busy

i feel quite committed to writing this blog. but everyday i come home so tired, so bone dead tired that aside from doing laundry or dishes - it's hard to do anything else. i know some of this stress comes from the two classes i'm teaching and the ton of volunteer work i do. but still.

about 5 weeks into the semester - each day is getting busier. i've got exams and presentations and papers all lined up one after another. i need to start working on term papers, even if they are not due till the end of the semester so i'm not going crazy in the end.

when do i do my term papers?

another great week at grad school. i love the program so far. but now panic is creeping in. we have 11 weeks left and i have many term papers to do and i need to start working on them. i just don't know when.

sunday

one of the books that i want to own someday is called bird by bird by anne lamott. the title bird by bird comes from her younger brother realizing the day before school starts (i'm writing this from memory - so i'm mistaken somewhere - please feel free to correct me) that he forgot to do this big summer project about birds. and his father puts his arm around her brother's shoulder and says, “Bird by bird, buddy. Just take it bird by bird.”

i was panicking this morning. and i'm still panicking a bit about the immense amount of work i have this week. and i've completed the two discussion questions for crs 620 and finished 2 of the 3 pages for crs 713. i am feeling a bit better. still panicking a bit. but i know i can do this. bird by bird.

why it makes sense

i love qualitative research. but i also want to teach at a business school. you see the dilemma?

so i asked a very dear friend of mine (who is a professor at UNCG) if doing qualitative research would affect my employability at business school.

she replied: I think you should follow your passions rather than worry about what you should be doing. If you take classes so you will be hired to teach that you don't want to take, then you might end up stuck teaching subjects that you don't really care about. Teaching what you are passionate about would likely be much better. Don't you think?

such simple advice. but so true.

dissertation

i had my first meeting with my dissertation chair yesterday. i am so excited. i really got along with my last advisor (from my masters at university of arizona) and we're still in touch. i love her. we didn't share many of the same research interests - but she had my best interests in my mind and that mattered a lot to me. this time, i think hopefully we'll have the same research interests and she'll have my best interests in mind too.

i am excited. i have had some ideas about what kind of research i wanted to do ever since i saw dr. mimi nichter's exhibit and book called fat talk at the center for creative photography at the university of arizona. it was one of those things that stays with you forever and ever.

and so begins the journey

wasted weekend

i thought i would accomplish so much over this labor day weekend. and i did try. but accomplished little. as my facebook status said today: i spent $4.35 on a fruit smoothie which probably contained about 500 calories and read ONE paper. that's it. one article. it sucks. thankfully, i got some more reading done later today. but nowhere close to how productive i thought i would be.

in good news though, i did go kayaking! it was fantastic. and i did see the movie - kick ass. well, not such a wasted weekend, was it?