The PhD process from a student perspective

3 Weeks today. Barrett died 3 weeks today. In addition to that sad fact I am still surfing an avalanche of work and the cosmos are literally aligning against me. I am taking four courses this term. That is more than I have ever attempted at this level. I am nervous 3 of the courses are online and one of the courses is Saturdays. The Saturday course meets 5 Saturdays during the semester...basically my schedule is wide open.

I have only taken two summer courses at online at Mississippi State. I am anxious to see how a semester course will be. I personally am a big fan of Quarter systems myself. The rest of the world runs on quarter systems and they work much better in academia in my esteemed, as it were, opinion. :) Let me be totally brutally and painfully honest I get bored of my classes. I love learning, but I get anxious to move on to the NEXT thing.

For those who may or may not be familiar with the Ph. D. process:

• First hurdle: Statistics Qualifier (called at some schools quals) The statistics qualifier has to be passed after one year of course work. Read: one year of statistics. :)
• Second hurdle: Finish course work (I am hanging out right here patiently stalking my next hurdle).
• Third hurdle: Written comprehensive exams- This one varies from school to school For me it means a one to three day grueling closed book examination on everything I know.
• Forth hurdle: Oral comprehensive exams-A verbal examination of all that I have learned about research and statistics and my chosen field of study.
• Fifth hurdle: Dissertation topic proposal- This is where I propose the first 3 Chapters of my dissertation. The first three chapters of a dissertation are Introduction, Literature, Review, and Procedure. After this stage is complete I will be ABD it stands for All but dissertation.
  
• Final hurdle: Defending my dissertation. This is similar to the Oral Exam except that I will only be asked about my topic. I will also be presenting Chapter 4 and Chapter 5 of my dissertation. After that it is Dr. Adams to all of y'all. :)

Some of these activities can occur on or around the same time. You are still taking course work when you take your Statistic qualifier. Additionally you can take your written exams when you have 6 hours of course work left in your program. Some schools allow you to have an oral exam and your proposal at the same time. However it is important to note that at any stage in the game you can fail. You have two chances to pass your statistics qualifiers or you are gone. A C is an F in a PhD program so you can get 2 Cs and then you are gone. You have 2 chances to pass your written and oral comps...well you get the idea.

The time frame is approximately 4 years. Roughly 2 years of course work...4 to 6 months of studying for comps. A month to wait and hear your comp results back. Then a few months to schedule and take your orals. Then about a year to a year and a half for the dissertation.

That is pretty much it in a nutshell. There is a lot of drama long the way. :) I will be cataloging that further at a later date.

Juvenile rant

I joined Word of the Day. I used to have it delivered in my in tray every day. Somehow I unsubscribed. I have been disappointed. I wanted some NEW words! I know both of the words so far. Sigh. Unfortunately my word of the day is disappointing me.

I also went and saw a movie last night. It was fun to go out on a school night with my hubby. We met several of our married friends (the only friends we have these days). The guy behind us dropped his enormous bucket of popcorn 3 times. It was hysterical.

:)

I had to turn a paper in on the day that Barrett died. The paper was 100 percent dribble. It was not up to my usual academic standards. My professor generously gave me a B. Consequently this gave me a B in the course. I went to speak to him today about my grade. Please understand I realize I deserved the B, but it took my GPA down to a 3.875 and that makes me unhappy. I went to see him this morning and he promised to do a grade change if I attend an APA formatting seminar at the library and update my paper. YES! THAT ROCKS! I don't deserve this, but I felt like skipping the whole way home.

My professor also asked me if I was hyperactive. I am, it is true. :) I can't help it. I bet he is hyperactive too. We can typically sense our own. :)

Simpsonize me!

I needed a laugh today. This grief bit is for the birds.
I thought that at this point it would beginning to get better, but unfortunately it is not! My devoted husband picked up my dog's ashes today. I had him cremated because we won't be staying in this house forever. I didn't feel like it was right to merely put him in the back yard. So I had the vet school perform a necroscopy (like an autopsy) only on dogs and then we had him cremated. I couldn't bear the thought of going to pick him up so thankfully I was relieved of that duty.

