“Glazed Over Eyes Never Lie” (Secret Lives!)*

I must admit that my smug satisfaction upon learning of reduced tuition for senior citizens was short lived after completing the registration process.  Lab fees and the cost of textbooks caused a misstep (an actual tripping) in my spirited ballet.  (Yes, I am referring to last weeks’ entry to you; the one complete with bagpipes and the dance of the Highland fling at the delight of saving money.)   To be clear:  the two classes I chose are tied to the two most expensive lab fees.  And, lab fees are not discounted.

Belatedly, I discovered that used textbooks can be acquired on Amazon.com with a less costly price tag than the used volumes I found at the college bookstore.  A person would want to make the purchase in plenty of time before the class began to allow for the inexpensive standard shipping rate that may take 7 – 10 days to arrive.  Buying a new book on Amazon (for either course) was the same price or more depending on vendor.  Since the introduction to physics curriculum begins within a week, I did not want to take the chance of attending the first day without the text.   

After reading the first chapter of the physics text, I recognized that I must get familiar with the metric system.  In the past, I have resisted this.  Another noteworthy point is that I am afraid of math.  Instead of offering you the lengthy rationalization of why I have math anxiety, suffice to know that I am determined to relax in this area with the intent to be trained.  I had to laugh when the book explained that using proper math symbols will reduce the need to repeat myself and offered the ability to be accurate, clear and brief. 

In the past (my children will readily attest to this) I have witnessed a glazed over look when I “over” talked.  I once had a friend ask:  “Is this going to be a conversation during which my eyes are going to roll back in my head?”   Ouch!  I would like to be elegantly simple when speaking and writing.  Perhaps, using the conciseness of math as a guide will help me be clear when communicating.  The scientific approach, I believe, will enrich life; not only for me, but for those people I love.    

For example, if I would have taken the time to do my homework before purchasing textbooks (observation, data collection), I could have saved enough money to buy a decent bottle of wine and invite friends over for dinner.   (I will not have this excuse for long so you need to hold me to the invite.) 

If you’ve started to glaze over while reading or if your eyeballs are in full roll-back tilt, next week I promise to be quantitatively succinct.  At some point, I am finding out, it is good to pause for breath instead of continually blowing through my “bagpipes”.

*Amusing to me is that although I like the lyrics of “Glazed over Eyes Never Lie”, I could not understand one word of this song when performed by the hard rock group Secret Lives!  My grown children have expressed that some of my lectures to them, when they were young, evoked the same confusion.