Here I go again...

I abandoned this blog a long time ago and keep thinking that now is the time to revive it for a diary of the next adventure in education and writing.  I was just accepted into a Ph.D. program.  I start that officially in 178 days.  Then it will be approximately five more years of education and a whole lot of money spent to put a few more letters after my name.

So why am I back?  Maybe to have a record of the next five years.  Maybe to vent and have a place to do so.  Maybe to just offer insights as someone doing a Ph.D. who already has tenure as a Senior Instructor at a top notch international university and has taught writing skills to graduate students. Maybe to do this degree differently, but then again, who doesn't say that when they start this whole adventure out?

I have 178 days to get ready to start on the right foot here.  Over 25 weeks.  That is a lot of time to be sure I am ready to go when I start.  Though keep in mind that I am doing this work while holding tenure and all the obligations within that position.

So what do I need to do to ensure I am as efficient and successful at this degree as possible?
*finish the course I am in
*start compiling a reading list
*take another course over the summer
*set up routines to ensure the important daily things get done (workflow, exercise, bills, sleep, relaxation, dating, hobbies, etc)
*plan fun things to look forward to
*eliminate unnecessary obligations
*revamp and tweak budget to accommodate tuition costs
*teach excellent courses
*plan fall and winter courses well in advance to ensure the least amount of last-minute stress (Ha!)

So it looks like I will still need to write something all over again.

Revamp

For those interested (and given that I haven't blogged in a very long time that is probably extremely few) I am revamping my blog and am going to attempt to use it for fun and reflection.

It may be a slow and sporatic process, but oh well.

Bedtime blogging

Why is it that I rarely get the urge to blog until the time I really should be nestled in bed reading some tres fun novel before drifting off into dreamland? Instead I decide that now is the perfect time to post my thoughts. Not that there is really much of a point since my irregular blogging habit has resulted in a myriad of disgruntled readers who probably don't even look here anymore. Sorry everyone. I am a disappointment as a blogger.

I am a bit amazed with my life right now. As average and boring it is, I am pretty pleased with it. My temp job is a blast and I work with some great people. I have been out and about catching up with lots of people that I have neglected. I am back at the gym again without an ounce of guilt about doing that instead of writing some crazy long document that somehow qualified me to be called Master (I stil get a kick out of that). I still have no real permanent prospects in the job market, but I am plopping my applications all over the place so someone somewhere will eventually like me enough to hire me. Oh yeah, and there is a pretty conspicuous absence in my life right now... stress rarely makes an appearance, which after the past several years is a nice change. People have actually remarked to me how much happier I look, so I must be doing something right.

Mom and Dad are coming up on the weekend for my convocation ceremony. I skipped my undergrad one, but this one seems a bit more important to me. It still feels like a bit of a hassle and I know the ceremony will be long-winded, but it will be worth it.

Insomnia

My defense went really well. Everything for my MA is done. I have a car. I went back to BC to visit family and old friends. I am housesitting in a lovely home. There is little stress in my life right now. I still can't sleep. Go figure.

Busy weekend and fun sightings

You know it was a good weekend when you are still recovering on Monday. There was a fantastic Burke-BQ at one of my colleague's homes on Friday night. It was a great time and good to catch up with all my University colleagues. In the theme of the evening I made a Par-rice-dox of Substance salad, which only true rhetoric heads will get the reference.

Then Saturday was a Pimp n' Hoes pub crawl to raise money for some friends of mine's wedding. That also was fun, though I really didn't go as all out on the costume as some others did. I was more of an executive ho. It was a lot of fun, but I think I may have to officially retire from pub crawls because they hurt the following day(s).

Oh oh oh, I have witnessed some fun and interesting things in the last month that I wanted to share.

• I experienced my very first random high-five, which probably requires some explanation: A complete stranger was walking in the opposite direction from me near the bowl on campus. He looked at me and must have recognized that I just submitted my thesis recently. He raised his hand and asked, "High five?" I said, "Why not?" and slapped his hand. Then we just kept on walking. It just made my day.
  
• Not long after that I saw a bird bathing itself in a puddle and just stopped and marvelled at it for a while.
  
• One morning, Carla and I were out for a walk and saw a hot air balloon being filled and then on our way back saw it being launched. There is just something magical and romantic about hot air balloons. I don't know what it is, but they just make me smile.
  
• Last week, I was just knocking on someone's door and I saw some guy riding a large unicycle down the street. It was just odd and wonderful randomness.
  
• Today, sitting in an office at SIAST, a robin was sitting on a branch of a tree just by my window and watching me like I was an odd little creature in the zoo. It watched me for a good 5 minutes before flying away. Who knew I was so fascinating to birds?
  

Somehow it all feels like I am living in a happy quirky little movie, where the director pops in something weird and wonderful just to see if anyone notices. I kinda like it :o)

I'm back...

After a 2 month hiatus from my blog, much writing, marking, and general academic writhing I have one word to say if my poor beaten brain can remember it...

Subjugate?

Submerged?

Sublet?

Subversive?

Submarine?

Submissive?

Oh yeah... SUBMITTED!!

Now to prep a defence talk whilst I wait for the verdict from my supervisor, and then the committee. Le eek.

Why do I feel like I was just run over by a train though?

So, soon I am going to have to change my subtitle of my blog because I will soon be without thesis, and, for those of you who don't know, I am without my cat. I had to put her down last week, which was quite unexpected. I am doing much better this week but last week was quite the trial. I am going to miss Myrah more than my thesis though. This has been quite the term.

Adventures in teaching

I was teaching my class as usual today, when I looked down at the floor and saw a huge mouse scampering across the front of the class. I have to say, normally while I teach very little phases me, but this mouse freaked me right out. According to my students, I stopped dead in my sentence, squeaked, and stared at the floor. The thing was massive! It was about 3/4s the size of my computer mouse and for the fuzzy kind, that is pretty damn big. As soon as my students saw what I was staring out, about 6 of them started to try and catch the mouse, while I squealed at the front of the class. It was a circus in there for 5 minutes. Once the mouse escaped, I got them back in their seats and continued, albeit a bit shaken. I can't believe how much of a girl I was about the whole thing.

Now to do this to my students...



Okay, soon it will be done right back to me on my thesis, so I should try and be nice.