As much works as I got accomplished yesterday did not put a dent in the avalanche that threatens to approach next week. School starts back, and in addition to all of those going back to school errands I will be in training for work. While I did get a lot accomplished I am no where near what I need to be in order to really feel confident facing next week. This is the picture of my stepdaughter on her first day of school. I simpsonized her! :) I put the pics side by side so you can see how cute it really looks! I think I did a pretty accurate job designing her if I do say so myself. :) I hope she likes it.

I simpsonized myself too! See above! I had a good time being a little silly, and it was fun too. I love working with graphic design. Even though I have negative creative bones in my body. I like working with images. :)

I have made progress on my before mentioned book project. We shall see how rapidly it progresses. However I just wanted to make sure that I started the project prior to school starting.

Well enough chit chat. I must go back to work. I have projects to finish. :)

Define:Nefarious

WORKED ALL DAY! I really don't have that much work work to do, but I have all this stuff that it would be really good if I got it taken care of before school started back. I made myself a list of tasks and tried to stay on top of them. Of course my husband is home from work now, and I am still NOT done. :( I would like to spend some time with handsome hubby, but I will be molded to the couch finishing my work for a bit longer. I am like the crew on the Flying Dutchman.

That is me. Only instead of becoming part of the ship I am becoming part of the computer and the couch. :) Oh and I don't have an eye sticking out of half of my head. At least...not yet. :D

While I was working today, I started a rather industrial project. I organized all of my to do lists. I then entered them into my Outlook calendar and on my Smart Phone. I am also in up to my eyeballs in training right now. I am in a training course as we speak. I just finished a training course on August 13th. I have 2 more training courses that start on the 20th and 22nd. I will be all trained up and ready to take on the world by the end of August beginning of September.

As I see it...I have had a semi-lazy summer, and it appears that I am going to be paying for that, UNREQUESTED mind you, slothfulness for the rest of the year. I don't mind as it means more money in my pocket. I do love logging in and looking at my investment accounts. :)

Other than my tremendous back log in my in-tray, and the mountain of work I am expected beginning next week, and every week after that from now ad nausea I am doing wonderfully. It helps when the weather is bright and warm although immensely hot. It also helps when you know in just 6 short weeks I will be jetting off to Argentina.

Vive la France

Saviez-vous des ménage a trois de moyens à trois pour trois ?
Did you know menage a trois means housework for three?



J'ai travaillé mon français. Y faisons face. Mon espagnol est BEAUCOUP mieux que mon français. Mon mari et moi parlons l'espagnol l'un à l'autre souvent. Nous essayons d'apprendre le français ensemble. À cause de notre désir d'apprendre la langue ... nous parlons seulement le français à la maison. Il est difficile puisque mon vocabulaire est un peu limité. J'échange à l'espagnol quand je ne sais pas les mots. Nous avons décidé que le français serait une grande langue pour apprendre ensemble.

I have been working on my French. Let's face it. My Spanish is MUCH better than my French. My husband and I speak Spanish to each other frequently. We are trying to learn French together. Because of our desire to learn the language...we are speaking only French at home. It is difficult since my vocabulary is a bit limited. I switch to Spanish when I do not know the words. We decided that French would be a great language to learn together.

Notre fille est ennuyée parce qu'elle veut être incluse dans tout. Nous n'essayons pas de l'exclure, mais nous ne pouvons pas discuter tout devant elle. La seule voie de vraiment apprendre une langue est de s'exercer. J'ai aussi acheté un livre qui est tout du Français que votre enseignant français ne vous enseignera pas. On appelle le livre merde complet. Qui est un mot sale dans le français!

Our daughter gets annoyed because she wants to be included in everything. We do not try to exclude her, but we can not discuss everything in front of her. The only way to really learn a language is to practice. I also bought a book that is all about the French that your French teacher will not teach you. The book is called the complete merde. Which is a dirty word in French!

