Natural Disasters

Just about three years ago, the family and I planned a road trip to visit my in-laws five hours away from here. About an hour before we were to leave, a tornado came through the town north of us and went right up along the only major road out of our county. It caused major damage to many homes and businesses, and if memory serves one or two people died in the storm. We did not know the effects of the storm until we attempted to leave town. Had we truly understood the force of such things like tornadoes, I don't think we WOULD have attempted to leave town.

Houses we knew on the drive out of town were entirely gone. There was an field filled with what I could only describe as rubble; I honestly don't remember what had been there. Entire stands of trees were mangled, and you could literally trace the path of the tornado just by looking out into the fields. We drove through this part of the state about one hour after it had been practically ripped in half; it was very scary. It took us three hours to drive to the outskirts of our state's capital from here when it normally takes about 50 minutes. And what we saw along the way was horrible.

This week I keep hearing people say, "I can't imagine what being in Louisiana and Mississippi is like right now." Now, clearly what I saw here three years ago is only a minor, tiny, fraction of the devastation we're seeing on TV reports from the south. But the weird thing is that I feel I CAN imagine what it must be like. I hate it; it's almost like an old wound is coming back, and the tornado here really didn't even directly impact my life. It affected my mind, I suppose, because the images still stick with me. Some of the tornado damage is still visible today. I can imagine what it would be like to be in New Orleans or Mississippi right now. What I cannot imagine is actually being a true victim of either of these natural disasters. As much as I make fun of how poorly built our house is, at least we only sustained a minor leak in our kitchen ceiling as a result of yesterday's rain. The roofer was able to fix it today, less than 24 hours later. How different from New Orleans can THAT be?

Certainly puts any dissertation stress into a different perspective, that's for sure.

Il pleut

It rains. The forecast for the Small College Town area today actually says "tons of rain." I've never seen it quite written that way.

It's nice to have the cafe practically to myself this morning, partially due to the rain, I'd bet. And with the rain has come a great deal of ideas for the dissertation, in terms of the population I may work with and the reasons why they are important to study. I think it's time to feed all this rain into a directed gutter and get some of it written down.

Is that ironic that I'm comparing my notion of focus and commitment to a gutter? Doesn't a gutter connote waste water and something one discards? Nice analogy. I need to get back to reading now.

Allergeez

I've not posted in over a week. I'm not one to complain, but oy I've never had such allergies in the late summer. Ever. I'll spare you the deails, but suffice it to say my head has been swimming in a fog for almost a week. I can't type any exclamation points in this post because that would indicate excitement or a loud voice. No such thing here: quiet voices, dim lights, calm attitude, and plenty of medicine to keep the head at bay. Ick.

I suppose I could understand this happening during my first year living in a different state, but this is my fourth August in this town, so I'm a bit confused here. And nothing, I tell you nothing, can beat the pine pollen in a Southeastern spring. That SUCKS when the windshield turns bright yellow-green from the stuff. This is nothing compared to that...

...so why is my head feeling like a helium balloon??

A Musing on Reading

I have started reading dissertations of those who have completed the doctoral program here at Large Midwest University. This is a helpful exercise for me in that it's helping me to focus and narrow. The notion of getting more narrow is not one I come to very quickly (this last sentence probably made my colleagues who may read this laugh out loud!). However, reading these dissertations have given me some tidbits that provide perspective:

1. One will most likely not change the world with one's dissertation!
2. A dissertation that may appear to have a simple research design is not remotely a simple piece of research. One must truly enjoy one's topic in order to spend the amount of time completing a detailed analysis of literature and data.
3. The dissertation is a completed work of research which has been read and critiqued by numerous others. There is no way that my proposal is going to be nearly as polished, nor should it be.
   
4. Read read read literature of interest, find a gap where data don't quite match up or where more research needs to be constructed, and create a study exploring that gap.

