New Tradition! Every week I will have Line of the Week. This will either been a line I've written or from something I've read. This week it's a gem that I wish I could keep in my paper. Sigh. Maybe once I have tenure.
Presented (almost) without Comment
"Another episode of violence involves a drunken brawl over gambling debts, which hardly seems to indicate inter-ethnic violence, merely stupidity."
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
So about that once a week thing...
Sorry. Although really I'm writing for myself, so whatever. I guess I'll list these excuses so that I feel better about me and also to calm my OCD the eff down.
Reasons why I Haven't Written A Second Blog Post
1. Laziness: I could lie, but this was the main one. I also wish I could say that I was effortlessly clever, but I'm not. Therefore thinking of funny posts that others might read one day (hello future anthropologists/historians) takes times. Oops.
2. Papers: My life sucks right now. I have two papers to finish by Friday so I am pretty much a zombie.
3. Blogging: I only seem to have an uncontrollable urge to blog when I'm two coffees away from a seizure and I have papers due yesterday.
4. Scary Movies: I blame my friends for this one. Its not my fault that I live next to a movie theatre and have a subscription to netflix. STOP SUGGESTING AWESOME MOVIES BECAUSE I WILL WATCH ALL OF THEM. Enablers, that's what you all are.
5. My puppy: as work load increases, puppy cuteness increases as well. This is a well known mathematical formula. Suddenly everything she does is so lifechanging that I must observe it for the next 10 minutes. And take pictures.
So this has been my life for the last month. I bet you are pretty happy that I didn't post anything, because then you would have been sucked into the abyss of grad school with me.
On a positive note, making that list has tricked my OCD into thinking I've accomplished something! Woohooo!
Reasons why I Haven't Written A Second Blog Post
1. Laziness: I could lie, but this was the main one. I also wish I could say that I was effortlessly clever, but I'm not. Therefore thinking of funny posts that others might read one day (hello future anthropologists/historians) takes times. Oops.
2. Papers: My life sucks right now. I have two papers to finish by Friday so I am pretty much a zombie.
3. Blogging: I only seem to have an uncontrollable urge to blog when I'm two coffees away from a seizure and I have papers due yesterday.
4. Scary Movies: I blame my friends for this one. Its not my fault that I live next to a movie theatre and have a subscription to netflix. STOP SUGGESTING AWESOME MOVIES BECAUSE I WILL WATCH ALL OF THEM. Enablers, that's what you all are.
5. My puppy: as work load increases, puppy cuteness increases as well. This is a well known mathematical formula. Suddenly everything she does is so lifechanging that I must observe it for the next 10 minutes. And take pictures.
So this has been my life for the last month. I bet you are pretty happy that I didn't post anything, because then you would have been sucked into the abyss of grad school with me.
On a positive note, making that list has tricked my OCD into thinking I've accomplished something! Woohooo!
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Things Your Mother Never Told You...
....About grad school.
So it's 2 AM. I've just finished writing up an assignment for class. My puppy is happily snoring beside me. And I can't sleep. What do I do? Start a blog!
In an effort to actually become a good writer (and get myself to write), I'll try and write once a week (we'll see how long that lasts).
AHEM. now to the post.
Grad School. If these two seemingly innocuous words don't strike fear into your heart, you are either a) an undergrad or b) actually have a real job. And I'm horribly jealous of you. But with today's economic problems, grad school might seem like a perfect option for some of you (you'll regret this optimism later)!! So. Here's what I've learned in my first 2 years as a graduate student.
5 page papers are the bane of my existence. 20 pages-That I can handle no problem. 2- even better. But 5?!? That's just long enough to require some critical thought but not enough to warrant a significant motivational investment. The result= finishing papers after sitting in front of your computer for 5 hours. For serious. I watched 3 episodes of Project Runway (and started a Blog for Christ's sake) all in an effort to avoid this paper. Of course this is a weekly assignment to make things extra awesome.
The secretary of your department is either your best friend or your worst enemy. For reals, they know EVERYTHING!!! The secretary at my undergrad (henceforth known as Dragon Lady) used to turn the heat on in her lair to make us puny undergrads sweat. And if I asked her a question, my skin would melt off from the look she gave me. I mean its not like its her job to answer my questions or anything. Thankfully my new secretary is WONDERFUL!! DD has saved my life many times...even if she does confuse me with the other hispanic looking girl. The point is, once she figures out that I am not Maria, she fills me with knowledge and candy.
Stalk your advisor. Within a week if you don't have their phone number, private email and the intimate details of their daily life, then chances are you will spend most of your time trying to FIND them (I'm convinced there is a secret cave where they go to laugh at us as we desperately scour the campus looking for them). Luckily for my advisor, he does not have facebook...
If a fellow grad student invites you out for drinks or dinner, go. Congratulations, you've just met your new best friend/pity party/rage buddy. This is the only way you will survive grad school. FIND THIS PERSON ASAP.
And last, but not least, everyone around you is going through the exact same thing. So when you think that what you just said in class makes you sound like a dumbass, know that the person next to you probably thinks your brilliant and is in fact scared to talk to you because of said brilliance (although you might initially think this is because of the drastic drop in your standards of personal hygiene).
When all else fails, remember that someone is going to pay you to study in another country for a year, so suck it up and crank out those grant proposals.
<3
So it's 2 AM. I've just finished writing up an assignment for class. My puppy is happily snoring beside me. And I can't sleep. What do I do? Start a blog!
In an effort to actually become a good writer (and get myself to write), I'll try and write once a week (we'll see how long that lasts).
AHEM. now to the post.
Grad School. If these two seemingly innocuous words don't strike fear into your heart, you are either a) an undergrad or b) actually have a real job. And I'm horribly jealous of you. But with today's economic problems, grad school might seem like a perfect option for some of you (you'll regret this optimism later)!! So. Here's what I've learned in my first 2 years as a graduate student.
5 page papers are the bane of my existence. 20 pages-That I can handle no problem. 2- even better. But 5?!? That's just long enough to require some critical thought but not enough to warrant a significant motivational investment. The result= finishing papers after sitting in front of your computer for 5 hours. For serious. I watched 3 episodes of Project Runway (and started a Blog for Christ's sake) all in an effort to avoid this paper. Of course this is a weekly assignment to make things extra awesome.
The secretary of your department is either your best friend or your worst enemy. For reals, they know EVERYTHING!!! The secretary at my undergrad (henceforth known as Dragon Lady) used to turn the heat on in her lair to make us puny undergrads sweat. And if I asked her a question, my skin would melt off from the look she gave me. I mean its not like its her job to answer my questions or anything. Thankfully my new secretary is WONDERFUL!! DD has saved my life many times...even if she does confuse me with the other hispanic looking girl. The point is, once she figures out that I am not Maria, she fills me with knowledge and candy.
Stalk your advisor. Within a week if you don't have their phone number, private email and the intimate details of their daily life, then chances are you will spend most of your time trying to FIND them (I'm convinced there is a secret cave where they go to laugh at us as we desperately scour the campus looking for them). Luckily for my advisor, he does not have facebook...
If a fellow grad student invites you out for drinks or dinner, go. Congratulations, you've just met your new best friend/pity party/rage buddy. This is the only way you will survive grad school. FIND THIS PERSON ASAP.
And last, but not least, everyone around you is going through the exact same thing. So when you think that what you just said in class makes you sound like a dumbass, know that the person next to you probably thinks your brilliant and is in fact scared to talk to you because of said brilliance (although you might initially think this is because of the drastic drop in your standards of personal hygiene).
When all else fails, remember that someone is going to pay you to study in another country for a year, so suck it up and crank out those grant proposals.
<3
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