Sunday, December 30, 2007

Happy Christmas!

This pic is of my baby puppy getting ready to board on her first airplane flight! Doesn't she look excited?
Santa was oh so good to our home this year. :)

We traveled to my mom's for Christmas. We had a great time opening packages and spending time with family. I had a ball! I was spoiled rotten. My HH out did himself again this Christmas. It doesn't matter what your situation is. I have the best Husband in the world. He is the man. He loves me. He takes care of our home. Everything I need always comes first. I know that sounds selfish, but it is what I need to be happy.

My husband is extremely loving. He hugs me and tells me I am beautiful every day. I realize we have only been married 2.5 years, but he knows exactly how to make me feel like a queen. He wrote me this amazing card for Christmas and my birthday. I cried when I read all the beautiful prose that he managed to write. Who knew?

After we returned from my parents a friend of HH stayed the night. He was driving from Arkansas to Florida. He is involved with this project where he takes one picture a day of himself. It is really amazing. We spent a lot of time in Starkville taking him places to take pictures. I was thinking what an amazing project. I would like to undertake a project like that. Then I remembered...I am. I am writing a dissertation. When I finish that paper...that little teeny paper...I will undertake some amazing project.

Mailing 2 Christmas Presents tomorrow that didn't make it out. Also my stepdaughter is here for a week! :) I am so happy to have her here!

I have some pictures and I will be uploading them shortly.

Thursday, December 20, 2007

YaYa Gumbo Post

I love that my HH works for the University. I appreciate all the great benefits that he gets from working there. One of the Awesome things about his job is that he is off from December 20th until January 7th with out eating into our precious vacation days.

In other news I have been asked to teach a course in Mexicali. I can't wait. The university looks really nice. If I do a good job I could be asked to go to Sorbonne or Tuscany or Beijing. The sky is the limit really. http://cityu.edu/loc_bajacalif.htm

I have also been awarded a trip to Miami to present a paper in January! Awesome I will have a blast being on the beach in Miami in January.

I am taking a cruise with my HH and our stepdaughter for spring break. It is booked and set to go.

So I have already filled up my weekends etc. for the first three months of the year! :)

Monday, December 17, 2007

Did I mention I have some time off?

Christmas break has finally come to the International Party Girl! I am so excited. I need this in one of the worst ways. I am going to read (fiction), play video games, spend time with HH, sleep. All those things I have been dreaming of since August.

Today I am wrapping up my Christmas shopping for real. :) Then I am going to enjoy myself. I am looking forward to having the down time.

I am going to start studying for comps over the break. I will be giving my comp study schedule break down and posting it here pretty soon.

Wednesday, December 12, 2007

I don't know what I want for Christmas...Now leave me Alone

That was meant to be a bit snarky. I just have had several people asking lately. My head has been so filled with lectures and homework. I haven't had time to look.

I really haven't had enough time to shop for the people I am buying for much less myself. I am enjoying my vacation. I have celebrated by reading books (the kind for me not for class), watching this TV show Dexter it is all about a serial killer that is a cop, playing video games. Letting my head rot would be the best way to describe it. It feels good though.

I am going out tonight for a celebratory toast to the end of the semester. I really am relieved this semester is over. It has not sunk in yet quite for me I don't think.

:) More soon!

Saturday, December 8, 2007

President's List Baby

4.0 this semester!

I know I have been a bad blogger. Sue me. I Had to write 4 research papers. I was written out. How does that work? You write so many papers you develop a lump on your wrist. That would be me.

However the grades are rolling in and they are good. I love when I make the President's list. I am like I little kid. I print my report card out and hang it on the refrigerator.

It is my way of saying to my HH (handsome hubby) this is the reason I have been sleep deprived, non-cuddly, non-amorous, and all kinds of other negative non's. This is the fruits of my labor.

I take my comps next semester! I am getting close I hope you can feel the excitement.
I completely vegetated on the couch today. My husband called to see what I was doing, and I said "Nothing" and I meant it. I vegetated. It was AWESOME!

In other news we just got back from Austin. We worked hard and played hard in Texas. I ate some amazing Mexican food. YEAH! I missed authentic Mexican.

Ok...my burnout self is going to bed! I will be more active in coming days. YEAH!!!!!
DONE DONE DONE!

Monday, November 26, 2007

I am a Jack ***

I forgot my mother's birthday. I didn't do it on purpose. I was just all disheveled. The end of term is here. I have to do all this crap for my classes I am taking. Of course the classes I am teaching are wrapping up too. Not that it is any excuse.

School...tons of pressure, but still containable. I can get that taken care of. (We still have Thanksgiving Family here...as soon as they leave. )

Work that won't end until like December 18th. Then I will finally get a break. I need it. I promise. I am beat. BEAT. BEAT.

I am a jerk. I super suck. I forgot to call my mother yesterday on her birthday. I am a horrible person. If there are any other graduate students out there that have done that...please write and make me feel better.

Thursday, November 22, 2007

To Give Thanks

A tradition in our family is to give thanks prior to the meal. You have to say one thing you are thankful for, say grace then eat. Today I am more than thankful. Today I am grateful.

I didn't spend thanksgiving with my parents. It is the forth time in my life that I have not spent Thanksgiving with my parents. However I miss them very much. :)

I am grateful for so many things.

  1. I am married to the world's best husband and man.
  2. Our family is full of love and hope.
  3. My health has improved and I have a quality of life that I didn't have this time last year.
  4. My husband has a wonderful job and is happy.
  5. I am happy in my professional life as well.
  6. I am almost finished with my Ph. D.
  7. Our parents are in great health.
  8. My stepdaughter is making great grades and has done a complete turn around from her attitude last year.
  9. We have a beautiful home
  10. We have traveled and spent time enjoying ourselves and each other.
  11. We have friends that we love and care about and are so pleased that we have them.


Just so you know I am still missing my dog. But if you are reading this remind my hubby I am not ready for another Chessie. Oh and War Eagle!

Monday, November 19, 2007

Rock Me Gently Rock Me Slowly

I am mighty stoked at the moment! One of my proposals was accepted, and they will be paying my travel fare. Free trip to Miami January 30 - February 2 for me. I can not imagine a better time to go to Miami.

Because school will have just started I won't be buried with work. I am only taking ONE class this term coming up, and I will be STUDYING for comps. So I will definitely deserve that little trip. I have emailed my friend that lives in Miami and I hope she feels as much like getting up to no good as I do! :D

The boat is ours. It is sitting in my garage right now. My HH brought it home last night. He maneuvered it into the garage. It fits...just. He was so cute. He was so excited about his boat that he took it out onto the river ALREADY. Additionally he was sitting in it in the garage. He was so excited he kept sitting out there. I went back out to check on him before I went to bed, and he had fallen asleep out in his boat.

My mom goes home Tuesday, and Yasmine comes on Tuesday. Then my brother in law will be here Thursday. FULL house here. :) Our Turkey Day company doesn't leave until Tuesday. This means that we will have had company for 3 whole weeks. While I am happy to see everyone I sure will like having my home back to myself.