It's interesting to find patterns in these things. I'm reading articles and these studies much more quickly than I read articles for my coursework. I look for the patterns in the different sections. For example:

• Where's the gap noted in the review of literature?
• What type of study is it, and how was the sample selected?
• What are the implications of this study?
• How did the researcher get from the initial formation of research questions to the end results of the study?

Frankly, there are sections of articles I merely skim, especially if I'm reading just to learn more about the construction of the study or about the manner in which a particular type of research is written. With other articles, especially the primary sources, I take my time absorbing the work, understanding the concepts, and reflecting on what I read in order to make connections to other things. It's truly a fascinating process that comes just from reading reading reading.

If you were to ask me HOW I am conducting my study or WHAT the implications are, I couldn't quite tell you just yet. I'm still reading, still learning where the literary gaps are. I finally see an initial gap (praise Moses!), but I need to read some more to see if the gap truly exists or if I'm just missing something. It's an interesting spot in the process for me. It's like I'm on the right road and I know what the destination is, yet I can't quite make out the roads I need to take to get there.

Hopefully the map will soon appear, or at least I'll acquire some cartographic skills pretty darn quick.

Hyundai Sonata dethrones Camry and Accord - Autoblog - www.autoblog.com _

Speaking of cars:

When the residents of Chesterley traveled East over the Independence Day Holiday, we rented car mentioned in the article (click this post's title to read). Now, we didn't request a Hyundai; rather it just was the car they gave us. We were a little hesitant at first: it was a two-hour drive to my grandmother's place. "A Hyundai?" I said. "Are we gonna make it?" I was only half-joking.

I've gotta tell ya, we were impressed. The car was fantastic! Easy to drive, fantastic pick-up, V6 engine, and even a sunroof. And this was an inexpensive rental! Not that I'm in the market to buy a car for at least the next year or so, but I just may look at this one. I'll have to see how it holds up over time, but if the repair record is good, then I may change my opinion of Hyundais.

What's your summer ride?

Your Summer Ride is a Beetle Convertible

Fun, funky, and a little bit euro. You love your summers to be full of style and sun!

What's Your Summer Ride?

What makes me laugh about this is that I really do drive a VW, though not a Beetle. I've had to sink so much money into my almost-seven-year-old Jetta to keep it running that one would actually think I EARN money as a graduate student! Ha. Anyhow, I thought this was a fun little quiz as we near the summer's end.

The Wheels on the Bus...

Son is going to start his second year of preschool a week from this Wednesday. In the past couple of days, we've had some representations of developmental progress. First, he started wearing his little backpack today, which is something he wouldn't tolerate one bit last year.

Second, over the weekend we converted his crib from a "crib" to a toddler bed by installing the toddler rail. He can get in and out of bed on his own. The first night (Sunday) and tonight (so far) were just fine. He went right to sleep. Last night was hilarious: we put him to bed, and a few minutes later we saw him standing in the second-floor hallway, blinking, and looking at me as if to say, "How the hell did I get out here?" We gently took him back to his room, and he eventually fell asleep. All was well. Hearing the pitter-patter of little feet in the morning will take some adjustment, but it's nice to see Son exhibiting behavior that is more fitting of a four-year-old, for a change!

He will travel to school on the bus this year. A little bus, with harnesses and the whole nine yards. This will allow him yet another socialization experience, and it will prevent Wife (and sometimes me) from having to take him to and from school 180 times!!! Some of the other parents say their kids' bus-ride is the highlight of their day, so we hope some of that energy will travel over our way as well.

One thing is for sure: glad I'm not the one starting classes in the fall! Writing a book is plenty enough for this 22nd-grader.

Water

And now, it's time for a post about water.

We had to purchase a new refrigerator about a month ago. How the hell we could afford this on my stunningly small graduate assistantship stipend, I'll never know. Thankfully, Sears had this sale of not paying anything for a year, so perhaps between now and then we'll win the lottery. Or at least a job. So we figured what the f-ck, let's get an icemaker. We can't afford the fridge anyway, so let's spend a little more and get something we'd like.