Ok je suis fait en me vantant. Je suis trop fatigué pour penser à autres mots ce soir. J'irai faire près du compte.
Un, deux, trois, quatre, cinq, six, sept, huit, neuf, le zéro

Ok I am done showing off. I am too tired to think of any other words tonight. I will close by counting.
One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, zero

The book

I have published in a book chapter before. It is pretty exciting seeing your name in print. I was proud of myself! No one is running out to buy and read my book. It is about Outsourcing and the way it is changing the world. Not exactly a best seller. Don't look for it at Barnes and Noble it won't be there. :)

Writing and creating my chapter ignited a creativity in me, but I haven't been able to exercise it! However now that my PhD program has been straightened out, and now that my health is improving I am ready to embark on a big project. I have been kicking around a book. My idea is sound, and I could sell 1,000s of copies. I just have to sit down...quit thinking it through and write. Tomorrow is the big day. I plan to write and explore. Luckily for me I have some time now. So keep your fingers crossed.

In other news my new maids start tomorrow. I hope they work out. I have had a hard time finding help in Starkville. I am feeling hopeful.

Trophy Wife

My DH affectionately calls me his trophy wife. I used to claim that is was a pejorative term. However sly hubby took a page out of my own book and did some research. He told me that the new trophy wife had to be accomplished. :) It helps that I am a superb cook as well.

The article he used to back up his claim was from Psychology Today http://psychologytoday.com/articles/pto-3210.html He is getting good at his research that smarty britches. :) Another thing he said was that alpha males are pursuing alpha females these days.

My husband is successful in his own right. He is the first person in his family to attend college. He is the first person in his family to have a masters degree. He has been held back unfortunately by my need to be here in Starkville to finish my Ph.D. I appreciate the sacrifice to his career he may or may not have had to make to stay in Starkville with me. I stayed in El Paso an additional year for him...so he owed me a bit. However I believe I am going to OWE him when I finish school. I would really like him to pursue a Ph.D. He says he is DONE with school though. No more school for him.

Being married to my best friend has allowed me to relax and really concentrate on my scholastic achievements. I appreciate that he knows that and has been so supportive. I hope he is as supportive when I am insufferable because I am Dr. April.

Watching pre-season football

I was reminded it is that time of year again! Can't wait! I live, eat, sleep, and breathe the Auburn Tigers. I am really excited about this season. I can't wait to get back to the Loveliest village on the plains. In honor of it being College Football Eve...thought I would post my Alma Mater's creed

The Auburn Creed

I believe that this is a practical world and that I can count only on what I earn. Therefore, I believe in work, hard work.

I believe in education, which gives me the knowledge to work wisely and trains my mind and my hands to work skillfully.

I believe in honesty and truthfulness, without which I cannot win the respect and confidence of my fellow men.

I believe in a sound mind, in a sound body and a spirit that is not afraid, and in clean sports to develop these qualities.

I believe in obedience to law because it protects the rights of all.

I believe in the human touch, which cultivates sympathy with my fellow men and mutual helpfulness and brings happiness for all.

I believe in my Country, because it is a land of freedom and because it is my own home, and that I can best serve that country by "doing justly, loving mercy, and walking humbly with my God."

And because Auburn men and women believe in these things, I believe in Auburn and love it.

-George Petrie (1945)

I am back!

I have sort of been hiding with in lately if that makes sense. I have been upset about my dog obviously. I have also had a lot going on.

My 2 year wedding anniversary happened 3 days after B died. We have been married 2 years and we do traditional anniversary gifts. My husband is a wonderful man. He makes me smile and laugh, and everything about him is perfectly suited for me. He knew that I would be upset for our anniversary so he really pampered me. The support and sensitivity he has shown through this entire ordeal has been more demonstrative of his love than I can express. Namely he loves me unconditionally. He loved me when I was losing my hair, and he loved me when my illness depressed me, and he loved me as I was stressed beyond belief from my doctoral program, and he still perseveres and loves me through this difficult time with the dog.

I managed to hunt down the breeder that I got my dog from. I also managed to find my dogs grandfather, and father as well as his brothers. When my heart has healed a bit we will be getting a dog from this breeder. It makes me feel peaceful to think that my dog will be of the same lineage. I will be getting one of his distant relatives. :) Of course it is going to cost us several thousand dollars, but he is worth it!

Work has been picking up and giving me TOO much to do. However that does mean more money! So I am always interested in that aspect. Because I work for myself I must prescribe to the "You don't work you don't eat notion!"

Finally I hired a new maid. I like the new maid, but am not sure if she will be a good fit in this household. I have booked a few trips in the past two weeks as well. I will be traveling to El Paso for Labor Day weekend. I am going to see some friends and go to a festival there. We will also be going to Buenos Aires during October. While there we will be able to visit Uruguay and Paraguay. I think I will be done with every country in South America except Columbia, and Brazil then. I will have to check the map and see.