In other news Auburn ended up as 25 on the AP poll. Even though they didn't play. War Eagle!

Friday, November 16, 2007

Imagine me if you must



I must admit that I do NOT want to go to school tomorrow. I have been working hard this week. I will continue to work hard until mid December or so. Hubby has a job in Austin so we are going to head to Texas for a quick get away. I can't wait. I will not be attending his training course so I can explore the town. Once again I will be traveling IPG.

I should have my name changed. Traveling IPG. I have been all over Texas, but I have not ever been to Austin. Can't wait some R and R time with my hubby.

Tomorrow we are getting our boat! Here are some pics. Cause boats are not so pricey right now!


I am happy to see hubby so happy. Can't wait to ski and have fun in the sun this summer!

Wednesday, November 14, 2007

Menagerie

My mom was supposed to only stay a week. But we were having so much fun that I begged her to stay. She goes home Next Tuesday. She wants to say so she can see her granddaughter Yasmine, but the airfare situation just doesn't work.

I had a spot show up on my face. We think it might be part of the chemo, but we really can't be sure. My doctor slipped and broke his hip so he had to reschedule my appointment so I won't know until I get a chance t o go and see him.

We bought a boat. Handsome hubby is going to pick it up on Saturday. I am in class all day so I definitely won't have time to go get the boat. :) However I am looking forward to skiing and taking the boat out on the water. I think we are going to get a good deal on the boat since it isn't boating season right now. We are going to have a ball taking it out this coming spring and summer.

I am pretty excited. Why am I excited you might want to know? Well I am celebrating that there is only about 2 weeks more of school this semester! I am ahead on many of my papers and research projects that I have been working. I can't wait until I get all my grades! I also can't wait to get started studying for my comps. Yeah! That particular hoop is finally with in reach.

I am going to get organized for my comp studies over the holidays so that will be great that I can itemize that!

Friday, November 9, 2007

The other side of my face

I can be two faced. I know I can be. But not in the way that phrase usually means. What I mean is that I complain about working...but secretly...I love to work. I get nervous when I am not working. I fidget. I can't settle in. I enjoy spending 12 hours a day hard at work.

Right now I have so many papers and projects to write and work on. I feel like I am thriving on all the stress. Like some weird desert plant.

:D
IPG

Wednesday, November 7, 2007

Mom is here!

My mom is here this week. WE are having a good time. I took her to some of my favorite spots in Starkville. We are working too though. Of course...story of my life.

What else? We are having Bamboo flooring installed. I can't wait. It is going to be beautiful. Hubby has been working hard too. He has been designing lots of web pages.

We have just been having an all around nice time. It has been a nice visit. I am working hard not to have to cram when the end of the term comes. I will be reporting on how well that works out. We shall see. :( Keep your fingers crossed.
IPG

Sunday, November 4, 2007

Marriage

How is that your marriage lives and breathes like an entity of itself. For example you have a relationship. You love each other. You decide to get married. The first year for us was miserable. We moved across country. I started school. Handsome Hubby was looking for a job here in Mississippi. Too much stress all at once. We lived in a pressure cooker.

However all that pressure created a diamond. We met our stride. We fell in love again and again every day. Sometimes I look at my HH and I love him so much it hurts. It is amazing. I mean on occasion we argue. We argued this morning because I forgot to set the clocks back. But we both know that this is it. This is forever. So a little tiff isn't going to hurt us.

He is on my team. I don't have to worry because I have him by my side even when I am wrong. We spent all day out at a shooting range yesterday. He was showing off his skills hitting clay pigeons. I remember thinking that there was nowhere else I would rather be. The weather was perfect. I had our little Shug with us. And I was spending time with the person I love the most. Heaven.

Saturday, November 3, 2007

Contrary to popular beliefs, izzle is not a suffix

:)

Yikes it has been too long. I have to commit to be here 5 days a week. I have just NOT HAD TIME. I will do a bulletted post to catch everyone up. :)

  • Returned from Argentina safe and sound
  • Spent a lot of time getting caught up because I went out of town.
  • Surprisingly did NOT get sick on my trip or coming home.
  • Watched Auburn lose heartbreaking game to LSU
  • Watched Auburn beat Ole Miss to make up for it.
  • Canceled a trip to Auburn this weekend because there is just too much going on.
  • Started teaching two classes in the MIDDLE of term because a faculty member literally walked out on the courses and left the students high and dry. (This is where a good chunk of time is going).
  • Wrote test questions for Course.com for testbanks. Really fun, but exhausting.
  • Babysat for friend's children for 110 hours. That is right I counted the hours.
  • My great uncle died, and I drove to Birmingham to attend the funeral.
  • Saw my great aunt who lives in Oregon at the funeral.
  • Saw that my favorite great aunt isn't doing well, and isn't expected to live until Christmas.
  • Sent an email to my husband's ex wife telling her how much I appreciate all she does because I have a new appreciation of if after babysitting for 110 hours (see above) She and I surprisingly get along. I like her. She is nice to me. That might be shocking, but no drama here. She does a great job raising my stepdaughter, and we have always gotten along.
Ok you are caught up...mostly. I will catch you up tomorrow. :0)
IPG

Tuesday, October 23, 2007

Interesting Times...

The end of semester crunch is getting here. It is getting tougher. The crunch is getting crunchier. So my handsome hubby and I had planned to have a little romantic rendezvous. However one of our friends needed us to bail them out. We are going to have to watch their three children from Friday to Monday. YIKES.

Of course poor Bey. No romance for him this weekend. But he knows next weekend is all his.
IPG

Tuesday, October 16, 2007

Miguel Covarrubias

I hunted down this painter's name. It is Miguel Covarrubias. I found some of his paintings for sale. At 20,000 dollars a bargain. :)

My favorite painter is Van Gogh. However I am not a cheesy Starry Night person. Although I have a giant frame of Starry Night in my home. It was the last thing my grandfather built for me before he died. The frame is a legacy, and I will always cherish it. Seriously if the house starts burning my husband is to grab the dog, and I will get the painting and frame. However I love Van Gogh's works. Some of his art moves me to tears. I wept when I saw his first paintings. I nearly cried through out the Van Gogh museum in Amsterdam. This is my most favorite painting by Van Gogh.

Why is this my most favorite painting? I snapped a picture from Sacre Coeur in Paris. When I got home and had it developed I realized this was the same angle and everything. Van Gogh and I saw the same thing. :) Cheesy huh?

I like Dali too. My second half however HATES SURREALISM. So no Dali in the house. :)
However this is my blog so bring on the Dali.

Monday, October 15, 2007

My Argentine Find


I fell in LOVE with this Mexican Painter Miguel Covarrubias 1904-1957. Those of you that know me in real time...know I am an Art Junky. Check out this amazing work!!!!!!

I am back




I tried blogging from BA and Uruguay, but I ended up being too busy and too tired to blog. I enjoyed every minute of it. I hated coming home.