This is the first time in my entire life when I have an ice maker in my own home. Pretty darn exciting. Even more exciting is the water dispenser that's inside the refrigerator door (if it were on the outside, then Son would sit there constantly and dispense water all over the floor. This would be bad).

I drink more water now. Lots of it. Can't get enough. And there's always plenty of ice. Gotta like ice. Yay water!

I think I lost my brain halfway between the water dispenser and this stack of articles I'm trying to read...

Time well spent

As it turns out, my time back at the Cafe on Tuesday served me well. Had a great meeting with Colleague, and that evening I found a whole stack of articles that are putting me in what I think is a really interesting direction with this Beast. This is good.

Since then, I've sort of embraced the fact that I've had a slow summer, and that's OK. No, I didn't accomplish as much as I thought I would on my schedule, but I'm allowing myself to be happy that I've had a "good," relaxing summer. Perhaps acknowledging the fact that I've had a break will help me get my @ss in gear later on? Let's hope so. I started losing sleep the other night over all the things on my list, so perhaps I'm coming out of my unconscious need to relax. Am probably overpsychoanalyzing all of this. Or perhaps I'm justifying being a slacker?

I must say I've been more affected by Peter Jennings's death than I thought I would be. I truly don't know where I'll get TV news that I trust ever again. Part of the cycle of life, I suppose, but it's still bothering me a bit. I hope someone else is out there who won't dumb down or sensationalize the news, but frankly I doubt that person exists.

Alright, off to work and then onward through yon articles.

Back at the Cafe

Well, at least it's been a nice summer. I've done plenty of "summer" things like going to the beach, going to a baseball game, spending a day at a water park, playing in the sprinkler with Son, etc. I've not had a "fun" summer like this in a long time.

Dissertation? What dissertation?

The fam and I had a nice long-weekend trip to Wife's parents' home in Neighboring State to the North. Son enjoyed himself thoroughly, and his grandparents were glad to have us all crowding up their house.

Dissertation? Huh?

Other colleauges went through the qualifying exam process these past two weekends. I wish them all well, and I'm glad it wasn't me!

Oh yeah, and then there's this dissertation thing.

You know, it's been a while since I've cleaned out the gutters. Yeah, and there's always the mailbox post that needs to be painted. And there's also the...

Oh yeah, the dissertation.

Like I've said, it's been a nice summer. Perhaps I'll start finding motivation to turn into my fall work mood. So far, I'm not there. Perhaps today's cafe work-day will change that? Don't hold your breath. The funny thing is that some of the literature I brought with me today is on MOTIVATION!!!

Sigh.

Spaces between Sentences: One or Two?

I have an old (old? Hey, I'm not old!) habit of typing two spaces between each sentence. I was taught this when I first learned how to type. I started using a word processor in the 1980s during high school, as my father had an office at our home. Even on the word processor, I typed the two spaces between sentences, like the good rule follower I am.

In Microsoft Word, I have my spelling/grammar check set on making sure I have those two spaces between sentences in order to maintain consistency in my writing. The fact that there is an option to watch for these two spaces says to me that this is an accepted writing convention.

In the School of Education at Large Midwestern University (LMU), we use the writing style as determined by the American Psychological Association (APA). Apparently they instruct that one is to put only one space between sentences. I'm trying to do that in this paragraph, and it's driving me nuts. Everything runs together, and one cannot tell the difference between a sentence and an abbreviation. Somebody stop me!

Ah, back to two spaces again. Two colleagues and I have friendly arguments on this point. One believes that Word automatically enters in an extra space between sentences, so there is no need. Not true, says I. The other tells me the LMU won't accept my dissertation with two spaces between sentences; he thinks I should break my "bad habit." Bad habit? Excrement, says I! I've come this far, successfully! APA is not the only style LMU uses for dissertations; surely there are others that require the two spaces. I know of some LMU graduates who submitted dissertations with two spaces between sentences, and they now successfully wear "Ph.D." after their last names.