Ode to Barrett

You gamboled into my life on December 18, 1998. One short month after my heart had been torn to pieces. I wanted you to help me heal it. You were so fat and precious. The first night I had you I slept in the garage with you because my parents wouldn’t let you sleep in the house. I was home for Christmas vacation, but I knew soon I would be taking you back to Auburn.

You were so smart! You were potty trained as soon as I had you. You were so big and warm. Your dopy smile and curiosity began mending my heart. I started over with you.

I was severely anorexic at the time, and you saved my life. My doctor told me I had to eat enough to be strong enough to feed you every day. So I did. I ate to take care of you. You saved my heart, and in a way you saved my life. Taking care of you became a priority…it shifted my focus from the disease that was killing me. I began to slowly eat. I began to slowly grow. I wanted to be strong for you.

I kept you in a refrigerator box in Auburn. You were so big, and if I didn’t take you to class you would get into everything. You could escape the back yard and everyone in the neighborhood would look out for you and bring you back if you had gotten out.

I moved you from our duplex in Auburn to an apartment in Atlanta. You loved going out on the porch of that apartment. You could bark at cars and growl at people walking by…you were always so mischievous. You were hit by a car one night by a crazed man on drugs. I was consumed with worry, and burning with anger. Thankfully you survived with hardly any damage.

Yet another apartment in Atlanta. You loved the townhouse. You would run your ball upstairs and kick it downstairs playing ball by yourself for hours. You were so funny to watch. The silly games you played…the antics you got up to. You were not allowed on the furniture yet whenever I would leave…you would sleep on the couch. When I would return you would slink into the bathroom…punishing yourself.

You moved to El Paso. You loved your huge yard. You hated the river rock backyard until your feet grew accustomed to them. You slept in your pool. Taking long naps with your head hung over the side. You loved to chase your ball, and hide so you could bark at unsuspecting people that walked on the sidewalk behind the house.

You were so jealous. When Bey came into our lives you tried to stop him. You squished yourself in between our bodies so we could not kiss for the first time. But you grew to love him. You rode in his truck and loved to go places. You swam in the strong currents of the Rio Grande. You didn’t know what to think at first when we bought the Shuggy. We got her for you. I was going back to school and didn’t want you to be lonely.

You loved Mississippi. It was like homecoming to you. The lake in the back yard was right up your alley. You hated that you couldn’t swim when we first moved so you opened the garage and let yourself out to go swim in the lake. You always were a smart dog. How did you learn to open a garage door? You taught the Shuggy to swim. You were so tall you could put your head up on a counter top…you could have swiped food…but you never did you were so polite. You were such a good dog.

I had you for eight and one half years. I got you when I was 21 years old, and you were everything I have ever wanted in a dog. You were loyal, kind, a good protector. You have so many nicknames “The General- because you know where to strategically be to best be underfoot, and also because you always saved your “troops” or your babies from the vacuum cleaner. Barrett, B, the B man, the B guy, guy, Baby Bear, Bear, Bearhead, Oso, the B the B the B, da bear. Your daddy even made up a song to sing to you.

Billy Graham said it…and I believe it. You are in heaven with your baby and your ball. I know you are just waiting for me to take you swimming. I miss and love you. And I will see you again someday. God answered my prayers. You went in your sleep. I didn’t have to make any hard choices about it. I know you would not have wanted me to either. I just miss you is all. I just wanted you to smile that god awful smile at me again. I just wanted to take you to the beach once more. I just wanted you to be ok one more day.

Last Wednesday before you got sick, you played ball and had so much fun. I have that memory cherished. I also have the memory that you popped everyone of Bey’s balloons on his birthday! You loved playing with balloons. Thank you for being such an amazing pet. Thank you for mending my heart and saving my life.

AKC Registered Name

Barrett of Auburn Adams

October 17, 1998 – July 27, 2007

The Hand

I watched the movie the ten commandments the other night. In watching I was a little jealous I mean it is easy for Moses to believe in God’s power. He parted an ocean; he gave him everything. But then God reminded me this morning that He was watching over me too. He got me out of that Ph.D. program; before it blew up in my face. He protected me from the pain and suffering Natalie is going through right now.