I was having a conversation with my husband. "You are going to love it down here when we move, honey." And he says, "NO we are not moving to Argentina." Then he said, "No Auburn football...no C." I thought that was hilarious.

These are pics of Colonia Del Sacremento in Uruguay. I love this charming beautiful city. It is Portuguese and was a Portuguese colony. I drank the drink called Mate. It is this giant pile of tea leaves. You pour water into it, but there are so many leaves that it soaks it up. It is VERY strong. But I was a trooper. It was interesting...
The food was incredible there. I was charmed and amazed. We rented a golf cart and toured all around the city.

Monday, October 8, 2007

Montmarte?


We are having a great time. We think we picked up a stomach bug prior to leaving. They wouldn't give us shots. Argentine pharmacies appear to be more regulated than Mexican. We did get this drops that you put in water to settle your tummy.

We went to a square yesterday and saw Tango dancers. The square looks exactly like Montmarte in Paris although you can't see the Eifle from the square (Obviously). The Market had antiques that were gorgeous. It reminded me of that market we went to in Italy. Everything was very expensive.

The Spanish they speak has an accent I can't place. It is like in the Dominican where they have a French accent with their Spanish...but the accent isn't French. I think it is Portuguese....but I don't speak Portuguese so I am not sure. They supposedly speak Castillian but I don't think so. It sounds different from the Spaniards in Madrid and Barcelona. Like for example...instead of saying Pharm-acia ...they say Phar-ma-c-ia. Really annunciated so that they act like they don't know what I am saying. But I think it is because I am speaking say with a Southern accent, and they understand a Boston accent.

We see a lot of Germans. The Argentine people are tall, and have beautiful skin. Some people speak English here, but it is very broken. Almost everyone looks like European Spaniards. You can tell they consider themselves beautiful.

I have found things to be cheap here. I have eaten two New York Strips that cost less than 9 dollars. They were both arguably one of the best steaks I have ever eaten, albeit a bit rarer than I care for. At restaurants they bring these little mini bar-b-ques to your table. The food continues to grill right at your table, and they have all sorts of meat on them. We haven't ordered it yet, but we are going to try it. The restaurant we ate at last night had a giant grill right in the front. It is right in front of our hotel and it was delish!

Sunday, October 7, 2007

It Takes Two to Tango


I am in Argentina. They did not want to let me in because my passport is falling apart. It expires in six months so I am going to be getting another one soon. Please cross your fingers that they let me back in the U.S. Surely I can prove I am a U.S. citizen. :)

We are going to go to the flea market and watch some professional Tango Dancers. I just had to log in to work real quick this morning. :) That is pretty exciting.

This blog post won't be long, but can I just say War Eagle! And go Stanford. Way to go knocking off the overrated USC. Cheers!

Friday, October 5, 2007

Atlanta


So I am in Atlanta tonight. Headed to Argentina tomorrow. I miss my Handsome Hubby already. :) Poor guy is hanging out at home with our little dog. :O) I have been working my tail off to get all caught up so that I can enjoy this trip. I don't have much of a tail anyway...but what little I have is worked off. :P

I am going to try to blog on and off from Argentina, but for any of you that follow this blog...you know I am not a good blogger when I travel.

I am looking forward to visiting Argentina and Uruguay. I have been to Venezuela before so I don't get to add a new continent to my travel log. Supposedly Buenos Aires is the most cosmopolitan city in South America. I am also looking forward to visiting with my sister and mother.

My sister's condo is nice. I hadn't had the chance to visit it prior to today.

A little tease before I go. I picked my dissertation topic. I will be blogging through the process. YEAH!!!!

Thursday, October 4, 2007

Flipping Stressing Out....

Who me? Yes. I am pulling hair. I leave for Argentina tomorrow. Am I ready? No. Have I packed? No. Am I caught up on school work? No. Work? Nope. Would you be stressed?

I feel like crying. No one should cry because they are going on vacation. :( I need to breathe. I have internet access in Argentina. I need to get all the movies loaded up on the ipod and hubby can handle that.

Packing...guess I will be doing that tonight after my chat. Homework...doing it now. Work..trying to wrap up as much as possible.

Sigh...it will never end.

Wednesday, October 3, 2007

My husband the G-MAN


So my handsome hubby tested for the FBI last week. Guess what? He has passed his first round of tests. This is one of the most exciting things! I am really proud of him. He rarely reads my blog so I can brag on him a bit.

I am not one of those uniform gals. Now it is true I dated a pilot once, and he looked mighty mighty fine in his flight suit. I also know that that FBI doesn't have uniforms...but the POINT is that I am not one of those girls that swoon over a cop/doctor/pilot/fireman...well there was that one fireman in college. Grr....I keep losing my train of thought. I am not a uniform girl. The military doesn't do it for me. I have never envisioned myself with a man in law enforcement.

Now my husband does wear his hair in a "high and tight." A left over from his Marine Corps days. But we met later in life. I didn't know him then. I am an academic. I couldn't be a military wife. But an FBI agent's wife. I could do. I also couldn't be a CIA agent's wife. I can not keep a secret to save my life. If I know a secret...I spill it. Even when I buy someone a really good Christmas present. I still can't keep that a secret.

So I am proud of my little G-Man.

100 Things about Me...Part 1

This might take a while. I have been wanting to do this on the blog for quite a bit, but haven't quite had the time or the nerve. I only wanted to do the first part. I thought coming up with 100 things and writing them all at once might be a bit of a strain.

I also didn't want to bore anyone to tears. :)

  1. I believe in God.
  2. I have been married for 2.5 ish years.
  3. I am close to my family.
  4. I am just starting my third year as a Ph.D. student at Mississippi State.
  5. I have a stepdaughter that lives in Phoenix. She is 10 years old.
  6. I was born in Alabama.
  7. I was raised just outside of Atlanta.
  8. I have lived in Alabama, Arkansas, Illinois, Mississippi, Georgia, and Texas.
  9. I have been to 46 states. I still need Maine, North and South Dakota, and Hawaii.
  10. I have been to over 50 countries.
  11. I went to Auburn University for my undergrad and masters.
  12. I finished my undergrad in two years and nine months.
  13. I graduated from college when I was 21 years old.
  14. I was a football recruiter at Auburn called a Tigerette.
  15. My first job was at the Gap.
  16. I can speed read.
  17. I speak Spanish.
  18. I speak OK French.
  19. If I could have any super power in the world I would be able to fly.
  20. I lost my dog 2.5 months ago.
  21. I have a younger sister who lives in Atlanta.
  22. I am an avid saver, and enjoy investing for my retirement.
  23. My husband is my very best friend.
  24. I enjoy doing projects on our home.
  25. I listen to my parents and still go to them with advice.
  26. My mom is my second best friend.
  27. I secretly worry that my husband and I will never find the perfect time to have a family.
  28. I love following football…especially college.
  29. I am an avid reader. I love Fiction.
  30. I suffer from anxiety. (I believe that some of this is self inflicted because I take on too much).
  31. I teach online college courses. I am sort of a full time part timer at several institutions.
  32. I am a workaholic.
  33. I drink almost 5 cups of hot tea a day.
  34. I love to do water aerobics.
  35. I like to watch scary movies.
  36. My husband and I still go on dates.
  37. I kick butt on video games, and love gaming.
  38. I don’t have court TV in Mississippi, but when I have it…I love watching shows like Forensic Files.
  39. I drive a Jeep Cherokee.
  40. I want a four door Jeep Wrangler.
  41. My favorite food is Beef.
  42. I live on a lake, and I love to fish.
  43. I love animals.
  44. I like doing volunteer work like working in a soup kitchen.
  45. I consider myself self-disciplined.
  46. I plan to graduate December 2008.
  47. I value my friendships, and stay friends with people for a long time.
  48. I am outgoing.
  49. I am gregarious.
  50. I have a cocker spaniel named after Shug Jordan. Her name is Shug.

