My third and final quarter officially commenced this week, and after much deliberation I think I've finally nailed down my last courses! Due to limits on the size of the seminar, I'll find out at noon today if the prof will let me in "Death, Mourning, and the Politics of Self-Sacrifice in the Middle East"--a class I'm really excited for and hoping I can take. Also, I decided to take "The Just War Tradition," a political philosophy course on Just War theory that considers early influences and writings like that of Augustine! I think it will be very interesting. My third course will be a thesis reading course, which basically suggests I take only two courses and focus the remainder of my time on my thesis. This also means, I only have one class on Tuesdays and another on Wednesdays... that's it! While that sounds like a slacker's schedule, I'm sure to need every minute of spare time for my thesis to have a rough draft completed in two-and-a-half weeks and a final draft in just over a month from now! Nine more weeks and I have my M.A.!!!
Don't ask, "then what?" I haven't the foggiest right now. But I do know I'm not going to Cairo for the Arabic program. I just got the e-mail last week. In fact no one who applied from my program was accepted. I was disappointed, but also relieved a bit to know something definite and have more space to see friends, family, find a job, participate in weddings, and transition out of graduate school a bit less abruptly.
In other news, I'm considering participating in Chicago's 10-mile Lake run along Lake Michigan at the end of April. I only just started "training" this week, so we'll see how that goes before I commit.
Also, I feel an apology is in order. My hope was that this blog would be a means to develop more illuminating thoughts and observations that serve relevant cultural discussions at some level. Hopefully I'll find time to write less schedule-type, life event lists and contribute more meaningful postings. But for now, back to thesis work.
Thursday, April 3, 2008
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
Catching Up
It's been an eventful two weeks! I finished out the winter quarter with a slam-bang, comprehensive final on St. Patrick's Day and then proceeded to go out with others from my program (and including Courtney) to Wrigley Ville to celebrate. Let's just say it was more of a college experience than what I actually experienced in college. It was fun but exhausting. Anyway, next day, Courtney and I returned to the city for dinner and a show at the Steppenwolfe--a well known live theatre company and venue in north Chicago. We had a blast! That was Tuesday. Thursday, we left to return to Nebraska. Courtney had flown in on a one-way ticket so we could drive back. We spent Easter weekend with family, first with her's, then mine, and then her with her's again. It was much needed, quality time.
Then, I had planned to return to Chicago to focus on my thesis last Tuesday, two days after Easter. I discovered that I could still get work done in Lincoln and ended up delaying my return until Sunday, go figure. It was great to have the extended time with Courtney and a few other friends, and still get work done! I did drive back on Sunday in time to do laundry and get ready for my first day of classes on for my last quarter on Monday, yesterday. Today, I've already missed my train, haha. I set my alarm for 5:30 PM and not AM; and since I haven't had to get up at that ungodly hour for some time, I didn't wake up till 7:00. Dangit. But, i was probably going to drop the class anyway, so it's ok. Today and tomorrow will be largely comprised of visiting courses and trying to nail down which classes I want/need to take since I'll only be taking two and working on my thesis to have in completed by May 9th if I can! Pray for diligence!
Then, I had planned to return to Chicago to focus on my thesis last Tuesday, two days after Easter. I discovered that I could still get work done in Lincoln and ended up delaying my return until Sunday, go figure. It was great to have the extended time with Courtney and a few other friends, and still get work done! I did drive back on Sunday in time to do laundry and get ready for my first day of classes on for my last quarter on Monday, yesterday. Today, I've already missed my train, haha. I set my alarm for 5:30 PM and not AM; and since I haven't had to get up at that ungodly hour for some time, I didn't wake up till 7:00. Dangit. But, i was probably going to drop the class anyway, so it's ok. Today and tomorrow will be largely comprised of visiting courses and trying to nail down which classes I want/need to take since I'll only be taking two and working on my thesis to have in completed by May 9th if I can! Pray for diligence!
Monday, March 10, 2008
New Zealand Nonsense... gotta love it!
Don't ask how or why I have time to find these things. Can you tell it's the last week of the quarter and I'm stressed out with three papers and an exam?
Friday, March 7, 2008
It's scary how much of this is true
You Just Might Be a Graduate Student If...
you can identify universities by their internet domains.
you are constantly looking for a thesis in novels.
you have difficulty reading anything that doesn't have footnotes.
you understand jokes about Foucault.
the concept of free time scares you.
you consider caffeine to be a major food group.
you've ever brought books with you on vacation and actually studied.