I was very down this morning. Yasmine is leaving, and it breaks my heart. Our roses have a disease, and I am afraid they will die, and finally my precious Barrett doesn’t have much longer with us. I know that God is going to move his hand on each of these things that are bothering me. He is going to show me His glory and His face in each of these things in my life. Unfortunately God doesn’t move in my time…He waited until He was ready to move me from the Ph.D. program. And He will wait until His perfect time to move in the things that are making my heart heavy right now.

Happy Harry Potter Weekend!

I attended a Harry Potter party on Friday. I stayed up until 4 AM Saturday reading my book. I am such a nerd I was the VERY first person checked out with the new book! It was SUPER exciting. I woke up on Saturday and finished the book. I won't put any spoilers here but I loved the book. She tied everything up! :) I am a HUGE Harry Potter fan so this was a melancholy weekend for me. I was happy to read the book, but I am sad that it is all over.

We had a great weekend! SD's birthday party was great! She had a nice crowd and of course got lots of nice gifts. We also had a nice roundtable discussion about Harry Potter book 3. SD has been frantically reading the book all weekend so she could participate.

Today we swam and just had a family day. It was an Amazing weekend. Also my dog's health appears to be improving. He is more himself today than he has been for a week!
On that note I am happily going to bed.

Juggling 1000's of glass balls

That is how I feel right now. I am under so much stress I have an eye twitch. I hate eye twitches. They drive me nuts AND I only get them because of stress. My well loved adored Chesapeake Bay Retriever is ill. He may have cancer. He definitely has a stomach flu. The medication we are giving him is turning him into a space cadet. Notice a 90 lb dog that is a space cadet is NOT a good combination. I know there are animal lovers and animal haters etc out there, but this dog has been with me through thick and thin. I love this dog. I am not ready to let him go.

Not to mention the two summer courses I am taking, my own personal health issues, work and other factors. Yikes. I am looking forward to the break. I feel bad for my poor guy. He is family.

I almost cried today when I talked to my DH. He had called everyone in the southeast trying to find Chessie puppies. He was worried the B man might have to be put down or die on his own. He was going to take the day off tomorrow and go get me a puppy. My heart just breaks to know how much he cares. Chessies are hard to find; they are not the most popular dogs. It warms my heart to hear that I have someone that cares so much about me. I am not sure that I would be ready to love another dog. No dog could ever replace this one, but the thought behind the gesture is amazing. I am loved by an amazing man.

D*mn the torpedoes full speed ahead!

Blogging is a wonderfully relaxing way to jot down how I am feeling. Right now I am feeling cozy and well loved. DH gave me roses yesterday. One dozen beautiful long stem pink roses! He sure knows how to make his wife happy!

:) Also we had a great day today! Lot's of family time! We went to Aaron and Samantha's and swam all day. The water was so warm! Everyone had a great time. We played Marco Polo. I got to show off my new French skills! I counted to 20 in French! :P

Titles are back! Yeah! Help Me! Your assignment!

I have a few things to say today. I first am going to show off some pics of my stepdaughter's art! I also have a few cute pics of Vacation that will be forth coming shortly.

The big news is I will be either traveling to Portugal or Buenos Aires in October. I am looking forward to it immensely. I will know more coming up...but I will have to wait for more updates on this!

DH and I are having our 2 year anniversary at the end of July. It is our Cotton Anniversary and we have decided to do the traditional gifts! So I am going to need some ideas for our Cotton Anniversary. I will probably put a poll up on the blog to let everyone vote! I need help finding out what to get him. Today is the 11th so I have a few days to find the perfect gift. I am thinking Q-tips. hehe!


Don't you think this art work is exquisite! I love how creative she is. I hope she finds a job eventually that will allow for an outlet of all those creative juices!
I love the ornament she made for our tree. Christmas has always been a big deal to our family. I hope to use that ornament every year to remind us of this great summer!





This is a sushi plate that she made.
I think it looks FABULOUS! I have a whole set of square dishes from Pottery Barn. I think this will look spectacular for when we are having Thai or Japanese at home!



Signing off for tonight! I have more, but it will have to wait until tomorrow.