Tuesday, October 11, 2016

Let's Try Something Different

Yesterday I went on a mini rant about the Cubs game starting so late in the evening. Obviously, I was exuding a negative vibe and the result of the game was a Cubs loss. Look, I'm not so bold as to think my thoughts, words, or this blog can change the outcome of anything, let alone a baseball game, but I am a superstitious kind of guy.

So, let's try something different!

I've knocked out sixteen recommendations this fall for college bound seniors and I have at least three more to get through. Sometimes the more thoughtful students give me a little something as a thank you for the time and effort I put into their letter.

Not the best picture, but I do love cookies and I can't remember a time when I wasn't happy eating a cookie. The student who gave me this ceramic cookie jar is pretty creative and he decided it was the perfect gift since I've made it well known I love cookies and because he is Asian. Nice.

Next up we have a new-to-me dessert!
Oh!  Shiny wrapper and foreign text!  Nice combination!
 A student gave me a pair of moon cakes!
 The design on the top is beautiful and the inside kind of resembles chocolate, but it is in fact red beans.
 The moon cake had the consistency of a drier Fig Newton and I prefer them to the Fig Newton. My wife, who consumed the other moon cake, was hoping for chocolate in the inside and was disappointed. To each their own.

Overall, from the students, who I have completed recommendation letters, I've had the above two thank you gifts, three thank you cards, and five students have come up to me and expressed their thanks in words, which is really all I expect. I'm big on "pleases" and "thank yous" and it's one of the things I hope all of my students take out into the real word. To me it's really gratifying when another person looks you in the eye and expresses their thanks.

With that being said, I have one please and one thank you to give.

Thank you for reading!
...and...
Please, oh please, may the Cubs win tonight!

2 comments:

  1. That's awesome! As a college professor, I'm asked to write letters of recommendation all the time (in fact, I wrote two today!) but I have yet to receive any sort of thank you gift (I do get some verbal "thank yous" which is all I need of course). You are instilling a great set of ethics and morals in your students - well done!

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  2. Glad you enjoyed the cards and thanks for the trade!

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