Belated GPOYW. Final discussion section day of the quarter. Caffeinating with an iced espresso horchata. Yes. You read that right.

Belated GPOYW. Final discussion section day of the quarter. Caffeinating with an iced espresso horchata.

Yes. You read that right.

“When designing your study, you cannot just focus on what you will say if you find significance. Every doc student thinks their dissertation is going to revolutionize the field. No. This is not the case many times. So my advice to you, is hope for significance, but plan for non-significance. Those are the best research designs; the ones that still contribute to the field even when a significant value is not found.”

Dr. Dissertation Chair

This is such a simple, almost common sense idea that has dramatically transformed my approach to research design. Mind blown. 

(via randomrantings)

Weekly Check-In: May 21, 2012 

Obsessing Over: This is the last week of classes! I could not be more excited to finish coursework and TAing and finally to do my own research this summer.

Working On: About to dig into a political scientist’s take on violence in sacred space.

Thinking About: The presentation on my ethnography (non)project I have to give tonight. Also, I’m frustrated with biases against those with depression. Really? In our day and age? C’mon now.

Anticipating: See “obsessing over.” Also, the end of this day. Final 3-hour evening seminar!

Listening To: Background buzz at the student center.

Drinking: Water. Soon: coffee or latte.

Wishing: I weren’t backlogged with work. I hate being so behind. I need to close out my incompletes and dig into my second-year paper work. Like. Whoa.

Happy Monday, friends.

Plans

Planned to get up and run. Woke at 8, thought I had class at 11, realized I have to meet with students at 10.

No run. Convenient.

Good morning, Monday.

gradschoolroundtwo: srqm: (via From Graduate School to Welfare - Graduate Students - The Chronicle of Higher Education) Well, that’s depressing.  Happy Saturday?

gradschoolroundtwo:

srqm:

(via From Graduate School to Welfare - Graduate Students - The Chronicle of Higher Education)

Well, that’s depressing. 

Happy Saturday?

And!

Just got this e-mail from a fourth-year Ph.D. student in my department

Thanks Ariel!  You’ve done great work this year as our Pres.  I hope you’ll consider running for re-election.  You’re the best!

Holding onto these compliments and riding high today! These days are once-in-a-blue-moon days.

Wooo!

I’m going to be a Woo! girl for a second:

This morning, I presented the lecture I’m giving to my undergrads on Friday, to the professor for whom I TA - and she deemed it “phenomenal,” even saying she “couldn’t have done better” herself.

She added that several of my students have raved about me to her.

And she said that she thinks I really am a natural at this (teaching, working with students, crafting cohesive informative lectures, etc.).

Day made.

(Now to be productive with my own work this afternoon - and then dinner at Butcher & Burger and beers with friends after!)

Almost Thirsty Thursday

After a solid afternoon and night of rest and sleep and fluids and Tylenol Sinus, I am feeling so. much. better.

I prepped all my kiddos for their midterm tomorrow and met with several during my extended office hours. I actually managed to eat food today (since I can once again breathe through my nose), I sent e-mails to schedule Important Meetings, and I started constructing my PowerPoint for the lecture I’m going to give in a couple of weeks.

Now: off to therapy, followed by dinner and beers with some religion and materiality professors.

Tomorrow: Conference on Religion and Materiality all day, with a break in the middle for midterm administering and lunch/grading with the prof and co-TA, and then road trip with the poet to Detroit for the weekend!

Things are looking up. It feels so so good to feel better.

Life’s been crazy and out of sorts and wild and too much lately, but today I took a sort of break since a friend of mine is in from out of town and staying with me and serves as a legitimate reason to put my crazy on pause (at least for a few hours) and eat things that are so bad but so good. Over the past few days: lemon meringue pie from Sweet Mandy B’s, turkey club at Fraiche, pig-face poutine and escargot fries at the Barrelhouse Flat, and this afternoon… a rattlesnake hot dog at Hot Doug’s. I also purchased a sweet ’70s-era vintage dress for a friend’s summer wedding and a neon green t-shirt sweatshirt that pretty much rocks. Oh, and I really really like the poet. A lot. Butterflies. So, I kind of feel like this post doesn’t say all that much about my life right now, other than, “when stressed, enjoy the little things as much as you can.” Not a half-bad thought now that I look at it.

Life’s been crazy and out of sorts and wild and too much lately, but today I took a sort of break since a friend of mine is in from out of town and staying with me and serves as a legitimate reason to put my crazy on pause (at least for a few hours) and eat things that are so bad but so good.

Over the past few days: lemon meringue pie from Sweet Mandy B’s, turkey club at Fraiche, pig-face poutine and escargot fries at the Barrelhouse Flat, and this afternoon… a rattlesnake hot dog at Hot Doug’s.

I also purchased a sweet ’70s-era vintage dress for a friend’s summer wedding and a neon green t-shirt sweatshirt that pretty much rocks.

Oh, and I really really like the poet. A lot. Butterflies.

So, I kind of feel like this post doesn’t say all that much about my life right now, other than, “when stressed, enjoy the little things as much as you can.” Not a half-bad thought now that I look at it.

Hump day

I really am feeling The Weight right now.

Overextended is the best word for it, and I’m running out of steam, and I feel it in every fiber of my being. It’s the knot in my throat, the sloshing in my stomach, the tightness in my shoulders, the clenched jaw, the furrowed brow, the blurred vision, my quickened breath.

And I don’t see an end in sight. There’s no light at the end of this tunnel, and it’s terrifying.