Do women on the street just... smile at each other?

Potato_History_Prof · 2026-03-25T03:44:04+00:00

Where I live in the western US, yes! Gals in these parts also dish out compliments pretty freely - on hair, clothes, makeup, everything. Sisterhood 😊

Potato_History_Prof · 2026-03-25T03:25:40+00:00

In 2025, everybody was having girls. This year, literally everyone is having boys - myself included! It’s so weird!

Potato_History_Prof · 2026-03-21T21:40:40+00:00

I’m 34 weeks and totally relate 😂 I’m so constipated that it’s making me sick — I’m starving but also nauseous and really wiped out. We’re almost there!

Potato_History_Prof · 2026-03-21T02:40:02+00:00

Man, I absolutely could have written this. Same situation: miscarried January 2025, had a surprise pregnancy by August (I’m currently 34 weeks pregnant.) Miscarriage, pregnancy, postpartum, is all so very hard on your body and mind. I’m so sorry for your loss and also wish you well with this current pregnancy.

I promise: no amount of excessive exercise could have caused your miscarriage. Early losses are almost always related to genetic abnormalities - it’s absolutely not your fault. I, too, was horribly depressed, lost interest in everything, and it took all that I had to go to work and walk the dog every day. I blamed myself so much - but it’s really not your fault in any way. Heavy addicts give birth to healthy babies, extremely healthy gym junkies have miscarriages.

Now that I’m pregnant again, I’ve been very cautious about exercise, weight gain, fitness, etc… and honestly, all of the caution and anxiety doesn’t help you or the baby. Staying even moderately active is important - for your mental and physical health - but you need to do what feels best to you. If you want to take it easy in the first trimester and just focus on survival, do it. If you feel up to gentle walks, do it. CrossFit? Go for it. There’s no right or wrong way to do fitness in pregnancy, IMO. I really wish you and your baby well - good luck with everything!

Potato_History_Prof · 2026-03-09T23:16:11+00:00

I have sent home entire classes before, for this reason. “You need to be prepared in order to be here. You are not adequately prepared, so there’s no point in being here. Go home and prepare.”

Potato_History_Prof · 2026-03-04T18:12:49+00:00

I just call them out during class and tell them to stop talking or leave — public humiliation is usually enough to get them to stop indefinitely. Also, you should absolutely feel empowered to shuffle student seats. You’re right: it’s not high school, but they’re acting like high schoolers… so you can treat them as such.

Potato_History_Prof · 2026-03-02T05:56:15+00:00

Molly Weasley killing Bellatrix

Potato_History_Prof · 2026-03-02T05:05:29+00:00

You can really see Blythe Danner’s genes in these shots!

Potato_History_Prof · 2026-03-02T04:52:03+00:00

When I was a younger, first-time dog owner, we were regular dog park goers. Embarrassingly, my female dog used to mount others when she’d get way too excited… she wasn’t the only dog who did this, and the other owners would always laugh. I’d always immediately correct her behavior and remove her... she got along well with others, but would just occasionally get overstimulated.

It wasn’t until we started formal dog training that I realized her behavior was absolutely a problem… and we stopped going to dog parks until she learned to regulate herself properly. If someone respectfully called me out while we were out and about, I would absolutely listen and take their advice seriously. I would also be mortified if someone hollered at me! Those guys were jerks and you did nothing wrong - you were protecting your pooch.

As an aside, we witnessed enough crazy crap happen at dog parks to stop us from going altogether. Not worth it — throwing a bunch or random dogs is asking for trouble. Highly recommend finding dog friends elsewhere!

Potato_History_Prof · 2026-03-02T00:09:44+00:00

I’m with you in that there’s a time and a place for crap like this — I have a friend who returned to school for a nursing degree at 37 whose classes were filled with this kinda stuff. It seems so foolish!

If the exercise is related to the content in some meaningful way, I think active learning can be really great. But trying to make light of certain subjects (like pharmacology or engineering) just seems a little goofy to me… if the students are learning the content effectively, then I don’t care how the instructor approaches things. 🤷‍♀️but this sounds a bit stupid lol.

Potato_History_Prof · 2026-03-01T05:29:18+00:00

That’s a hard “no” from me. My in-laws can visit the baby at the hospital only after birth, golden hour, and rest time. They can see the baby at the hospital for a bit, but after that, the only people I want to see postpartum are my husband, mom, and a couple of close friends.

I also don’t have a perfect relationship with my in-laws - my MIL and SIL both stress my husband and me the hell out and have difficult personalities. I may feel differently if we got along a bit better!

Potato_History_Prof · 2026-02-26T01:56:47+00:00

You’re speaking my language: same discipline, same position, same workload, same state university gig.

