Well, I have lots of thoughts that would probably take up many, many entries, but at the moment, I saw something rather surprising today. As I was walking to the bus stop from the pool, I saw a robin! I couldn't believe it. I realize that it's pretty warm out today, but I thought it was way to early for the robins to start showing themselves. I think they'll be in for a rude awakening. Unless our winter was just that short this year.
Today was a rather long day. Getting up for an 8am class, then running around most of the day trying to get a hold of Dr. Shirer to go over the grades I gave on the homeworks, reading for my oceans seminar, and going to the lecture one of the candidates for the professor opening gave. Then I went swimming and had to finish up some stuff. So, this is the first time today that I've had a bit of time, and it's 10:30. So, after all that, I'm exhausted, so I'm off to bed. Night!
Monday, January 31, 2005
Wednesday, January 26, 2005
Sunrise, Swimming, and other things
Well, today was another day where I had to get up before the crack of dawn. It gets really sickening after a while. I'm so not a morning person. And then there's the fact that I never really see sunrise. This is State College after all. Half the time, the only way to tell the difference between day and night is to see if the sky is black or gray.
This afternoon I had a therapy session, which continues to seem really helpful. I get to talk about my feelings to someone in State College that will actually listen to what I have to say. Plus, I have so much stuff that I need to work through that it will probably take many years to work through and heal. I always knew that by the time I was 25 that I'd need to see a therapist. I didn't think I'd have had as many different therapists as I have had. It doesn't help that I keep moving. But all in all, it's very good for me. I really need to start healing.
After therapy I went swimming, which is always nice. Today is the first day this week where the pool wasn't busy and no one decided to just hop in my lane without warning me first. I even swam an extra hundred yards today because I had some extra time. So, that brings today's total to 1000 yards, and this week I've swum 2800 yards. Not bad if you ask me. Although in high school I used to swim 3500 yards a night. I don't think I'll do that anytime soon, but at least I'm working my way up.
Tonight I've just been kinda lounging around, maybe I'll do some work eventually. I'm not sure if I'll grade or read some stuff for my oceans seminar. We'll see. Hopefully I can cool my room down a bit before bed, though. I got back this afternoon and it was 80F, so I opened my window, and somehow it rose to be 84F. I'm not quite sure how that can possible happen, especially with the window open. Now I have my fan blowing near the window, so hopefully that will help to cool things off.
Anyway, I should really attempt to work up some motivation to do something. And then, of course, I'll be watching Alias. :) So, here goes nothing!
This afternoon I had a therapy session, which continues to seem really helpful. I get to talk about my feelings to someone in State College that will actually listen to what I have to say. Plus, I have so much stuff that I need to work through that it will probably take many years to work through and heal. I always knew that by the time I was 25 that I'd need to see a therapist. I didn't think I'd have had as many different therapists as I have had. It doesn't help that I keep moving. But all in all, it's very good for me. I really need to start healing.
After therapy I went swimming, which is always nice. Today is the first day this week where the pool wasn't busy and no one decided to just hop in my lane without warning me first. I even swam an extra hundred yards today because I had some extra time. So, that brings today's total to 1000 yards, and this week I've swum 2800 yards. Not bad if you ask me. Although in high school I used to swim 3500 yards a night. I don't think I'll do that anytime soon, but at least I'm working my way up.
Tonight I've just been kinda lounging around, maybe I'll do some work eventually. I'm not sure if I'll grade or read some stuff for my oceans seminar. We'll see. Hopefully I can cool my room down a bit before bed, though. I got back this afternoon and it was 80F, so I opened my window, and somehow it rose to be 84F. I'm not quite sure how that can possible happen, especially with the window open. Now I have my fan blowing near the window, so hopefully that will help to cool things off.
Anyway, I should really attempt to work up some motivation to do something. And then, of course, I'll be watching Alias. :) So, here goes nothing!
Tuesday, January 25, 2005
Hurdles
I've been thinking lately while sort of preparing for the candidacy exam that it just seems like one big unnecessary hurdle. I mean, I realize that there needs to be something for people to do to show that they are qualified to continue on to get a PhD, but it seems like a test isn't necessarily the best way to do it. I've often heard in science that a lot of it is collaboration, but yet, we have to take this test ourselves. I know that some things need to be memorized, but when did it become necessary for us to work problems all by ourselves in order to continue on? We're even encouraged to work with people on homework assignments and in our research, but not on the candidacy exam. It just seems odd.