Tuesday, October 2, 2007

Buenos Aires Bound

I have to start getting ready for my trip. I am excited as I have never visited Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay. I am going with my mother and sister so I will be missing my handsome hubby. He is ok with staying home and has plenty of projects to work on. I am unclear if I will have much time to blog while in Argentina. I will still be working full time, and going to school. Luckily my classes are all online. ;)

I read they eat a lot of veal down in Argentina. I don't eat veal. I don't have anything politically against it. I just don't care for the taste. Hubby and I were in Spain in March and there was a great deal of veal. I just am not a fan.

I also hate that I will be missing two weeks worth of Auburn Football. I believe we may have turned a corner last week during our Florida game. Let's hope so.


We are on fall break so there is not tons of school stuff to report. I am enjoying being on break but that is not news. :)

Monday, October 1, 2007

December 2008

What is so special about December of 2008? That is when I am going to make everyone start calling me Dr. Adams. Because I am expecting to be Dr. Adams by December 2008. I think I am going to plan some sort of Awesome vacation with my husband when I finish. I bet everyone wants to do that when they graduate. :)


We got married in San Pedro, Belize. I would like to go back for my R and R after the dissertation trip. I haven't been to Belize in 2.5 years so I miss it. :)



Overall I am just happy to have comps scheduled, and to be working on my dissertation. How awesome is that? When I come up with the title you can bet I will put it here in all of its glory. Another thing you can count on is that it is going to have a colon in it. That is a law I am pretty sure. :P

I finally feel like I getting somewhere with this PhD. I finally feel like I am getting somewhere.

Sunday, September 30, 2007

Things are finally right in the world of college football.





I had class ALL day on Saturday. It was a great class, and I learned lots! I am pretty happy because my Friend Natalie is in class with me. I managed not to stick my foot in my mouth during the class discussion! Ha! I also worked really hard at getting all caught up.

As I have said before I am going to Buenos Aires from October 6-13th. I want to be at least caught up so that when I leave I can at least 1/2 way enjoy myself. :) After I got out of class I came straight home. I had to catch the Auburn/Florida game. I have to be completely honest I thought Auburn was going to lose. However I was pleasantly surprised to see them come out kicking. Heck yeah War Eagle! Luckily handsome hubby was keeping the faith. He and I cheered Auburn on to their 20-17 victory over the forth ranked Florida Gators.

I know I have a few Gator fans that read here. So I would like to post a video for you. Do not worry. It has nothing to do with the game.


Lots of work today. We are doing one of those garage floors where you paint it with Epoxy and then spread paint chips. :) We also stained the deck. I am so proud, and so happy that our lovely projects are done. Our garage is perfectly organized, and our deck is protected for at least 3 years. :)



Now if I could just finish my homework. I would go to bed. :)

Friday, September 28, 2007

Note to Self

I must use spell check when I blog late night. I have had roughly 8 hours of sleep in the last 4 days. That works out to not enough sleep for you math people. I also have the general motivation of a slug today. You know how when you have one of those days that you have SOOO much on your list of to do that you don't want to even get started to begin with? Welcome to Friday.

I need to write a chapter synopsis for chapters 4,5, and 6 for one class. I just turned in our group project for another class. I have to read the chapters for yet another class and prepare an assignment for class tomorrow. My last class I have an assignment due, but she hasn't clarified it.

For work, I have to post for my classes. I have to submit some grades for another class. I have to set up a course that begins next week. I have to return a few phone calls.

Other miscellaneous I have to go to the store. (We are having people over tonight). I have to pay bills online, and I have to straighten up this house. (We are having people over tonight). I also seriously need to schedule a powernap as I am exhausted to the point of tears.

Thursday, September 27, 2007

I have never let my schooling interfere with my education. Mark Twain

Twainisms are some of my mos favorite quotes. I adore them. I judge authors by my desire to shang hai them and insist on a conversation after I have read what they wrote. For example, J.K. Rowling that new book had better be AWESOME or I am going to hire people to kidnap you and start writing Harry Potter again.



Plagiarism in my new department is killing me. There is a PhD student that turned in a paper that was 90 percent copied via the Internet. I have been emailing the prof sinlce last Tuesady about it. If she doesn't move to do something I am going straight to the Dean I have had enough. See that line? There is the line.

Other than hunting down cheaters. It has been a busy week. Hubby tested for the FBI today. If he makes it...I am changing his name immediately to Gman. :) I wrote papers and work on the general pile of stuff that crams my in tray.

Sigh I must go to sleep. I can't keep skating with out sleep. It is unfortunate, but I must be recharged as it were.

Wednesday, September 26, 2007

La professora no esta aqui

Ha! Today just has not been as productive as I needed it to be. SIGH. BIG FAT LOUD SIGH. Aside from learning how to do APA papers...I also got my program of study submitted.

I will be up late tonight. Working on all the other stuff I gotta do. My husband and I had words tonight. He accused me acidly of being a workaholic. He hissed it at me. "You are a workaholic. You work so much because you like it. Don't act like it is a chore you thrive on stress." I countered, "I am not a workaholic, I am just a type A. Type A's just work hard. There is a big difference." He likes to eat, and sleep indoors. (Not that we couldn't do that on his salary). But he likes to eat steak and travel. There much better.

This blog is cathartic. Helps me cleanse my soul and mind for the late night I am going to put in this evening. Note to self if hubby is going to keep this up...he needs to go back to school.

Going to get signatures

I will be going to get signatures for my Program of Study this morning. This is not as appealing to me today as it was yesterday because I am exhausted. I stayed up until 2 AM last night working. I got up at 8. I need to mention that yesterday I worked from 8 AM until 2 AM. That is right I put in an 18 hour day yesterday. Between the 4 classes I am taking and working full time...I am a busy girl.

Also because I am traveling to Argentina I have to do extra work just to stay ahead. Just so you know 18 hours didn't even put me ahead. It just got me where I needed to be today. I have 2 major projects to complete today not to mention a two hour training. Then I have to catch up with today's work.

