Forgive me family and friends, for I have
sinned. It's been 10 weeks since my last update. You'll notice that
the last update was the first week of the quarter. It's no accident
that the quarter ends next week, and this is the first chance I've
gotten to write. It's been a very busy time at work. I managed to make
it through Linear Algebra without dropping it when research got too
intense (well, I still have to take the final, but I am not worried).
The biggest news lately was that my birthday was a smashing success,
thanks to Jenea, the sweetest friend in the world! As many of you know,
she put together a Sark-esque journal for me with pages created by my
friends and family. I look through it and laugh and cry and feel a
million emotions at once. It is something I will treasure always.
I'll be home for the holidays on the 19th, so I'll see many of you then.
This will probably be my last update before I go home, so if I don't see
you, have a Merry Christmas! Anyone looking for gift ideas... I need a
down comforter and a sewing machine *wink wink*
Hugs to all!!
It's been a while since the last update,
but a lot has happened! My orals went off as planned. I passed after a
grueling 3 hours and some very important changes to my dissertation
project. Several days were spent celebrating and sleeping, and then I
was off to visit my family.
I spent much of my time back east wedding dress shopping with my sister.
We found the most gorgeous dress and she has ordered it. I'm not
allowed to say anything about it in case Brian reads this, but she looks
like a million bucks in it. (Of course she looked great in all of them
- that's why I hate her :) :) ) I think I successfully talked her out of
lilac and into navy for the bridesmaids-- a real coup. We found a dress
that I could actually *gasp* cut down and wear again.
I also went to Burning Man for the first time this year. To those who
have been, I need say no more. To those who have not, it was an
unparalleled experience. The playa is not for everyone, but I had a
fantastic time and am currently in that funny decompression stage of
seeking to keep that feeling with me back in the real world. It's not
particularly good for my productivity at work, but has rejuvenated the
passion I feel for some of the kinds of work I do. For me, Burning Man
reminded me why I chose this line of work in the first place, but has
also made it a little too clear which aspects of my daily routine have
nothing to do with those larger goals.
Upon returning, my roommate and I discovered we had to move. Quickly.
The next week was a flurry of classified ads, drive-bys, making nice
nice to prospective landlords, credit checks, and worry. But we are now
happily moved in to a new place and are nearly unpacked and settled.
Things are returning to normal. Classes started yesterday, my inbox is
flooded with mail about prospective research assistants and
organizational meetings, and the "To do" pile is increasing next to my
desk. The "Congratulations" balloon from my orals is deflated and
resting on my desk, but the smiley face one is still hovering. The weak
plants on my desk died in the month or so of neglect, but the hardy ones
waited for my return. Life is back on track.
Well, my proposal is written, revised,
re-written, re-revised, and off to my committee members. In a little
over a week, I'll be jumping through the last big grad school hoop
before actually turning in my dissertation. There is light at the end
of the tunnel! While procrastinating (I have to budget procrastination
time when I am writing), I discovered a new evil - eBay. It's all
Jenea's fault. I was outbid in the last 2 minutes on a beautiful
near-mint condition vintage Singer sewing machine. I have also
discovered that people get so caught up in bidding that they will pay
more than retail for things like cameras and photography books. This
new procrastination aide takes longer but is easier on my carpal tunnels
than Freecell. I have also been trying out the web site for the company
that Karl joined - MySimon. They are a
comparison shopping web site and they rock. I found things on there for
significantly cheaper than retail and cheaper than on Yahoo's shopping site
(they don't get a link because they're the competition).
In larger news, my sister got engaged this week! Yay! I am excited to
go wedding dress shopping with her and generally act like a girl with
planning. This is all assuming she doesn't go for the crunchy-style
hike-to-the-wedding-site version. Of all the siblings, I thought I'd be
the one to want a non-traditional outdoors wedding - who knew? I am
secretly (well not a secret anymore I guess) hoping she wants something
more traditional so I can help her plan. So next summer will be
interesting for the Schraedleys. My family schlepping out here for my
graduation. Eric graduating high school (Oh my God, I'm getting old!).
And now a wedding! I think Rob should start playing the lottery or
something...
Anyway, that's all the big news for now. Back to work for me...
Just got offered a fellowship from Stanford's
Institute for Research on Women and Gender. Woohoo! When it rains, it
pours! We are in the middle of a heat wave here. I have been
complaining about the unbearable heat and spending as much time in air
conditioning or the pool as possible. I am getting soft--I don't think
it's actually hit 90 yet... We are such babies here :)
Still at Stanford with a year left to go. I
should graduate next summer sometime. By then, I'll be done the Psych
PhD and a Masters in Stats too. I got a fellowship from the Stanford
Adolescent Center to do my research next year. (Yay!) I start
job-hunting in the fall (Yikes!) and am hoping to stay in the SF area,
but we'll see... I defend my dissertation proposal on August 11th, and
then take off for a much-earned vacation. Visiting my parents, and then
my friend Misha in Albuquerque, and then heading out to the desert for
Burning Man.
Love life is varied and interesting. No wedding bells in my near
future, but I'm certainly not sitting home on Friday nights! Since some
of the folks involved could potentially read this, you'll have to e-mail
me if you want more juicy gossip than that :)
In other news, I just started an aqua-aerobics class with Jenea. It's
fun, and makes me look like I spend time outdoors instead of sitting at
a computer all day :) I am also heading out to go climbing with Karl
this weekend, so I am keeping (kind of) in shape and managing to
maintain some level of balance even while things get more hectic at
work.
Very latest news: As of tomorrow, I will have a T1 line into my
apartment, so no more busy signals when I'm on-line.
That's all for now folks... Tune in for updates...December 2, 1999
September 23, 1999
August 2, 1999
July 12, 1999
July 6, 1999