summercomfort (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
summercomfort) wrote2004-07-20 10:56 pm
summercomfort) wrote2004-07-20 10:56 pm
(no subject)
So yesterday and today I did some testing stuff for daddy... the latest cd-rom. So y'know, clicking on all the buttons and double-checking this and that.
Chinese School on Sunday went all right. I'm definitely better at dealing with big kids, but the little kids weren't bad, either. Well, with the big kids you talk with them and gain their respect through your superior knowledge and your winks at their in-class doodling. With the little kids you have to make learning sort of fun, appeal to the group competitive-ness, tease them, tie the words to things they understand. It's a lot harder to get a feel of the class when they're kids. How many are bored? How many are confused? Where should I repeat myself and where should I skip? I vow to do better next time!! Too bad I'm only with the big kids for the first week, b/c, man, they're learning about poetry and that's my favorite part! Efforts to look adult and teachery failed, mostly because you may be able to dress a girl in grown up clothes, but you can't stop her from flailing and dancing in front of the class. And I wish class were longer. Ah well.
So anyway, the photoshop on this computer was about to expire in 3 days, so I went ahead and downloaded GIMP, which is pretty cool. But dealing with this stuff was still hellish, mostly b/c all the photos were MASSIVE. Craziness. (But otherwise, GIMP makes me happy)
But I bring you...
Versailles!! We met Jess early in the morning and hopped on an RER. Yes, we got there early to duck the lines. Of course, right now it looks all hacked with the cars and the random tents. (they had this door with a piece of plastic draped over it *painted* to look like heavy wool drapes. wtf?
So we got in and wandered about, past neoclassic statues of people of great import...
and squeezed our way through the crowded rooms and past guides of all languages explaining the Fruit Room or the Escape of Marie Antoinette. All the rooms were filled with lots of pretty paintings of royalty, the greek gods on the ceilings, and embroidered wallpaper. And lots of people.
ze chapel
This, my friend, is a *crazy* tapestry. It's got DEPTH!! It's woven so thick, it's like a bas relief! Man the craziness.
The famous Hall of Mirrors is under rennovation. This is all we get to see. :(
Escape into the Gardens!!
Here's Jess looking pre-etty! :D
So this is how the French learned geometry. "If you shave 24 cubic inches off a 2-foot tree such that it forms a cube with a side of 6 inches and a cone with the same diameter, what is the height of the cone? Assume the 2:1 height to base diameter ratio in original tree dimensions"
And now that we'd kidnapped Jess to Versailles, we can make her order food for us!! Finally, we learn about the elusive "free water", and I have onion soup. :D
Behind us, people are floundering about in their boats b/c they can't row but oh they MUST on the Giant Watery Cross of Doom.
Then it's off for a nice short walk along the bank of the Cross, between the Shaved Trees (I think that'd make an excellent magazine title), discussing the variations of "schwing"s the hall of trees make.
So walking along, my mom realized that there's no bridges, so if we want to go back, we either have to retrace our steps, which would be boring, or walk all the way around the Giant Water Cross of Doom. So that we did. :)
And here we are at the tip of the cross!
On the way back we came across some unshaved trees, so we went by the abandoned path. :D I like the unshaven ones better.
And thus concludes Versailles. We ride the train back. Me once more enjoying not having to think about anything. (yay travelling with people more responsible than me). So after a nap, we head to...
Yup, the Eiffel.
At the base...
Man, it's pretty.
The obligatory person-photo...
It's a bit blurry b/c it turns out our camera has these weird shutter speeds... Most of our photos up there had to be trashed.
And now a bunch of photos of the Eiffel itself. (cause y'know, we're there)
I think pretty soon I should start y'know, doing things. We'll see how far that goes. In the meantime there's late-night chats about various subjects.
And Alexis called tonight, which was :). Maybe I can convince parents to give out the "private line", though
Chinese School on Sunday went all right. I'm definitely better at dealing with big kids, but the little kids weren't bad, either. Well, with the big kids you talk with them and gain their respect through your superior knowledge and your winks at their in-class doodling. With the little kids you have to make learning sort of fun, appeal to the group competitive-ness, tease them, tie the words to things they understand. It's a lot harder to get a feel of the class when they're kids. How many are bored? How many are confused? Where should I repeat myself and where should I skip? I vow to do better next time!! Too bad I'm only with the big kids for the first week, b/c, man, they're learning about poetry and that's my favorite part! Efforts to look adult and teachery failed, mostly because you may be able to dress a girl in grown up clothes, but you can't stop her from flailing and dancing in front of the class. And I wish class were longer. Ah well.
So anyway, the photoshop on this computer was about to expire in 3 days, so I went ahead and downloaded GIMP, which is pretty cool. But dealing with this stuff was still hellish, mostly b/c all the photos were MASSIVE. Craziness. (But otherwise, GIMP makes me happy)
But I bring you...
Versailles!! We met Jess early in the morning and hopped on an RER. Yes, we got there early to duck the lines. Of course, right now it looks all hacked with the cars and the random tents. (they had this door with a piece of plastic draped over it *painted* to look like heavy wool drapes. wtf?
So we got in and wandered about, past neoclassic statues of people of great import...
and squeezed our way through the crowded rooms and past guides of all languages explaining the Fruit Room or the Escape of Marie Antoinette. All the rooms were filled with lots of pretty paintings of royalty, the greek gods on the ceilings, and embroidered wallpaper. And lots of people.
ze chapel
This, my friend, is a *crazy* tapestry. It's got DEPTH!! It's woven so thick, it's like a bas relief! Man the craziness.
The famous Hall of Mirrors is under rennovation. This is all we get to see. :(
Escape into the Gardens!!
Here's Jess looking pre-etty! :D
So this is how the French learned geometry. "If you shave 24 cubic inches off a 2-foot tree such that it forms a cube with a side of 6 inches and a cone with the same diameter, what is the height of the cone? Assume the 2:1 height to base diameter ratio in original tree dimensions"
And now that we'd kidnapped Jess to Versailles, we can make her order food for us!! Finally, we learn about the elusive "free water", and I have onion soup. :D
Behind us, people are floundering about in their boats b/c they can't row but oh they MUST on the Giant Watery Cross of Doom.
Then it's off for a nice short walk along the bank of the Cross, between the Shaved Trees (I think that'd make an excellent magazine title), discussing the variations of "schwing"s the hall of trees make.
So walking along, my mom realized that there's no bridges, so if we want to go back, we either have to retrace our steps, which would be boring, or walk all the way around the Giant Water Cross of Doom. So that we did. :)
And here we are at the tip of the cross!
On the way back we came across some unshaved trees, so we went by the abandoned path. :D I like the unshaven ones better.
And thus concludes Versailles. We ride the train back. Me once more enjoying not having to think about anything. (yay travelling with people more responsible than me). So after a nap, we head to...
Yup, the Eiffel.
At the base...
Man, it's pretty.
The obligatory person-photo...
It's a bit blurry b/c it turns out our camera has these weird shutter speeds... Most of our photos up there had to be trashed.
And now a bunch of photos of the Eiffel itself. (cause y'know, we're there)
I think pretty soon I should start y'know, doing things. We'll see how far that goes. In the meantime there's late-night chats about various subjects.
And Alexis called tonight, which was :). Maybe I can convince parents to give out the "private line", though