I also realize that there are some things we learn that we should memorize, but do we really need to be tested on them? I like the idea that some other departments have. Some give people a recent topic that has been researched and have them do a presentation on it. It seems like more of a reasonable thing to do. But, what do I know about what the meteo department feels is necessary for a PhD student to know?
That's just what I've been thinking recently. Only because during the reviews sessions, sometimes I feel very confident about the test, and others I REALLY don't. But, I'll stick it through and hopefully pass. If not, I do have a backup plan.
Well, that's about it for now. I'm getting sleepy and may go to bed even earlier than I have in probably years.
I also realize that there are some things we learn that we should memorize, but do we really need to be tested on them? I like the idea that some other departments have. Some give people a recent topic that has been researched and have them do a presentation on it. It seems like more of a reasonable thing to do. But, what do I know about what the meteo department feels is necessary for a PhD student to know?
That's just what I've been thinking recently. Only because during the reviews sessions, sometimes I feel very confident about the test, and others I REALLY don't. But, I'll stick it through and hopefully pass. If not, I do have a backup plan.
Well, that's about it for now. I'm getting sleepy and may go to bed even earlier than I have in probably years.
Sunday, January 23, 2005
Digging out
Well, I guess technically I won't be digging out until tomorrow morning when I drive to campus. But most people here are digging out from a moderate (but much less than what was forecasted) snowstorm. I'd love to be in Massachusetts right now, where the forecast is for up to three feet of snow. I've never seen that much snow from one storm. I've seen that much from several snowstorms because previous snow wouldn't melt, but never from one storm.
Unfortunately, today I couldn't sleep past 8:30. Normally, I wouldn't have that problem on a Sunday, but today was a bit different. I woke up and my room was 84F. I don't care who you are, but there is no excuse for a building in winter to be that warm. Of course, this is because I'm used to chillier homes in winter. Chilly meaning below 70F, which I think is much more reasonable. I'm still trying to figure out why all the heat comes in my room. So, now I have my window open, and it's only about 10F outside. So, hopefully my room will cool off at some point before I go to bed tonight.
The confrontation that I've been bracing myself for for the past couple days finally happened last night. All I'll say is this: I'm not sure things will be exactly the same between me and my friends, but at least things have been talked out, and some understanding has come from it. And while I'm not thrilled with how things were handled, both by me and by many of the others involved in this drama, there is nothing anyone can really do about it besides work things through and keep on going through it. Besides, life is full of struggles, and how you get through them builds character and says a lot about who you are. Wow, that was a very philosophical statement, wasn't it? :) Here's another one to describe drama in all forms. Whatever doesn't kill you makes you stronger. Unfortunately, Hitler was the one to first say that, as I've just recently learned, but it's still a good thing to think about.
I've also finally started grading papers for the class I'm teaching. And I must say, I'm impressed with about half the students' papers so far. A lot of these students put a lot of time into making sure things are understandable for the person grading them. Most of the time, I can't find anything wrong with the problems these students did, which is not a bad thing by any means.
Today is football day here in Pennsylvania. It's not often that all the teams located within a state are in the playoffs. I think it would be really cool to have a completely PA Super Bowl. Alas, the team I really like (Green Bay) got knocked out of the playoffs a couple weeks ago. And since I live with Steeler fans, I will root for them. I think they deserve a chance at the Super Bowl, since it has been so long since they won one. I may even root for the Eagles (gasp!) just to see a PA Super Bowl. We'll see how I feel when that game comes on.
Well, I suppose I should stop writing for a bit and finish up my grading. I'd end of with a quote like my sister does, but nothing comes to mind at the moment. So, I'll just say goodbye and be done with it. :)
Unfortunately, today I couldn't sleep past 8:30. Normally, I wouldn't have that problem on a Sunday, but today was a bit different. I woke up and my room was 84F. I don't care who you are, but there is no excuse for a building in winter to be that warm. Of course, this is because I'm used to chillier homes in winter. Chilly meaning below 70F, which I think is much more reasonable. I'm still trying to figure out why all the heat comes in my room. So, now I have my window open, and it's only about 10F outside. So, hopefully my room will cool off at some point before I go to bed tonight.