Other than that...I could really use some caffeine. If I can just get through today. I believe that tomorrow will be oh so much better. :)









Tuesday, September 25, 2007

Some exciting news

My comps are scheduled. I will be taking my written comps on April 4 and 5th. I just have to get my program of study typed up and then signed. I plan to get it signed tomorrow. So that is really exciting news. I am proud of myself, and I am looking forward to my comps. (If you can believe that.) I really am ready to be ABD (all but dissertation) . ABD is actually slang, but whatever it is I am ready freddy. :)

I have two more courses to take in the spring. They are not big deals and I should be able to schedule them online. I have also been doing some research, and plan to submit a paper for a small regional conference. I am looking forward to that. I have a journal on my scope that I should be getting some work done for as soon as possible. This should translate into right December...since I have lots of other stuff going on.

I will be coming up with a study schedule that I will be posting here. I don't know when I receive my comp questions, but as soon as I do I will be prepping answers.

Saturday, September 22, 2007

Something very special about...

JEEZ...finally. An Auburn Football score that doesn't require me to hang my head in shame. It hurts living here in Mississippi State country when Auburn loses. It doesn't help at all. Finally there are stupid fans around here that have the nerve to tell me I should be embarrassed of my Auburn gear after a loss to them. Please. If they couldn't wear their state gear after every loss they would never get to wear their state gear. :P

Ah well...Louisville lost, and maybe Georgia'll lose. Looks like USC is going to win...booo. Well I can enjoy Auburn's win. ...and maybe just maybe Georgia'll lose. That could make for an almost perfect Saturday. ;)

Some of the projects we got up to today. :) Cleaning out the garage, and creating extra storage in the attic. We are going to paint the garage floor too.

Thursday, September 20, 2007

Please call me Doctor

We were discussing in a group meeting today how insufferable new Ph. D.'s are! And I admitted I am going to be one of the worst. Not really...ok maybe just a little. :) In the course of our discussion I teased, "When I finish my Ph.D. I won't answer to anything but Doctor. Not even Dr. Adams...just Dr. hehe" Of course I am teasing. I like teasing my husband about it! Actually he teases me too...I won't say...but if you know him...you know that is is naughty teasing. :)

I have also decided to be super efficient so I am going to send an email out to all my students with this handy list. They can just pick a number for their fallacious argument for why their assignments are late. This way I don't have to read mountains and mountains of excuses. They can just send me an email with a number. Like this,

"Dear Professor IPG,

5.

Sincerely,
John Q. Student"

That saves lots of time. More efficient! I suggest everyone adding this list of fallacious arguments for late work to their syllabus. (Oh P.S. as a bonus all are linked to the fallacious arguments page for quick look up)!

  1. Ad Hominem (Argument To The Man)
  2. Affirming The Consequent
  3. Amazing Familiarity
  4. Ambiguous Assertion
  5. Appeal To Anonymous Authority
  6. Appeal To Authority
  7. Appeal To Coincidence
  8. Appeal To Complexity
  9. Appeal To False Authority
  10. Appeal To Force
  11. Appeal To Pity (Appeal to Sympathy, The Galileo Argument)
  12. Appeal To Widespread Belief (Bandwagon Argument, Peer Pressure, Appeal To Common Practice)
  13. Argument By Emotive Language (Appeal To The People)
  14. Argument By Fast Talking
  15. Argument By Generalization
  16. Argument By Gibberish (Bafflement)
  17. Argument By Half Truth (Suppressed Evidence)
  18. Argument By Laziness (Argument By Uninformed Opinion)
  19. Argument By Personal Charm
  20. Argument By Pigheadedness (Doggedness)
  21. Argument By Poetic Language
  22. Argument By Prestigious Jargon
  23. Argument By Question
  24. Argument By Repetition (Argument Ad Nauseam)
  25. Argument by Rhetorical Question
  26. Argument By Scenario
  27. Argument By Selective Observation
  28. Argument By Selective Reading
  29. Argument By Slogan
  30. Argument From Adverse Consequences (Appeal To Fear, Scare Tactics)
  31. Argument From Age (Wisdom of the Ancients)
  32. Argument From Authority
  33. Argument From False Authority
  34. Argument From Small Numbers
  35. Argument From Spurious Similarity
  36. Argument Of The Beard
  37. Argument To The Future
  38. Bad Analogy
  39. Begging The Question (Assuming The Answer, Tautology)
  40. Burden Of Proof
  41. Causal Reductionism (Complex Cause)
  42. Changing The Subject (Digression, Red Herring, Misdirection, False Emphasis)
  43. Cliche Thinking
  44. Common Sense
  45. Complex Question (Tying)
  46. Confusing Correlation And Causation
  47. Disproof By Fallacy
  48. Equivocation
  49. Error Of Fact
  50. Euphemism
  51. Exception That Proves The Rule
  52. Excluded Middle (False Dichotomy, Faulty Dilemma, Bifurcation)
  53. Extended Analogy
  54. Failure To State
  55. Fallacy Of Composition
  56. Fallacy Of Division
  57. Fallacy Of The General Rule
  58. Fallacy Of The Crucial Experiment
  59. False Cause
  60. False Compromise
  61. Genetic Fallacy (Fallacy of Origins, Fallacy of Virtue)
  62. Having Your Cake (Failure To Assert, or Diminished Claim)
  63. Hypothesis Contrary To Fact
  64. Inconsistency
  65. Inflation Of Conflict
  66. Internal Contradiction
  67. Least Plausible Hypothesis
  68. Lies
  69. Meaningless Questions
  70. Misunderstanding The Nature Of Statistics
  71. Moving The Goalposts (Raising The Bar, Argument By Demanding Impossible Perfection)
  72. Needling
  73. Non Sequitur
  74. Not Invented Here
  75. Outdated Information
  76. Pious Fraud
  77. Poisoning The Wells
  78. Psychogenetic Fallacy
  79. Reductio Ad Absurdum
  80. Reductive Fallacy (Oversimplification)
  81. Reifying
  82. Short Term Versus Long Term
  83. Slippery Slope Fallacy (Camel's Nose)
  84. Special Pleading (Stacking The Deck)
  85. Statement Of Conversion
  86. Stolen Concept
  87. Straw Man (Fallacy Of Extension)
  88. Two Wrongs Make A Right (Tu Quoque, You Too)
  89. Weasel Wording

Please note I am merely being funny here. :) I just have read about 4000 emails on why assignments are late. :)

Wednesday, September 19, 2007

Finally

I am finally done with the paper. I am finally done grading and I am finally done doing all my work. I can finally go to bed. I have just now officially put in a 16 hour day. Sixteen hours is a long time to work.

I am afraid I have bitten off more than I can chew this fall. I have to go get some sleep because I gotta do this again tomorrow.

Sigh.

Thanks for listening.

Monday, September 17, 2007

Minimalism

Around the time I began to use words like "hoi polloi" and aplomb, a man I barely knew asked my parents if he could marry me.

The man was kind, but we were not even dating. The man I had known for one month showed up at my parent’s home while I was on Spring Break. I remember knowing that while I was hanging with friends someone was trying to change my future, and knowing that I would have to get a restraining order if I could.

