I'm pretty sure I just Morning Breeze Glade-ed the shit out of my hair...
Greetings! Since last we spoke it has been...well a good damn while. Hi. How are ya?
The summer seemed like a last hurrah of feeling like an irresponsible undergrad and now I sit, 8-ish or so in the morning with a cup of chai in my hands bright-eyed and bushy tailed ready to start the day.
Being unemployed this past summer was really fun, allowing me to take several weekend trips round the Olympic national park, go to the San Juan Islands twice and even see some Orcus tare it up in their native habitat. I also was able to intern at KEXP and while I missed volunteering and getting to see some amazing shows at both the Cap Hill Block Party and Bumbershoot, I have been privy to some pretty rad in-studio performances. I accidentally ran into Gabriela from Rodrigo y Gabriela fame and a bunch of new amazing bands and I've gotten the chance to meet non-academics in the city for the first time.
But then reality hit hard as my money ran out and I was broke to the world for about 4 weeks until my fellowship kicked in. I do think that I have ever been so broke in my life so when my living stipend came through, I had to dish out so much back money to my creditors that I was again broke for another two weeks. The lesson of not having savings.
When I got this fellowship I don't think that I had really wrapped my mind around it until I resurfaced onto Miller Hall to see all of the new and past graduate students mingle and flow through their orientation activities. There a forgotten feeling of familiarity, of veteran-ship, overtook me and I realized that I have been the new person for so so many years and as chatted with friends and colleagues that I missed this summer and new students, I felt the full force of both my 2nd year and fellowship status responsibilities. In an budget crises, the full four year fellowship given to just a handful of students is pretty unprecedented and I had to play the dance of both being excited and humble for many of my friends were strapped for funding. For the first time, I have an income that is somewhat livable, extra money for professional organizations, travel for conferences around the US and money for any research expenses. I suppose that I have always been a rise to the occasion kind of gal, and if there was any occasion to rise to, this is it.
So several weeks ago, I overtook the herculean task of combing through my 500+ facebook pictures and untagging/deleting any questionable pictures that may come back to haunt me as I progress into professional life. These are some things that I picked up on while browsing...
1. I have had a lot of fun over the past 5 years.
2. I drank a lot.
3. I've been blessed with knowing some amazing people.
4. While seemly stuck with long periods of stagnation, I've actually accomplished a lot.
5. That there are no acceptable pictures of me in my Halloween 2006 outfit.
6. Living in Austin made me much tanner and fitter.
7. I need to set up times to see my best friends more often.
Also, several comments about how nice I look when I put a little effort to dress in something other than jeans and t-shirts at school has also inspired me to try a little harder in the dressing department. I had to buy professional garb sometime. Lastly in an impulse effort to be proactive, I may have purchased about 4 books on how to finish your dissertation. I suppose the times of research soul searching are over, and I've got to commit to something on paper.
Anyways, time to prepare for a presentation tomorrow. Also, I am working on a Covers mix inspired by the KEXP pledge drive countdown as well as a part 2 from summer listenings. I'll send that out when I have a sec.
The summer seemed like a last hurrah of feeling like an irresponsible undergrad and now I sit, 8-ish or so in the morning with a cup of chai in my hands bright-eyed and bushy tailed ready to start the day.
Being unemployed this past summer was really fun, allowing me to take several weekend trips round the Olympic national park, go to the San Juan Islands twice and even see some Orcus tare it up in their native habitat. I also was able to intern at KEXP and while I missed volunteering and getting to see some amazing shows at both the Cap Hill Block Party and Bumbershoot, I have been privy to some pretty rad in-studio performances. I accidentally ran into Gabriela from Rodrigo y Gabriela fame and a bunch of new amazing bands and I've gotten the chance to meet non-academics in the city for the first time.
But then reality hit hard as my money ran out and I was broke to the world for about 4 weeks until my fellowship kicked in. I do think that I have ever been so broke in my life so when my living stipend came through, I had to dish out so much back money to my creditors that I was again broke for another two weeks. The lesson of not having savings.
When I got this fellowship I don't think that I had really wrapped my mind around it until I resurfaced onto Miller Hall to see all of the new and past graduate students mingle and flow through their orientation activities. There a forgotten feeling of familiarity, of veteran-ship, overtook me and I realized that I have been the new person for so so many years and as chatted with friends and colleagues that I missed this summer and new students, I felt the full force of both my 2nd year and fellowship status responsibilities. In an budget crises, the full four year fellowship given to just a handful of students is pretty unprecedented and I had to play the dance of both being excited and humble for many of my friends were strapped for funding. For the first time, I have an income that is somewhat livable, extra money for professional organizations, travel for conferences around the US and money for any research expenses. I suppose that I have always been a rise to the occasion kind of gal, and if there was any occasion to rise to, this is it.
So several weeks ago, I overtook the herculean task of combing through my 500+ facebook pictures and untagging/deleting any questionable pictures that may come back to haunt me as I progress into professional life. These are some things that I picked up on while browsing...
1. I have had a lot of fun over the past 5 years.
2. I drank a lot.
3. I've been blessed with knowing some amazing people.
4. While seemly stuck with long periods of stagnation, I've actually accomplished a lot.
5. That there are no acceptable pictures of me in my Halloween 2006 outfit.
6. Living in Austin made me much tanner and fitter.
7. I need to set up times to see my best friends more often.
Also, several comments about how nice I look when I put a little effort to dress in something other than jeans and t-shirts at school has also inspired me to try a little harder in the dressing department. I had to buy professional garb sometime. Lastly in an impulse effort to be proactive, I may have purchased about 4 books on how to finish your dissertation. I suppose the times of research soul searching are over, and I've got to commit to something on paper.
Anyways, time to prepare for a presentation tomorrow. Also, I am working on a Covers mix inspired by the KEXP pledge drive countdown as well as a part 2 from summer listenings. I'll send that out when I have a sec.