The confrontation that I've been bracing myself for for the past couple days finally happened last night. All I'll say is this: I'm not sure things will be exactly the same between me and my friends, but at least things have been talked out, and some understanding has come from it. And while I'm not thrilled with how things were handled, both by me and by many of the others involved in this drama, there is nothing anyone can really do about it besides work things through and keep on going through it. Besides, life is full of struggles, and how you get through them builds character and says a lot about who you are. Wow, that was a very philosophical statement, wasn't it? :) Here's another one to describe drama in all forms. Whatever doesn't kill you makes you stronger. Unfortunately, Hitler was the one to first say that, as I've just recently learned, but it's still a good thing to think about.
I've also finally started grading papers for the class I'm teaching. And I must say, I'm impressed with about half the students' papers so far. A lot of these students put a lot of time into making sure things are understandable for the person grading them. Most of the time, I can't find anything wrong with the problems these students did, which is not a bad thing by any means.
Today is football day here in Pennsylvania. It's not often that all the teams located within a state are in the playoffs. I think it would be really cool to have a completely PA Super Bowl. Alas, the team I really like (Green Bay) got knocked out of the playoffs a couple weeks ago. And since I live with Steeler fans, I will root for them. I think they deserve a chance at the Super Bowl, since it has been so long since they won one. I may even root for the Eagles (gasp!) just to see a PA Super Bowl. We'll see how I feel when that game comes on.
Well, I suppose I should stop writing for a bit and finish up my grading. I'd end of with a quote like my sister does, but nothing comes to mind at the moment. So, I'll just say goodbye and be done with it. :)
Thursday, January 20, 2005
What a long day....
As my title suggests, today was a very long day. I left for campus around 9am, and I didn't get back until a little after 10pm. Lots of things went on today. I spent some time preparing for the candidacy exam with the group of people taking it in May. Then I did some reading for class tomorrow, finished grading quizzes for the class I TA, and went to colloquium. The speaker today was interesting enough, but the topic he spoke on was way over my head. After that, I spoke with Dr. Shirer about grading the quizzes, and then went for a nice relaxing swim. Then after I finished my swim, I went to the Lady Lions basketball game, which was so much fun. We beat Purdue by a very healthy margin. The women looked impressive.
So, now I'm back at my apartment, finally. Other than that, not much else is new. Hopefully I will be on campus for less time tomorrow, or at least get a break to come home for a bit. I think I will probably be going to the men's gymnastics meet, which I'm sure will be a lot of fun. But for now, I must stop typing and go to sleep. Tomorrow's another early day for me.
So, now I'm back at my apartment, finally. Other than that, not much else is new. Hopefully I will be on campus for less time tomorrow, or at least get a break to come home for a bit. I think I will probably be going to the men's gymnastics meet, which I'm sure will be a lot of fun. But for now, I must stop typing and go to sleep. Tomorrow's another early day for me.
Wednesday, January 19, 2005
Welcome to my blog!
Well, I've decided to try out this blogging thing since a lot of my friends and family have it. It seems like a good way to vent my feelings or just let the world in general know what is going on in my life.
Anyway today was an interesting day. I think I may have started a ball rolling that I didn't want to be a part of at first. I don't really know what to do about it, nor is there anything I really can do about it. All I know is that this has been festering, at least in my mind, for quite some time, and I, frankly, am glad it's finally coming out in the open. Granted, life may get more complex and difficult before all is said and done, but who ever said life was easy? Lord knows my life hasn't exactly been a big bowl of cherries. Anyone who really knows me can attest to that.
Well, now I'm just sitting here, relaxing, and waiting to see the fallout of this drama. But, Alias is on soon, so I'm off for a bit. I know this isn't the most exciting news in the world, but hey, it's my blog, if you don't want to read it, you don't have to. Anyway, time to get settled in for Alias.
Anyway today was an interesting day. I think I may have started a ball rolling that I didn't want to be a part of at first. I don't really know what to do about it, nor is there anything I really can do about it. All I know is that this has been festering, at least in my mind, for quite some time, and I, frankly, am glad it's finally coming out in the open. Granted, life may get more complex and difficult before all is said and done, but who ever said life was easy? Lord knows my life hasn't exactly been a big bowl of cherries. Anyone who really knows me can attest to that.
Well, now I'm just sitting here, relaxing, and waiting to see the fallout of this drama. But, Alias is on soon, so I'm off for a bit. I know this isn't the most exciting news in the world, but hey, it's my blog, if you don't want to read it, you don't have to. Anyway, time to get settled in for Alias.
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