Prospectus update November 22, 2008

My advisor returned my 2nd draft of my prospectus to me yesterday morning. A week isn’t bad turnaround at all, given that he was gone for about 3 days at a conference, and then (from what I gathered) came back to a shit-ton of work. We reviewed the draft together and he said that it was basically ready to send to my committee, save for a few small edits that I will take care of this weekend. Fingers crossed for an exam week defense (and a successful one, at that)!

I also need to start thinking about my paper for the conference. It’s not due until mid March, but I need to do a good bit of analysis and writing. I feel kind of bad that I just let that data sit dormant after I completed that study, but I had comps, then data collection, then prospectus writing, so there just wasn’t time. Now that I have time and a good reason to actually use the data, I don’t feel like I wasted my time and effort.

It looks like things are going to go down like this:

December ‘08: defend prospectus

January ‘09: write proposal; start working on old data

February: write conference paper; write proposal

March: finish conference paper; continue writing proposal, maybe have a first draft done?

April: present paper; write proposal

May: defend proposal; take at least a week off for surgery/recovery

June-August: finish writing dissertation, start looking for work

September/October: defend said dissertation; look for work

December: Graduate

Jan ‘10-May ‘10: Interview for jobs; prepare to move the hell out of here

In non-academic news, I just learned this morning that my dear cat Pitter died yesterday. The news hit me pretty hard. Pitter was the most loyal cat I think I’ve ever known, and I hadn’t seen him in a while (he lived with my dad). In less than 2 years I’ve lost 3 cats and a dog. People may say that pets are just animals, but why does it hurt so damn bad when they leave?

Requiescat in pace, kitty kitty.

Especially the drinking songs November 17, 2008

The legend Dave Brubeck

Last night, we went to a Dave Brubeck show in Memphis. Dave was playing with Bobby Militello (his usual saxophonist) and his sons Chris (bass) and Dan (drums), and it was FANTASTIC!!! Dave is nearly 88, but he plays like someone half his age. He’s just as sharp and technically precise as he ever was, and he has decades of seasoning that the rest of us can’t even dream of faking. He still loves what he does, and it’s obvious just watching him play. We should all be so lucky. He opened the set with “Memphis Blues.” He discussed the origins of the song, and then turned to the rest of quartet and said, “Give me a tango!” and the drum and bass laid down a beautiful, sensual tango rhythm. From this tango, they seamlessly launched into a classic blues. The bassist was just amazing. I absolutely adore it when someone who knows his way around a fretless electric. Sigh.

Before I was in my current program, I was working on a masters in musicology, so I always like a good discussion of music in its historical context. Brubeck talked about how jazz music is actually as much in the classical tradition as it is in the tradition of slave and African music because of the importance of improvisation. He’s a pretty big Bach fan (as am I), and mentioned that one of my favorite Bach chorales (O Sacred Head, Now Wounded) was actually a German drinking song. He said, “Bach knew that the church members would remember the tunes of popular songs, so he used them to write his music. Especially the drinking songs.” What a funny guy!

We also had a great dinner of Ethiopian food, which is a rare treat in the Freckles household. There are no Ethiopian restaurants for a 200 mile radius, and I do love all of those stewed veggies and the injera. Our hotel was also pretty decent, given that we scored it for a mere $40 (yay, Priceline!) and it was an extended stay place, so it had a kitchen. All in all, a successful trip.

Welcome to my humble abode November 14, 2008

I think so far that I like WordPress better. Importing all of my old posts, tags, etc. was pretty easy, and there seem to be a lot more options to customize things. Me likey!

Today I got the second of three shots designed to address the OHW. While I’m still constantly exhausted as fuck (I conked out on the floor around 9:20 last night when we had guests over to watch Top Chef, so I missed most of the episode), I am in so much less pain. I’m now realizing that I was in a hell of a lot of pain all of the time, but when it’s constant, you aren’t fully aware of it. I never want to feel that bad again! Being sleepy is a small price to pay for me not to drive home from work moaning in pain. After the 3rd shot, my doctor will do surgery to completely eradicate what ails me, and that should fix me up for at least a good 5 or 6 years. Being sick sucks on its own, but when you’re in grad school, it really sucks. It takes up all your energy, when you most need it to be productive. If I’ve been this productive, I can’t wait to see how much my productivity improves when my health significantly improves!

On Saturday, the spouse and I are going to Memphis to see the legendary Dave Brubeck perform. I saw him back in 2002 and he put on a hell of a show, and I’m even more excited for this show, because he’s playing with his sons. In a stroke of genius, we decided to get a hotel room for the night, rather than make a 4 hour drive back home at 11:00 PM. Driving exhuasted in the middle of the night through back roads in Mississippi is not my idea of a good time.  I should know because I did it after the last Brubeck show, and it’s a wonder I didn’t kill myself or someone else in the process.

