Technorati Tags: UVM, Vermont, Steve Sloan, Sue Graziano Sloan, ssloansjca
I am having a great time at Sue's reunion. I have not felt like a boat anchor at all. I did not want to feel like my presence would keep people from being able to reminisce about some topics (like who did what with whom) and I still hope it has not. University of Vermont is a totally different academic institution than San Jose State. The student population is less than a third what SJSU's is and Burlington, Vermont is a lovely college town. We met the president of UVM and had a great conversation about the two schools. SJSU has homecoming, but nothing like this.
Sue's college friends are great! We have been drinking and talking and drinking and laughing and drinking and sharing old stories (some of which Sue had told me and some she hadn't) and drinking and it has been a blast. It has been great making new friends.
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Technorati Tags: UVM, Vermont, Steve Sloan, Sue Graziano Sloan, ssloansjca
I do not want to be that boat anchor. Sue went to college long before she met me (and that was the '70's.) I am loving being in Vermont and am really looking forward to meeting her college friends. I just hope that my presence does not keep everybody from feeling free to share all the memories they would otherwise. It seems I am the only spouse here, nobody else's came. So what do you think; is bringing a spouse to a college reunion like bringing a boat anchor to a marathon?
Technorati Tags: Steve Sloan, Sue Graziano Sloan, ssloansjca
We are at the airport getting ready to board a New York bound flight. It was hard to say goodbye.
Technorati Tags: Steve Sloan, Luci Sloan, Solomon Sloan, Sue Graziano Sloan, Sloan Family, ssloansjca
On May 26, 2008 I did my grading at Steve and Luci's and (finally) got them turned in while Sue was at the hospital. Then, in late afternoon, the boy came home!
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[Click here to see trip collection]
Technorati Tags: Steve Sloan, Luci Sloan, Solomon Sloan, Sue Graziano Sloan, Sloan Family, ssloansjca
We spent most of the day yesterday here in town, Monroe, WA. We went for a walk in the morning, then spent the day at the hospital with Solomon and family.
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Technorati Tags: Steve Sloan, Luci Sloan, Solomon Sloan, Sue Graziano Sloan, Sloan Family, ssloansjca
On May 24, on the way to the hospital we saw a train. After visiting Luci, Solomon and everyone else for awhile in the hospital in the morning, we went wine tasting in Woodinville. Then, we came back to the hospital. Later, we went to dinner with Steve and his mother-in-law, Luci's mom Vicki.
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Technorati Tags: Steve Sloan, Luci Sloan, Solomon Sloan, Sue Graziano Sloan, Sloan Family, ssloansjca
Today was quite a day and I am tired. Today was the birth of grandchild number six, Solomon Sloan. I have covered the day in several ways:
I am too tired to do or say more. Wow, what a day!
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Technorati Tags: Steve Sloan, Luci Sloan, Solomon Sloan, Sue Graziano Sloan, Sloan Family, ssloansjca
Technorati Tags: Steve Sloan, Luci Sloan, Solomon Sloan, Sue Graziano Sloan, Sloan Family, ssloansjca
Technorati Tags: Steve Sloan, Luci Sloan, Solomon Sloan, Sue Graziano Sloan, Sloan Family, ssloansjca
Sue and I are in the waiting room we had a wonderful time meeting our new grandson. He is a beautiful baby.
Technorati Tags: Steve Sloan, Luci Sloan, Solomon Sloan, Sue Graziano Sloan, Sloan Family, ssloansjca
I really enjoyed this, the biggest class I have ever taught. These students were a pleasure to teach. The really stretched themselves and went beyond their comfort zones. I am going to be awarding a lot of good grades because these folks delivered. I am really proud to know and have taught them. We had a good time. This is a fine bunch of young people!
For our final I bought pizza and drinks for the whole class, except for one student who is a Vegan and so I got her a Vegan dish. I learned a lot from them. For example, I plan to go back to that Vegan restaurant when I return from vacation (which starts tomorrow.) On Friday my wife and I will be in Seattle for the birth of our sixth grandchild!
