hello world
I swear, it feels as though this year is just flying past. I woke up this morning and realized that it's already halfway through February. How did that happen?
There are so many things I both want and need to get done, and it just seems as though there are never enough hours in the day. In any day, really. For example, here's a look at my task list for today:
Task List, Saturday, February 16th, 2008
* School: Complete final draft of closed defense paper for thesis committee chair (deadline Monday 8 am)
* Work: Summary outline of new research proposal idea, including background, significance, feasibility, rough methods, and funding estimate, in rough format suitable for boss and collaborator to use to present to higher management (deadline Monday 9 am)
* Personal: Complete fiction piece to send to EB (deadline Monday before noon)
* School: Complete reading for occupational/environmental health (deadline Monday 1 pm)
* School: Three-page essay on social networking (deadline Monday 4 pm)
* School: Critical analysis of and summary write-up incorporating peer review comments on my pre-prospectus presentation of dissertation concepts and methods (deadline Monday 4 pm)
* RP: final version of letter from M. (overdue 1 week, new deadline tonight)
* RP: tag/check outstanding slowtime threadcount (four items)
* Fic: ficlet prompt response for G. (M-S)
* Financial: Pay bills, sort accounts (multiple)
* House: Clean and do laundry (if time; if not, put on tomorrow's list)
Yeah. That's just one day, and that's just the things I can plan for and schedule. At the same time, though, I don't feel stressed about it, or not exactly; I just tend to organize it all ruthlessly and then run at a breakneck pace until the stopping point when my brain sends down the order of "right that's enough", at which time I fall over exhausted for a while.
Oddly enough, I'm getting more sleep that way.
It strikes me that I haven't talked much about what exactly it is I'm doing with work and school in quite a while. As I've gotten a few questions on it recently, here's a short summary of just what's been going on around here.
I'm about nine months in to what I suppose is technically no longer a "new" job, and I'm still enthralled with it. I did end up getting the opportunity that I thought I would, back in August, which means that instead of an "intermittent" part-time/contract person I'm now a 0.6 FTE permanent employee, and I don't expect that I'm going anywhere any time soon.
The reason I'm only 0.6 instead of 1.0 (24 hours a week, technically, instead of 40) is because I'm still in school, and it's by my choice-- the opportunity's there for more, when I want it. But not only are they incredibly flexible and willing to work with me and around my schedule on school-related things, both my boss and my colleague(s) are actively trying to help protect my time for thesis and dissertation pursuits so that I don't get overloaded, which is an incredible blessing, let me tell you.
My job title is "research project coordinator," which means I do a lot of project management and cat-herding. However, I'm also funded to do research of my own on one project (20% of my time), with more chances for similar projects lying ahead. There are publication opportunities, presentation opportunities, and once I finish my degree work there are opportunities there too at the PhD level, both in-system and through a collaborative agreement with the university, which makes me very happy. So, we'll see how it goes, but right now I'm right where I want to be and doing exactly the sorts of things I want to be doing, which is wonderful.
I'm in the last semester of actual classwork for both the MSPH and the PhD, which is good in terms of scheduling. I'm taking two courses this semester, one on each side of the degree line. I'm also working on completing all the pieces for the thesis project, at which point (if nothing goes wrong) I'll receive the MSPH in May, and be clear to turn all my academic time toward the PhD.
I mentioned above in my task list that I have to do a write-up and analysis of comments received in peer review recently -- basically what happened there is that I spent the last two class sessions (3 hours each, two weeks, six hours total) presenting on a project idea that could (and probably will) be developed into my dissertation. This was a bit ahead of schedule (by oh, about 3 months), and is a large part of why I have been so very absent for at least the last two weeks, while I was frantically trying to get everything ready to go. However, it's done now, and I'm ahead of schedule on that score instead of behind or on par, which can only be useful. The goal is to use this summer to select a committee, finalize a prospectus, and apply for (lots of) funding, with the idea of defending in the fall and being fully funded by spring so that I can do the work. (I could do it without funding. I'd really rather not try.) If all goes on schedule there, I'll receive the PhD in May 2010, which is a year later than I was ideally hoping -- but given that I'll have completed two degrees in 5 years flat while working for the last half of it, I think it's good.
So. That's what's going on with me, most of the time. Oh, there are other things, too, like choir and getting over being sick (finally) and having agonistes as a roommate (which is awesome) and fandom-type stuff (I'm still incoherent about Thursday's SPN, and I cannot EXPRESS how glad I am that the WGA strike is over for many reasons, but especially that we'll be getting more SPN in April) but I'll write about all that later, as this post is already very long.