In academic news, I turned in my revised (and hopefully final) version of my prospectus. I’m excited to defend it so that I can get on to the analysis and writing part of the process. I’m hoping that I have some good findings that will make for good articles, a good dissertation, and a good job. I also hope that I can be done by the end of next year, but if not, then so be it.

A change is gonna come… November 13, 2008

Blogger has apparently decided to delete posts on various blogs that contain musical clips (whether mp3 or video format), even when the author has the permission and indeed the enthusiasm of the artist or record label.

You can read some thoughts about it here and here.

I really don’t like this at all. While my blog isn’t a music blog, and I rarely if ever post any sort of video or audio on it, it rankles me to think of the possibility of my thoughts and my words being deleted by some anonymous Blogger tech simply because they perceive that I could be violating some copyright law (without first checking into the situation).

Therefore, I’ll be switching over to WordPress in the next day or so. Stay tuned for my new address.

Why the long face? November 11, 2008

I just found out that I had a paper accepted at a big national conference in my field. Needless to say, I was thrilled. Then I read the reviewers’ comments, and wondered how in the hell the proposal got accepted at all. Like my adviser said, “Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth.” Unfortunately this proposal was based on the data I collected last year, which I haven’t done anything with since about May. I guess that means I need to bust out the data and get to work. The conference is in San Diego, which will be awesome in itself, but it’s always good to write, build your vita, and try to get some publications out there.
In not so great news, I woke up this morning with incredibly red, bloodshot eyes. My first thought was, of course, pinkeye. As it turns out, I have allergic conjunctivitis, which is basically pinkeye not caused by viruses or bacteria, and hence not contagious. My allergies have been out of control lately, so it makes sense. Too bad it looks like I’ve been crying.
Today will be dedicated to finishing my revisions on my damn prospectus to turn it in tomorrow. I’ve had too much stuff getting in the way lately (sickness, going to a wedding, presentation in a class), and my productivity has suffered. I suppose it’s a good sign when all I really want to do is work on my research.

Campus observations November 7, 2008

Last year, my university implemented a bus system, presumably to cut down on car traffic and to make it a pedestrian friendly campus. While frat boys are still driving their Yukons to class (only to sleep during a lecture) and people are still getting run over, the system does seem to cut back on traffic somewhat. Plus, it’s nice to catch a bus to the other side of campus rather than trying to find parking yet again for the day. All of these buses have a marquee at the top of the windshield that tells you which route the bus runs (“CRIMSON” or “GOLD 1″ or some such). Lately, the bus marquees have been alternating the route name with “HAVE A NICE DAY.” It’s actually kind of cute.

Maybe it’s because of my advancing age, but I find myself more and more asking other people (in my head, of course), “What the hell were you thinking when you put that on?” Case in point: Ugg boots with shorts. Who told people that was attractive? If it’s cold, you wear boots. If it’s hot, you wear shorts. Wearing them together doesn’t make any damn sense! Also of questionable taste is the very short shorts preferred by male business majors. Um, no. Please, no. I don’t want there to be even a chance that I’ll catch a peek of your junk when you sit outside on the benches with your legs all spread out. Eww. I’m also quite unhappy about the fact that skinny jeans seem to be coming back into fashion. Boys, you don’t look good in them, and girls, you don’t, either. Well, unless you’re about 5′7″ or taller, in which case I am going to hate you anyways, because you don’t have to climb shelves at the grocery store to reach the pumpkin pie filling on the top shelf. Where was I? Oh, right, fashion.

Not that I can say much about people’s appearances this week. I’ve felt rather like a pile of dog shit on Hell’s doorstep this week, and I’m really looking the part. To quote one of my students, “Oh, you look horrible!” Thanks. I had circles under my eyes, a broken out face, no makeup, flat hair, and a wrinkly shirt on. Not to mention my eyes had a feverish glaze over them and I’m sure I had absolutely no color in my face. I’m hyped up on cold medicine, tired, achy, congested, and when I blow my nose, stuff comes out of my eyes. (I’m sure you didn’t know that was anatomically possible, amirite?) Maybe my trip to the salon this afternoon to get my nappy hair cut will make me feel better. $10 says I will fall asleep at least once in the chair.