My head pounded in my ears as my mother told me to come home.

She said, “We will be ok, but do you think he is dangerous?”

The blood pounded in my ears. But I did not feel like going home. At the beach, I knew pain awaited when I returned, but I couldn’t be motivated to go.

What happened was he had asked me to marry him before I went on spring break, which, means I had only known him 3 weeks then. But I exaggerated and said 1 month, because it sounded less crazy.

The five days I was supposed to be at the beach turned into ten. I thought maybe I would never go home.

_____________________________________________________________

As an update to this foray into the madness that is my mind at times. Shuggy is ok! She wasn't poisoned. Life can go back to normal.



Sunday, September 16, 2007

OMG not again

We were reorganizing HH closet. He has so many shoes. You know those packets of fresheners that they put in shoe boxes? Well our cocker spaniel got a hold of one of those and tore it open. We are assuming she ate some of the poison. So after shoving a cup of milk down her throat with a turkey baster we rushed our dog to the vet school emergency room. You have got to be kidding me.

My Chessie died in July. I can't have another animal get sick on me now. I love my cocker spaniel but she is dumb. You have to worry about her getting into stuff because that is what she does!
Well I gotta go back up to the vet school. I had to come home and get my work done while daddy waited with the puppy.

An update on the kitty. We thought it was a girl. The little girl named her "Little Miss Oreo Katherine." Except now that we know it is a BOY she renamed the cat "Shug" after our dog. Because she met our dog when she picked up the cat.

So Shuggy. Get better. You have a legacy.

Saturday, September 15, 2007

In class! :)

I am in class all day today. :) It is an excellent course with a lot of dynamic discussion. I am loving the idea of 5 all day Saturday classes. I get tired of going to class everyday. However it makes it more difficult to stay motivated. :)

Unfortunately it means I am going to miss a lot of football. However in the name of higher education, I can make these small sacrifices. It meant that I would miss the Tigerette reunion at Auburn, which is upsetting!!! I love going to the Tigerette reunions. We should have one again in 2009 I guess. So I can at least look forward to a reunion in the future.

Practically speaking having an all day class allows you to really expand on your knowledge as well as working on research. My research creative juices are starting to flow again. I just realized that I had some data sets that I must capitalize on to get some research done. I have some journal articles that I would like to target, and get some publications in the works again.

Friday, September 14, 2007

HAD TO DO THIS

I hate when I read research that just has a DUH! Factor. As in DUH!

As the chaos that is the summer slowly begins to wind down (into the chaos that is the fall), and I am able to get a few other items off of my impressive (almost awe-inspiring, really) to-do list. On that to do list is some research I have let fall by the way side. However...I am going to do some research that matters. Not this drivel. "Science is confirming what most women know: When given the choice for a mate, men go for good looks.

art.dating.study.gi.jpg

In the dating game, men know what they want.


And guys won't be surprised to learn that women are much choosier about partners than they are. "

This didn't come from the Onion this came from CNN. FYI this is not news. This shouldn't count as research. Give me your grant money back.

Check out this earth shattering "research."


There is a fine line....

This is a tough semester for me. I thought it was going to be a breeze. I am taking all of my classes online. Mississippi State offers only a few of their classes online. I managed to sign up for all of them online this term.

What this means is I have no where I actually have to be EVER. This is not that hard. Except that while I am staying caught up on work and school...I am also getting very bored. I am reading the Lord of the Rings. Watching some HGTV...rereading Harry Potter. Mostly I just work/and do school work. In all fairness that requires a lot of time for me. I might as well have an office because I have to spend the time. Many people ask me what are some of the challenges I face working from home. One thing I have to encourage others to remember is that working from home means being disciplined enough to work in an undisciplined environment. I have been working from home since 2002. I have the discipline down. :)

During the day it is not as easy to work as some would think. For some reason people assume that if you work from home you don't work. This is not the case. I work, and if I am off running errands with you...then I am not getting my work or school work done at home. That is the long and short of it.

I did do an unscheduled errand yesterday. I took handsome hubby or hh as I like to call him a surprise to work! He was pleased. It was nice to see that he was happy. I dropped off some balloons, a card, some of his favorite candy, and a little travel mug. Just a tiny happy to help him have a great day. :) He loved it. It was a great chance for me to make him smile.

Wednesday, September 12, 2007

I am nice to everyone...to their face!


My husband has some kind of allergic reaction that has given him a temporary lisp. Now I am bad wife. I admit it. I want to follow him around with a tape recorder when he talks with his lisp. My husband is a manly man he doesn't lisp. He is also a trainer and had to train today...you got it with a lisp. It was all I could do not to sneak into his classroom and bug it! I think it is the most hilarious thing that has happened to me in a long time.

Of course when he asks if it is that noticeable I do my wifely duty and swear that it isn't. TE HE! >:)

My course load is killing me this term. What was I thinking taking 12 hours? Was I nuts? It doesn't help that I am about as motivated as my dog. Hint: my dog sleeps about 18 hours a day during the week and like 20 on weekends. ;)

Not to mention that work is heating up and killing me. To dad I tont haf a lisp. I coult fone in thick. hehe!

Tuesday, September 11, 2007

So the cat

We rescued this kitten, and it has been living here with us for the last week. We vaguely were going to try and help it get grow and find it a home. We live in a college town. Students love pets. It should not be hard to find it a home. Unfortunately our dog has grown attached to the cat. This kitten thinks the cocker spaniel is her mom. She nurses on the cocker spaniel and the dog is spayed.

At any rate we found or rather my good friend Chris found the kitten a great home. We are all very happy. Now I am just worried about the dog again. The dog has had a rough two months. Her best friend in the whole world and love of her life died in July. She was so happy this cat was here. She was treating it like her little baby. Now after a short week...the cat has a home.

We are not cat people. We had no intentions of keeping the cat. However how do you explain that to a 2 year old cocker spaniel? You can't. She is going to down in the dumps again. I thought having the cat would perk her up a bit. But she is a really good mommy dog, and I see this as being exceptionally difficult for her.

Poor Shuggy. :(

Saturday, September 8, 2007

You had me at War Eagle!




It is not you it is me. I just want a break. Can't we still be friends?

Ok. Auburn. My Alma Mater I love you. But I have got to concentrate on my school this term. I can not get wrapped up in football. They have changed the schedules so much. Here is a sample week.

Monday - Monday Night Football Obviously
Tuesday- College game
Wednesday- Sometimes some game
Thursday- ESPN college game
Friday- College Game
Saturday- Football Saturday College
Sunday- NFL football

So basically football every day. I can't take it. I love football. I watch ridiculous games I don't care about. I watch ranked teams I just want to lose so Auburn can move up. I hate Georgia so I always pull against them. I watch NFL teams I couldn't give one rip about.

But mostly I live, sleep, and eat Auburn Football. But my apologies to the Tigers this year. I can't. I love you. But I can't. Usually my emotions are tied with their triumphs and loses. I celebrate when we win. I mourn when we lose. Say we win. I live on cloud nine for about 6 seconds. Then I start worrying about our next game. Say we lose. I am in a funk until the following Saturday when we can fix it.