So that's pretty much it for right now, I think -- I'm going to get back to work. Hope Saturday is going well for all of you, too.
There are so many things I both want and need to get done, and it just seems as though there are never enough hours in the day. In any day, really. For example, here's a look at my task list for today:
Task List, Saturday, February 16th, 2008
* School: Complete final draft of closed defense paper for thesis committee chair (deadline Monday 8 am)
* Work: Summary outline of new research proposal idea, including background, significance, feasibility, rough methods, and funding estimate, in rough format suitable for boss and collaborator to use to present to higher management (deadline Monday 9 am)
* Personal: Complete fiction piece to send to EB (deadline Monday before noon)
* School: Complete reading for occupational/environmental health (deadline Monday 1 pm)
* School: Three-page essay on social networking (deadline Monday 4 pm)
* School: Critical analysis of and summary write-up incorporating peer review comments on my pre-prospectus presentation of dissertation concepts and methods (deadline Monday 4 pm)
* RP: final version of letter from M. (overdue 1 week, new deadline tonight)
* RP: tag/check outstanding slowtime threadcount (four items)
* Fic: ficlet prompt response for G. (M-S)
* Financial: Pay bills, sort accounts (multiple)
* House: Clean and do laundry (if time; if not, put on tomorrow's list)
Yeah. That's just one day, and that's just the things I can plan for and schedule. At the same time, though, I don't feel stressed about it, or not exactly; I just tend to organize it all ruthlessly and then run at a breakneck pace until the stopping point when my brain sends down the order of "right that's enough", at which time I fall over exhausted for a while.
Oddly enough, I'm getting more sleep that way.
It strikes me that I haven't talked much about what exactly it is I'm doing with work and school in quite a while. As I've gotten a few questions on it recently, here's a short summary of just what's been going on around here.
I'm about nine months in to what I suppose is technically no longer a "new" job, and I'm still enthralled with it. I did end up getting the opportunity that I thought I would, back in August, which means that instead of an "intermittent" part-time/contract person I'm now a 0.6 FTE permanent employee, and I don't expect that I'm going anywhere any time soon.
The reason I'm only 0.6 instead of 1.0 (24 hours a week, technically, instead of 40) is because I'm still in school, and it's by my choice-- the opportunity's there for more, when I want it. But not only are they incredibly flexible and willing to work with me and around my schedule on school-related things, both my boss and my colleague(s) are actively trying to help protect my time for thesis and dissertation pursuits so that I don't get overloaded, which is an incredible blessing, let me tell you.
My job title is "research project coordinator," which means I do a lot of project management and cat-herding. However, I'm also funded to do research of my own on one project (20% of my time), with more chances for similar projects lying ahead. There are publication opportunities, presentation opportunities, and once I finish my degree work there are opportunities there too at the PhD level, both in-system and through a collaborative agreement with the university, which makes me very happy. So, we'll see how it goes, but right now I'm right where I want to be and doing exactly the sorts of things I want to be doing, which is wonderful.
I'm in the last semester of actual classwork for both the MSPH and the PhD, which is good in terms of scheduling. I'm taking two courses this semester, one on each side of the degree line. I'm also working on completing all the pieces for the thesis project, at which point (if nothing goes wrong) I'll receive the MSPH in May, and be clear to turn all my academic time toward the PhD.
I mentioned above in my task list that I have to do a write-up and analysis of comments received in peer review recently -- basically what happened there is that I spent the last two class sessions (3 hours each, two weeks, six hours total) presenting on a project idea that could (and probably will) be developed into my dissertation. This was a bit ahead of schedule (by oh, about 3 months), and is a large part of why I have been so very absent for at least the last two weeks, while I was frantically trying to get everything ready to go. However, it's done now, and I'm ahead of schedule on that score instead of behind or on par, which can only be useful. The goal is to use this summer to select a committee, finalize a prospectus, and apply for (lots of) funding, with the idea of defending in the fall and being fully funded by spring so that I can do the work. (I could do it without funding. I'd really rather not try.) If all goes on schedule there, I'll receive the PhD in May 2010, which is a year later than I was ideally hoping -- but given that I'll have completed two degrees in 5 years flat while working for the last half of it, I think it's good.
So. That's what's going on with me, most of the time. Oh, there are other things, too, like choir and getting over being sick (finally) and having agonistes as a roommate (which is awesome) and fandom-type stuff (I'm still incoherent about Thursday's SPN, and I cannot EXPRESS how glad I am that the WGA strike is over for many reasons, but especially that we'll be getting more SPN in April) but I'll write about all that later, as this post is already very long.
So that's pretty much it for right now, I think -- I'm going to get back to work. Hope Saturday is going well for all of you, too.