Post election ruminations November 6, 2008

Why do Republicans/conservatives always criticize Democrats/liberals for wanting bigger government (we’ll set aside for a moment the fact that no one “wants” bigger government) when they are all to happy to let the government dictate who you can marry, what substances you may (and may not) use, and what a woman may (or may not) do with an unexpected or life-threatening pregnancy? Why do they always talk about freedom, and yet support the Patriot Act (which certainly curtails our freedoms), refuse to fund health care programs for the disadvantaged (how are you free when you can’t access even basic care?), refuse to adequately fund education (an ignorant people is an enslaved people) and refuse to let individuals live their lives according to what works best for them? If people want to marry a person of their own sex, smoke pot, or terminate a pregnancy, what business is it of ours, really? How is it that we can spend obscene amounts of money on a war that is accomplishing very little for any parties involved, yet we can’t spare a fraction of that to care for the poor and sick? How has our government served US over the past 8 years? I believe that any government should only be as big as it needs to be to address the needs of its people. Our government today is far too bloated and yet it utterly fails to help the majority of Americans.

People accused Obama of being a socialist, despite the fact that they couldn’t really articulate what socialism really is. While I did not agree with the bailout package, it’s worth mentioning that both candidates voted for it. Furthermore, McCain’s solution to the housing crisis was to pay the banks the value of the home’s mortgage, and not the value of the home itself, keeping prices artificially high, which means this so-called American Dream of owning a home would still be out of reach for many working people. Let me spell this out: Pumping in money to regulate the value of homes for the sake of the banks helps no one but the banks. I realize there are strong Wall Street-Main Street connections, but over the past six years, Wall Street prospered, but this prosperity did not trickle down to Main Street in any concrete way. Sure there was more credit available to more people, but as we’ve discovered, this was not real money. Wages, adjusted for inflation, are actually below the levels they were at 8 years ago. This volatile cocktail of less actual money; more easy credit; a consumer-obsessed, materialistic society; and a president who (quite irresponsibly) encouraged spending as a patriotic duty has given us quite the hangover, and it will take years before we will recover.

Do I think Obama will fix this problem? No, certainly not on his own. Despite what many Republicans seem to be sarcastically claiming, most of us (and by this I mean Obama supporters) don’t believe that he is the Messiah or that he will solve our problems for us. However, as with the current administration, the President and his staff set the tone for government and how things will be run. If Obama’s campaign is any indication, I predict that an Obama presidency will get things done efficiently and effectively, but it will take people at all levels working towards restoring this country’s peace, prosperity, and reputation to make it happen.

And in other news… November 6, 2008

Although last night was exciting enough on its face value, it’s also worth mentioning that I finished collecting data last night at the stroke of midnight. It was an incredibly liberating experience to click “Close.” I was getting requests for links up until about 9, and then they petered out, only to pick back up again the next morning, and I took no small joy in saying, “Sorry, you missed the deadline! Survey is closed.” I was aiming for 250-300 responses, and I got somewhere in the neighborhood of 325.

Now that it’s over, I get to just sit on it for awhile. I can’t really play with the data until after I defend my prospectus, just to keep things on the up and up. I will likely finish editing my first draft (making suggested changes) by the end of the week, unless I take a turn for the worse. I’ve been feeling icky since Monday, and today has been pretty rough. I’m feverish, achy, headach-y, congested, and I have a hella sore throat. I’ll probably go to the doctor tomorrow if things don’t improve. I should be celebrating and relaxing, but instead I’m sitting at home zoning in front of the tv, breathing heavily out of my mouth. Hot.

In Alabama November 5, 2008

This morning, I woke up early (too early, according to my body), showered quickly, and dressed. A short walk over to my polling place, and then I saw something I will never, ever forget.

To preface my remarks, I should say that I live in a very racially and economically integrated neighborhood, and I vote at a historically black college. As I walked towards the building, I saw a line extending out the door. I joined in, and then realized that the line went down the stairs, down the long corridor, into the lobby of the voting area, and into the voting area to the tables. And there were FOUR different lines.

The people in line to vote were by and large all African-American. Young, old, rich, poor…and then it struck me…Many of them had probably been prevented from voting in their younger days. Many had struggled with the indignity of being someone’s maid or hired help, of being called “boy,” of being forced to go to poorly equipped schools and sit at the back of bus, simply because of the skin color God gave them. And yet here they were, at one of the first institutes of higher learning created for black students after the Civil War, voting for a man who even as recently as thirty years ago could only dream of being president.

This is not to say that we are in a “post-racial” society or that we’ve fixed our problems with race that our country surely has. But seeing the mass of people with hope in their eyes and determination in their souls was an absolutely incredible, life changing experience. Within a 100 mile radius of my home lies the sites of the Birmingham bombings, the bus boycotts of Montgomery, and the march on the bridge at Selma. Yet here we’ve done what most thought was impossible. That means something. Nobody in the civil rights movement suffered, sacrificed,fought, or died in vain. This is the moment we’ve been waiting for. There is infinite potential in the American people, and we’ve seen a sliver of that tonight.