However I am taking 4 doctorate level courses. I am BUSY this term. I need more and more to focus on work and school. Repeat after me work and school. Not necessarily in that order. So like I said. Auburn Tigers...I love you. But this year...I gotta study.

All that said. I gotta get my homework done. The break up can start next week. The Auburn game is on at 8 CST.



On the rolling plains of Dixie
'Neath its sun-kissed sky,
Proudly stands, our Alma Mater
Banners high.

To thy name we'll sing thy praise,
From hearts that love so true,
And pledge to thee our
Loyalty the ages through.

We hail thee, Auburn, and we vow
To work for thy just fame.
And hold in memory as we do now
Thy cherished name.

Friday, September 7, 2007

Who knew?

Where did all this pent up belligerence come from? I sound like a teenager. Perhaps I have always sounded like this. I will have to ask my mother. :P

I have had a snarky couple of days. I actually have just been downright ornery. It doesn't help that I had had the flu. That has added to my orneriness. I hate when I am STUCK at home! I want to get out! DO SOMETHING. But instead I am sick. Like for example??? I started working at SEVEN AM THIS MORNING. How am I still working? How could anyone have that much to do? However here I am. Doing homework.

Being sick has made this worse.

In other news there is this kitten. This starving kitten...that has been sitting outside my house for several days. I have finally started feeding it. I am not going to have a starving animal anywhere near my house. However this cat needs to know. We are not cat people. We are not adopting a cat. :)

Ah well....I gotta finish this work.
NIGHT!

Wednesday, September 5, 2007

What things really mean...

I am a southerner. Many times I make a comment and while I might say one thing...I mean something else entirely.Let me give you an example if I tell someone "Bless your heart." I don't mean "Bless your heart." I could mean "You are an idiot" or "I am so glad I don't have your life" or "I told you so" or a myriad of other less nice thoughts. But I say "Bless your heart" or "You poor thing."

As a doctoral student they rarely spell out what you really need to know. They "highly suggest" you go to meetings. That means "GO TO THIS MEETING!" They say "It is advised that..." when what they mean is "I want you to do it this way."

I used to be friends with this girl that I actually quit being friends with because of her paranoid fantasies. I remember when she would make ridiculous commentary on the world beneath the world that no one knew existed. Well slap a label on me.

I am going to STOP this nonsense from this day forward. I am going to say what I mean. I hate when I am on airlines and they say "This is a small mechanical problem. This will only take us 10 minutes to fix." and that means that we are going to sit on this hot plane for 1.5 hours. I am sick of this world that isn't as it seems! From now on don't suggest that I show up to a meeting. If you want me at the meeting send it to my Outlook calendar. Bless your heart!

:P

Saturday, September 1, 2007

Traveling...IPG

I am traveling this weekend. Visiting some friends and seeing some folks I haven't in a long while.
I have access to the computer, but I am not at it 24/7 like I usually am.

I wanted to leave a special note to my handsome hubby. :)

This one is for you baby.

Wednesday, August 29, 2007

Oh what is that feeling...oh right STRESS!

I wanted to go out of town for Labor Day. My handsome hubby has a conference and while I could have scooted over to Atlanta with him...I had some friends I wanted to see. I decided to go to El Paso and visit some of my girl friends. It has been a rough month for my El Paso crew. One of them is getting divorced, another one's dad died. All in all not a great August.

I am only allowed to go because I have made it a point to get all my work done in advance. So basically I have been putting in 14 -15 hour days for the last two weeks. This is just slightly more than my usual 12 hour days so I am not feeling the burn...yet. :)

Other than preparing for my visit with the girls I have been trying to reorganize my home. This house was used to operating with a 90 lb dog. I was not worried about anyone wanting to burgle our home. I wasn't worried about anything. However I am now 90lbs of dog lighter, and this big empty space and the big protection blanket I have operated under all these years is not here. I had the alarm system reinstated, and designed some other home safety features. I also packed away all his toys and balls. I have kept them over the past month as a comfort, but now they have to be put away.

School has started picking up causing me to stop focusing on anything but academics. In a sense it has been good because it required that I focus on something other than what was emotionally going on. I am now wondering why I thought taking 4 classes in the fall sounded like a good idea. It isn't in case you are curious, but at this point I am going to have to muddle through.

IPG

Tuesday, August 28, 2007

COLD!

We have been having a heat wave in Mississippi. It has been up over 100 for almost 3 weeks in a row. To add to that miserable 3 digit number it is about 100 percent humidity right now. You can imagine my surprise and dismay when yesterday my air conditioner made an odd sound. I had to leave to run a few errands. When I got back home I realized the AIR CONDITIONER WAS NOT WORKING. I called all the reputable air conditioner people in town. I was unable to get in touch with any that could see me yesterday. So I promptly packed myself and my dog and checked into the Hampton Inn. The house was 97 degrees at 11 AM. When the air conditioner person met me out at my house he showed me that a SPIDER had crawled in between where the electricity clicks on and electrocuted him. Basically a GIANT spider leg caused my air to cease operation. AWESOME.

That is the most ridiculous item of the day, so I will just go on and close there.

Thursday, August 23, 2007

Sometimes...

Sometimes...I get lonely. I work from home. So although I enjoy the flexibility sometimes the walls close in on me. I have to get out. Einstein Brother's Bagels opened today on campus so I decided to scoot to campus and check it out. I love those days where everything just clicks into place. A friend of mine is in vet school. She is off for the next 2 weeks. She took me to breakfast at the bagel place. While on campus, I stopped by Handsome Hubby's office. I ended up getting invited to lunch.

As I have mentioned before...all of our friends are married. There are very few single people that would hang out with us. We are not that much fun for crazy singles. So lunch was in order with two couples that we are very good friends with. After lunch I snuck over to a paint my own pottery place. I painted my husband this adorable picture frame. All in all it turned into a great day. HOWEVER...I got ZERO ZERO work done.

Sometimes....I get hung up in being perfect. Being a PhD Student often means redefining yourself DAILY. I used to be a PERFECT student. These days I try to just be an all right student. I still get on the perfect student roller coaster on occasion. A friend of mine called me crying. She was ready to quit school after 4 days of a Ph.D. program. Unfortunately I can identify. I know what she is going through. I know how difficult it can be. When she asked me how I did it...I just recall a dogmatic optimism that I promised I would get myself through. No matter what...I wasn't going to back down. She seemed shocked that that was my answer. I worry about her. I am concerned she won't make it.

Sometimes....I just have to quit worrying about everyone else. I just gotta worry about me. And TONIGHT...I need to go to bed.

Wednesday, August 22, 2007

And somewhere he runs free...


