quick shower and off to Champlain College for the social hour on day two (of three) of the IRP. While all of Champlain's masters degree programs are online, they all have a required course that includes a three day session on campus. I met my friend and boss Jean Myers - she runs the MSL (Masters of Science in Law) program in which I periodically teach, as well as administration of the LSAT at Champlain. It turns out that I was the only other MSL faculty to show up and we spent a couple of hours talking with some MSL students, solving all sorts of legal conundrums while enjoying wine, beer and hors d'oeuvres.
Thursday we drove to Westford MA where we had a room reserved for two nights, and then on to visit my sister Helen and her husband Phil. On our way there, as we drove through New Hampshire on I-89 and I-93, we decided to stop near the Manchester NH Airport. We remembered that there was a local street lined with restaurants and businesses that led from the highway to the airport. So we took the airport exit only to find that there is a totally new access to the airport on a new interstate quality highway. We were at the airport but had not idea where we were in relation to the area with all the restaurants. Using Google Maps on my phone, we eventually figured out how to get there and ended up in the same deli we had enjoyed in years past.
Friday, I spent the day at the NEFDC (New England Faculty Development Consortium) Spring 2013 conference. It was all excellent except for the key note speaker - he was reading from horrible Powerpoint slides and putting people to sleep. Otherwise, the three sessions I attended were great. Patty visited Helen and Phil in the morning, and then went shopping in the afternoon. After the conference, I went for a swim in the hotel pool and we then went out for dinner and drinks - only we could not even find a parking space (much less get into) the British Beer Restaurant. We found the same at Chilis and ended up going to Mangia, Mangia. They had a sign for Shock Top beer in the window - and it was on the menu as well. But they were out of Shock Top. So we had to settle for bottled Blue Moon with our dinners.
Saturday, we went to the JFK Library and Museum. It begins with an excellent short film about JFK's life up to the nomination for president in 1960. Then the exhibits continued from there with much info about events that we lived through - the Bay of Pigs invasion, the Cuban Missile Crisis, Jackie and the kids in the Whitehouse, the integration of the University of Alabama, etc. - and then abruptly ends with his assassination. We had a reasonably priced lunch in the cafe, looking out over Boston Harbor.
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| Patty entering the museum |
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| JFK's sailboat |
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| The view across Boston Harbor with the Prudential and John Hancock buildings in downtown Boston |
I love the shot of JFK's sailboat!
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