Saturday nights spent studying no longer seem weird.
the professor doesn't show up to class and you discuss the readings anyway.
you've ever traveled across two state lines specifically to go to a library.
you appreciate the fact that you get to choose *which* twenty hours out of the day you have to work.
you still feel guilty about giving students low grades (you'll get over it).
you can read course books and cook at the same time.
you schedule events for academic vacations so your friends can come.
you hope it snows during spring break so you can get more studying in.
you've ever worn out a library card.
you find taking notes in a park relaxing.
you find yourself citing sources in conversation.
you've ever sent a personal letter with footnotes.
you can analyze the significance of appliances you cannot operate.
your carrel is better decorated than your apartment.
you have ever, as a folklore project, attempted to track the progress of your own joke across the internet.
you are startled to meet people who neither need nor want to read.
you have ever brought a scholarly article to a bar.
you rate coffee shops by the availability of outlets for your laptop.
everything reminds you of something in your discipline.
you have ever discussed academic matters at a sporting event.
you have ever spent more than $50 on photocopying while researching a single paper.
there is a microfilm reader in the library that you consider "yours."
you actually have a preference between microfilm and microfiche.
you can tell the time of day by looking at the traffic flow at the library.
you look forward to summers because you're more productive without the distraction of classes.
you regard ibuprofen as a vitamin.
you consider all papers to be works in progress.
professors don't really care when you turn in work anymore.
you find the bibliographies of books more interesting than the actual text.
you have given up trying to keep your books organized and are now just trying to keep them all in the same general area.
you have accepted guilt as an inherent feature of relaxation.
you reflexively start analyzing those Greek letters before you realize that it's a sorority sweatshirt, not an equation.
you find yourself explaining to children that you are in "20th grade."
you start referring to stories like "Snow White, et al."
you frequently wonder how long you can live on pasta without getting scurvy.
you look forward to taking some time off to do laundry.
you have more photocopy cards than credit cards.
you wonder whether APA style allows you to cite talking to yourself as "personal communication."
you can identify universities by their internet domains.
you are constantly looking for a thesis in novels.
you have difficulty reading anything that doesn't have footnotes.
you understand jokes about Foucault.
the concept of free time scares you.
you consider caffeine to be a major food group.
you've ever brought books with you on vacation and actually studied.
Saturday nights spent studying no longer seem weird.
the professor doesn't show up to class and you discuss the readings anyway.
you've ever traveled across two state lines specifically to go to a library.
you appreciate the fact that you get to choose *which* twenty hours out of the day you have to work.
you still feel guilty about giving students low grades (you'll get over it).
you can read course books and cook at the same time.
you schedule events for academic vacations so your friends can come.
you hope it snows during spring break so you can get more studying in.
you've ever worn out a library card.
you find taking notes in a park relaxing.
you find yourself citing sources in conversation.
you've ever sent a personal letter with footnotes.
you can analyze the significance of appliances you cannot operate.
your carrel is better decorated than your apartment.
you have ever, as a folklore project, attempted to track the progress of your own joke across the internet.
you are startled to meet people who neither need nor want to read.
you have ever brought a scholarly article to a bar.
you rate coffee shops by the availability of outlets for your laptop.
everything reminds you of something in your discipline.
you have ever discussed academic matters at a sporting event.
you have ever spent more than $50 on photocopying while researching a single paper.
there is a microfilm reader in the library that you consider "yours."
you actually have a preference between microfilm and microfiche.
you can tell the time of day by looking at the traffic flow at the library.
you look forward to summers because you're more productive without the distraction of classes.
you regard ibuprofen as a vitamin.
you consider all papers to be works in progress.
professors don't really care when you turn in work anymore.
you find the bibliographies of books more interesting than the actual text.
you have given up trying to keep your books organized and are now just trying to keep them all in the same general area.
you have accepted guilt as an inherent feature of relaxation.
you reflexively start analyzing those Greek letters before you realize that it's a sorority sweatshirt, not an equation.
you find yourself explaining to children that you are in "20th grade."
you start referring to stories like "Snow White, et al."
you frequently wonder how long you can live on pasta without getting scurvy.
you look forward to taking some time off to do laundry.
you have more photocopy cards than credit cards.
you wonder whether APA style allows you to cite talking to yourself as "personal communication."
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
The Good Ol' Days
I know I have already posted once today, but it can't be helped. I feel compelled. I've been listening to "old" worship music all day as I've been writing and studying and as a result I'm finding myself frequently overwhelmed with memories from my music past. Music from Sud.z worship to Cru and Greekside, and finally Grace Chapel. Songs like "Shane and Shane - You Said," "Waterdeep - You Are Beautiful," "Ten Shekel Shirt - Unashamed Love," "Starfield - Filled With Your Glory," "Delirious - My Glorious," "Jars of Clay - Faith Like a Child/Worlds Apart" (these remind me of Jesse Davy--that was a while ago, ehh Jess :), speaking of JOC, "the Valley Song," "Kutless - Better is One Day," "S&S - In the Secret," "Downhere - Great are you"... I could go on and on.