This morning I had set up an embassy in the dining room. I work from home, and while I would like to only work in the office it just doesn't work for me. My bohemian (snark) nature doesn't allow being confined to one space. Sometimes I work in the den. Other times I set up on the breakfast bar...still others I sprawl on the master bedroom. I have set up camp on the kitchen table. I once worked in the guest room while I played the Wii. Needless to say I got very little work done that day. Luckily for me I have a 3 lb laptop so setting up for work involves locating my cell phone, and finding a plug.

We have this enormous 15ft window in our dining room. I was busily working away eating my morning breakfast of oatmeal and slurping down my first of many cups of hot tea. I was trying to decide which of my tasks to tackle first. When out of NOWHERE a humming bird flies right up to the picture window. We have about 30 humming birds that eat from our feeder out back so in the back yard it isn't odd to see them. However the dining room is not near the back yard.

The humming bird hovered watching me for the best part of 2 minutes. I watched him in wonder. It seems he had something to say. As he zoomed off my heart told me that somewhere up there a Chesapeake Bay Retriever roams free.

Tuesday, August 21, 2007

Things I learned as a 1st semester PhD student

I wrote this list out as I was going through these things as a first semester PhD student. These are some of my very best secrets on getting through that first semester. I also wanted to add in hindsight the first semester is difficult and it sucks. You will be much happier in your second year. You will not believe how miserable you were, and you will not believe how much happier the second year is. Of course 3rd year is comp year so that is something else altogether. Anyway here is the list! Enjoy!

1.) Always start with a research question when writing a paper.

2.) Study statistics every day from the beginning of the term.

3.) Stuff assigned in class is not merely a suggestion.

4.) Never let anyone pick your paper topics for you.

5.) End Note can save you loads of time from the beginning.

6.) Forget about going out. Kiss your social life good bye.

7.) Don’t assume that your undergraduate students are going to study.

8.) When in doubt spend 10 minutes trying to figure it out yourself then go ask someone.

9.) Get a picture of your spouse for your office you won’t see him/her anymore. And you don’t want to forget his/her face.

10.) Save time by not feeling like you have to be “super” anything.

11.) Try to remember that being a perfectionist won’t work. I have to do work that is good enough, but not perfect.

12.) If I wait until something is perfect I get nothing done.

13.) Start everything as early as possible.

14.) Just because I have everything done doesn’t mean there is not still stuff to do.

15.) A study schedule is not a bad idea.

16.) Attend those workshops at the library they really help.

17.) End Note class at the library helps.

18.) Don’t be afraid to talk to other graduate students ahead of me they know what they are talking about.

19.) Daily prayer. I need it so I don’t kill somebody.

20.) When I am at the breaking point I need sleep staying up until 1 AM it won’t help. I need sleep.

21.) Asking your spouse for help is better than getting angry because he/she doesn’t anticipate what is going on.

22.) I need to communicate better with my spouse so he/she feels more in the loop.

Sunday, August 19, 2007

Something so obvious


I obviously do not need to blog and multi-task. My grammar and spelling were deplorable on that last post. Another topic I thought would be important to cover is a typical day in the life of a PhD student.

Graduate school is an odd place to be. You are a psuedo-student. Part student part professor (if you are teaching courses) part researcher part assistant. That makes absolutely no sense, but unfortunately it is absolutely true. You are neither an undergrad just trying to "get through." Nor are you are masters student that either "needs a promotion", "wanted to stay in school longer", or just "wants a better job." You are a doctoral student. This typically means you are expected to know many things you may or may not know. :) Your professors count on you to grade papers. Additionally you have the arduous task of teaching the courses that no one wants to teach in your department. You also have to do research projects. You have your very own taxing course work. You might also have departmental meetings and other seminars that you are required to attend. Finally you need to be working on research and publications.

In a PhD program a B is a bad grade. It is not failing, but it is frowned upon. Your coursework is important and can not be discounted. However you will be pulled in several directions at once to fulfill your obligations. You have never been assigned this much reading in your life at this point. Additionally every single one of your professors will act as though THEIR course is the ONLY course you are taking.

I outlined this typical day for a PhD student as a Normal Day. Please remember that at the beginning, middle, and end of term course work and obligations are likely to increase.

7:00 AM Alarm, hit snooze until 7:30
7:30 AM Get ready and go to school
8:00 - 9:15 AM Class
9:15 - 11:00 AM Break (It would be tempting to goof off here,go eat breakfast, play online, but your best bet here would be to do some homework, grade some papers or tackle some small task.)
11:00 - 12:15 Class
12:15 - 1:00 PM Lunch
1:00 - 3:30 PM Office hours (Students typically do not turn up. However it is very difficult to get work done at this time as everyone is in the office. Also at the beginning, middle, or end of term students do show up in droves). If students do not show up at least get started on some of the tasks you must tackle today.
3:30-4:45 PM Class
5:00 PM - 7:00 PM Read chapters and outline material for the class you teach tomorrow.
7:00 PM - 7:30 PM Eat dinner
7:30 PM - 9:00 PM Read chapters and outline material for classes you are taking
9:00 PM - 11:00 PM Work on homework for the stats class you are taking
11:00 PM - 12:00 AM Work on the research paper you are ridiculously behind on.
12:00 AM- 12:45 AM Come home and take care of anything you left at your house that must get done.
1:00 AM Lights out

Since this is a typical day. I also wanted to do a day at the end of term.

6:00 AM Get up you are tired, but you have been laying in bed worrying since 5:30. Time to get up.
6:30 - 8:00 AM Get to school. Work on the research paper you are most ridiculously behind on. Swear to yourself that next semester is going to be different.
8:00 AM - 9:15 AM Go to class. Swear under your breath at the amount of work that has just been assigned and wonder vaguely how that will get done.
9:15 - 11:00 AM Work furiously to complete your homework for your 11'o'clock class
11:00-12:15 Class wear under your breath at the amount of work that has just been assigned and wonder vaguely how that will get done.
12:15 - 12:20 PM Discover peanut butter crackers in your desk. Lunch! Nice!
12:20 PM - 3:30 PM Work on your research paper and homework for your 3:30 course. Answer student questions such as "How can I pass in your class?" and "Do I really have to take the final?" and "I am not going to graduate if I don't get an A in your class. Do you really want to make me not graduate?"
3:35 - 4:45 PM Arrive in class 5 minutes late because you could not get a student to leave your office.
4:45 - 5:00 PM Dinner
5:00 PM - 7:00 PM Finish you statistics, briefly outline the chapters...you will have to do more later there just is not time now.
7:00 - 9:30 Work on your research paper for one course. Email it in to your professor as a draft so that they know you are working on it.
9:30 - 9:45 Go visit the vending machines and make a pot of coffee
9:45 - 11:00 Work on your other research paper. Cobble it together into a draft and email it to your professor.
11:00 - 12:00 AM Briefly read over the material you have to teach tomorrow.
12:00 - 2:30 AM Read the articles your professor assigned to you. Try to get started reading chapters. Make a PowerPoint presentation for your course presentation. Realize it was one of your friend's birthdays and you did not call them. Send them an email to apologize. Grade the papers to hand back to your class. Grade papers for your professor's class.
3:00 AM Go home and fall asleep on the couch.