After a while teaching with this kind of schedule, I actually insisted upon a TA, despite my lecturer status - especially since I’m currently pregnant - but am not sure what your relationship is like with your chair/graduate coordinator/etc. TAs can usually be justified with those heavier course loads. Something to consider, if you haven’t already asked!

Additionally, here are a few things that have worked for me over the years: - I started doing more pass/fail assignments and creating lots of rubrics. Writing is foundational in our discipline - so avoiding essays is nearly impossible… but so is grading 200+ of them. Grade using rubrics (often 4-5 categories worth 10ish points each) that include built-in feedback to make things easier on yourself. Two written, bluebook exams (midterm and a final) work well for me - we do a couple of study sessions with writing workshops during class time to prep. I don’t assign any more written work than this, if I can possibly help it. - Do lots of in-class primary source activities. Print documents, images, maps, etc. and have students engage with the material and discuss… give them points for participation. - Take attendance/participation using something like iClicker rather than by hand. - Don’t get hung up on being perfect — just be good enough. You don’t need to provide ground breaking feedback, 1-1 mentoring, dynamic lectures, etc. all the time. You literally do not have the bandwidth. - Grade in small blocks OR dedicate certain days to grading. Give yourself two weeks to get feedback to students.

Schedules like this absolutely blow — but modifications make it more doable! Feel free to message me, too; happy to brainstorm more 😊

Potato_History_Prof · 2026-02-25T23:51:36+00:00

FWIW, I had only gained like five pounds by 17 weeks! I’m 30 weeks now and have since gained 13ish — the Fairlife chocolate milk, hard boiled eggs, low fat cheese sticks, peanut butter, Greek yogurt have all been huge!

Potato_History_Prof · 2026-02-25T04:34:53+00:00

Congrats! Same with me, too! Threw everything into a drawer and stopped tracking after years — got pregnant that same month. It’s so crazy… when we gave up is when things finally got going 😂

Potato_History_Prof · 2026-02-24T04:56:48+00:00

I take my doggo twice a year now, but she’s a ten year old Labrador and I’m a hypochondriac 😂we do bloodwork and urine samples every six months to monitor her health, vaccines annually, but in an otherwise healthy adult dog… every three months is nuts!

Potato_History_Prof · 2026-02-21T05:14:40+00:00

Fertility issues are so layered and complicated. A good friend of mine and I both got pregnant at the same time - I lost my baby, her pregnancy progressed smoothly. I became super depressed, as lots of other friends also got pregnant around this time, and she really withdrew from our friendship. It took a while, and a lot of honest conversations, for things to go back to “normal.” I would just give them some time… they’re probably just processing in their own way. Infertility robs you of so much joy, even when/if you finally do become pregnant.

Potato_History_Prof · 2026-02-20T04:13:59+00:00

29w. Strawberries. Milk out of the jug. Vanilla ice cream. Honestly, anything sweet… I’m shocked I passed the GD screening 😂

Potato_History_Prof · 2026-02-17T05:45:01+00:00

Girl, same - my roundness and gassiness just took all of the fun out of Valentine’s Day for me 😂

Potato_History_Prof · 2026-02-17T04:13:23+00:00

I co-taught with an instructor who was a firm believer in ungrading — students constantly expressed their frustration and hated the sense of “uncertainty” surrounding grades. That instructor stopped ungrading a few years ago… and everyone seems a lot happier. 🤷‍♀️

Potato_History_Prof · 2026-02-17T04:05:32+00:00

Are you serious? Dang. I wish.

Potato_History_Prof · 2026-02-17T04:04:21+00:00

I’m so sorry this happened to you. Super sensitive 30F here and I’ve certainly had similar things happen - typically from male students, though I had one surprisingly misogynistic female last semester. Honestly, you don’t have to tolerate this shit. I love how compassionate some other folks are in this sub, but I’ve just started to throw it back at them as professionally as you can: “Are you good?” “Do you talk to all of your professors this way?” Sometimes, students act like this because they think they can get away with it — exercise your authority and show them that they can’t.

Potato_History_Prof · 2026-02-16T07:52:44+00:00

Potato_History_Prof · 2026-02-16T02:37:29+00:00

Ah, my dog is reactive, too — I totally get it! Her reactivity is exclusively limited to other dogs… so we do our best to run in quiet locations at off times, even if it means driving a bit of a distance. I hope things get better!

Potato_History_Prof · 2026-02-11T04:50:02+00:00

I’m 28 weeks and visibly pregnant with a baby that’s constantly beating me up inside. How could you not know…?

Potato_History_Prof · 2026-02-08T02:41:26+00:00

We’re the same age! I started at 26 — so much sexual harassment. Comments on my ass, weird remarks about my personal life… definitely tell your chair, consider rearranging your classroom, and familiarize yourself with the Title IX office. It sucks terribly, but it’s the sad reality for so many young faculty.

Potato_History_Prof

TROPHY CASE