Needless to say, I've been steeped in hopeless sentimentalism all day. Each song brings back a flood of fond memories of the hours spent practicing, selecting songs, and "performing" at various events. Many of the people involved who interacted with me so much and have had an impact on my life in differing and meaningful ways... from Raul, the Davys... now including Michel and Crystal, Jay, Jeff Cloud, Dez, Joe Heider, Aaron of course, Kous, Poopy pants McChance (haha), Martha & Ernie, Browny, Parks (I know I'm excluding too many people)... the list goes on. I'm resisting the urge to write, "Thank you for the memories" and seal the deal on this cheesy memorandum. It's crazy to think about now for some reason, though--the feeling of playing on a night when everything goes well and everyone's into. Or the nights when everything goes wrong and your reminded of your fallen humanity, en masse. The outside opportunities to perform (i.e. the unforgettable A-Phi Fiesta). The few but exhilarating opportunities to record. I miss it all. Music, though lately absent, has been and will remain, God willing, an essential in my life. I needed to say this. Thanks.
Needless to say, I've been steeped in hopeless sentimentalism all day. Each song brings back a flood of fond memories of the hours spent practicing, selecting songs, and "performing" at various events. Many of the people involved who interacted with me so much and have had an impact on my life in differing and meaningful ways... from Raul, the Davys... now including Michel and Crystal, Jay, Jeff Cloud, Dez, Joe Heider, Aaron of course, Kous, Poopy pants McChance (haha), Martha & Ernie, Browny, Parks (I know I'm excluding too many people)... the list goes on. I'm resisting the urge to write, "Thank you for the memories" and seal the deal on this cheesy memorandum. It's crazy to think about now for some reason, though--the feeling of playing on a night when everything goes well and everyone's into. Or the nights when everything goes wrong and your reminded of your fallen humanity, en masse. The outside opportunities to perform (i.e. the unforgettable A-Phi Fiesta). The few but exhilarating opportunities to record. I miss it all. Music, though lately absent, has been and will remain, God willing, an essential in my life. I needed to say this. Thanks.
Tacit Tensions and Anticipated Times
There seems to be a growing, implicit sense of urgency as I approach the end of my second of three quarters. Two weeks from now, my classes will be completed for the quarter--3 papers and a final exam yet to complete. I am also officially in critical, thesis crunch time. I have a month and half to write the sucker and my thesis adviser will return to Israel in two weeks leaving me extremely limited face-to-face time. It is good that I will have nearly two weeks off between this and the next quarter to devote my energies to serious writing--though my time will not be wholly spent on studies.
In the midst of it all, the need to consider the future is also feeling pressing. It turns out I have missed my best opportunity to pursue the State Department next year, the Presidential Management Fellowship, though it is not out of the question for the following year (hopefully). I do expect to hear of the Critical Language Scholarship opportunity in Cairo in the next 3 weeks or so, which could help begin to clarify things. As I consider post-Chicago options and interests, whether jobs or further schooling, it seems like things are beginning to point in the direction of D.C.--a place I don't think even seriously crossed my mind a year ago. We will have to see.
But, despite these tensions and expectations, it is an exciting time of life. Yesterday I talked with a Civil Service Agent with the State Department in the Nuclear Proliferation and WMD program, a CIR alum (my program) from 2003. Hearing her talk about her job was exciting to think about in terms of my own future. A part of me perhaps never thought about venturing terribly far from home (NE) for very long outside of academics, and I feel my ability to allow myself to think bigger has been recently growing. We will see what God has in store. Isn't it an interesting journey?
In the midst of it all, the need to consider the future is also feeling pressing. It turns out I have missed my best opportunity to pursue the State Department next year, the Presidential Management Fellowship, though it is not out of the question for the following year (hopefully). I do expect to hear of the Critical Language Scholarship opportunity in Cairo in the next 3 weeks or so, which could help begin to clarify things. As I consider post-Chicago options and interests, whether jobs or further schooling, it seems like things are beginning to point in the direction of D.C.--a place I don't think even seriously crossed my mind a year ago. We will have to see.
But, despite these tensions and expectations, it is an exciting time of life. Yesterday I talked with a Civil Service Agent with the State Department in the Nuclear Proliferation and WMD program, a CIR alum (my program) from 2003. Hearing her talk about her job was exciting to think about in terms of my own future. A part of me perhaps never thought about venturing terribly far from home (NE) for very long outside of academics, and I feel my ability to allow myself to think bigger has been recently growing. We will see what God has in store. Isn't it an interesting journey?
Friday, February 29, 2008
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