It was funny, last night, at the Whine and Dine ride, Vicki Stockwell came by and we started sharing stories about the way we used to ride. She, her husband, many of our other friends and I did some pretty hard rides, yes I did Bohlman, and Redwood Gulch, and Alba, and the Sierra-to-the-Sea starting from my house, doing all the long options and returning back to the house and much, much more. Yes, I used to be what Lee Marvin (as A no. 1) in the movie Emperor of the North called "A Meat-Eater."
Despite getting lost and taking some unexpected detours up people's driveways, people's steep driveways, we had a great time at the whine and dine ride!
Like a scene from the classic movie Twelve O'Clock High today we were awakened by the sound of four 1,200-horsepower Wright Radial engines on "The Nine-O-Nine," a B17G, flying over our house. It sounded loud. It sounded great! I can only imagine what a thousand of these must have sounded like flying over like they did in World War Two.
I rode my bike to work again today, that makes over 100 miles on my bike this week. Today was also a Spare the Air Day and the hottest bike commute I made so far this year. It was a good day to ride.
At the aid station near SJSU I met the mayor. He was riding with a police escort. I wonder if they biked to work that day too? Did they drive to the Mayor's home so they could ride in with him?
Yesterday we had a relaxed barbecue celebration of Mother's day. Sue and her mom were there along with Pam Downs. Ken came later. I made steaks. We broke in our new Weber and had a very pleasant day.
Technorati Tags: Kenneth Sloan, Sue Graziano Sloan, Sloan Family, ssloansjca
Students are hunkering down and working hard; for the end of the term is near. Few opportunities to study are being wasted.
Today Pam Downs and I rode to Morgan Hill and back. The ride was just under 50 miles. In this shot we are resting at Starbucks on the ride where we met the rest of the group. We were behind schedule and did not catch the group until Morgan Hill because Pam had a flat. It was a very good ride!
Last night we had a very fun Whine and Dine ride. It was one of the biggest we have ever had, especially for the social evening after.
[Photos from Tuesday, May 06, 2008]
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Technorati Tags: ACTC, ssloansjca
A cool Latino grocery store
Just north of campus, where the old (and formerly filthy) Lucky's used to be has opened one of the best stores I have seen come in downtown. I think Mercados Su Vianda is great and I hope everyone in the SJSU community checks it out. There is what their website says:
From family to community, food for Latinos has an emotional and cultural significance that extends beyond eating. We think about every aspect of food shopping and preparation, hence Mercados SUVIANDA was created for Latinos by Latinos.
But, here is a hint, you do not have to be Latino to have a great shopping experience at Mercados Su Vianda. First off the place is very clean and very festive. They have a great meat counter, produce, bakery (they make tortillias on site,) a fun cremeria, and best of all, all on site and all great prices. Everybody, customers, employees and managers I have met there have been super friendly. Mercados Su Vianda is located at 272 E. Santa Clara, San Jose, CA they are open from 7am to 11pm daily. You should check it out. It is where I shop now and I am saving a lot of money.
Have a great Cinco de Mayo!
Pictures from last month's game
Nicole and I went to the Giant's game last month. As well as my cameraphone Treo, I carried one of my film cameras, as I often do, and the pictures came out pretty well. I like shooting with film. You can carry a once high end film camera that takes great shots, has no battery weight and would cost only $200 to replace if someone poured beer on it. The downside is it took awhile to get the pictures developed, but that is life with film. I hope you like these photos!
[Click here to see photos on Flickr]
Technorati Tags: Nicole Sloan, Sloan Family, ssloansjca
Happy May Day Everybody!
This is, after all the first, the traditional Labor Day. May Day is synonymous with International Workers' Day, or Labor Day, which celebrates the social and economic achievements of the labor movement.
The safety issue I got "union" about
People chaining their bikes to stairs and fire exits is relatively common at SJSU. I have several photos of this in a growing photo archive. I filed a union grievance about this and today, May Day, they ran an article in the university's newspaper, the Spartan Daily. While not accurate in every detail on some things, I think the story caught the spirit of the issue.
Meanwhile, I rode my bike today
Today, May Day, was a great day for a bike ride. I rode my bike to work again today. After riding about eleven miles to SJSU I did not see any reason to ride the extra few hundred feet to my desk. I rode around SJSU (on the public streets.) I parked my bike in one of the many bike corrals around campus and walked to my desk. What is the problem with that?