Any thoughts on this silly little issue, O Fellow Bloggers who employ proper grammar and punctuation?

Social Process of Dissertating

At age 34, I thought creating my own structure to work on writing a book would be relatively easy. I mean, I was a successful director of a small student affairs department at Large Urban Research University-Southeast, if I may toot my own horn. I know how to focus, get work done, and then share the results with necessary constituents. However, finding the structure to work on a topic that itself does not yet have a lot of structure is proving to be more difficult than I imagined. My advisor suggested I get together with another extravert on a regular basis to discuss progress, topics, etc. She knows full well about my need to think out loud.

Her suggestion was a helpful one. I've started regular meetings with Colleague, a fellow fourth-year doctoral student with the same advisor. Of course the meetings take place at Favorite Internet Cafe (FIC?) in SCT. Food intake is an essential part of these meetings (of course), along with endless cups o' java.

My goal for Tuesday is to show Colleague the reading list I've completed and another list I aim to read soon, all organized around topical themes. Hopefully these themes will grow into a structure for the literature review chapter. Her goal is to show me a draft of a survey she's creating as part of her dissertation. She'll collect data this fall, while I'll collect (Lord willing) in the spring.

I'm glad to have finally found a direction in my work and a colleague with a similar way of thinking (all entirely out loud!). Everyone says the dissertation stage is an individual process. I'm not sure I entirely agree with this. While the physical act of writing is individual, the process of getting to the writing stage can be very social, indeed!

Cal me a relieved extravert in this realization.

Focus, my @ss!

The act of finding focus was not my strong point this past week. I'm not too broken up about it, however, though I'm mildly annoyed that I've not yet found my groove for balancing my 20-hour-per-week job with 20 unstructured hours of time when I could be reading & writing the Diss. I feel like I'm missing out on an opportunity, in some ways, by not finding the time. On the other hand, I'm taking a much-needed break and am finding time to collect back the other parts of my life that frankly I had started to let slide while in the throws of exams and remaining coursework last semester (i.e. not eating like a fool and taking time to relax with the family).

BUT STILL...

Let's hope this week works out a bit better. I'll try to post more to keep myself accountable to Blogland, for a change.

BTW, Son's 4th birthday party was great fun yesterday, as we celebrated with a handful of his friends and my Chicago-based family. I'll post a picture or two when I have them ready.

Needing to FOCUS!

Man I need to focus this week. I'm cracking the shell on the office cleanup, which is a good thing. Perhaps I'll post a picture of the place this week.

Next weekend is Son's 4th birthday, and my Chicago-based family will be joining us here in SCT this weekend. That means I need to get a bunch of stuff done this week. Where to start? I have much more reading to do, that's for sure. I wish I could read as fast as Lemming! But I also have a ton of interview transcriptions to finish up, and that takes much longer than I anticipated. I think I'm going to organize myself this way:

Day	# Hours for Study	Task
Monday	2	Finish review of Chickering & Reisser (1993) & choose readings for the week
Tuesday	8	Transcribe like mad in the AM; read articles in the PM
Wednesday	2	Read articles
Thursday	4	Transcribe
Friday	4	Read!

Yeah, OK Rob. Sure. Let's hope we can stay so focused this week. I do have this new Harry Potter book staring at me on my dresser, right underneath the newest Grisham novel I'm finishing up...hmm.

Yeah, I guess that's sorta accurate

Take the What High School
Stereotype Are You? quiz.

I'm interested in how Hugh would score, being that we attended the same school.

Gearing up for a whole lot of nuthin'

Oy. It's Friday afternoon, and I've probably put in a total of about 5 or 6 hours on my dissertation, limited to my day off from work on Tuesday. I've got to figure out a better way to focus. I guess I've been enjoying my lack of coursework this summer a bit too much, however I do think I deserve some relaxation.

Last night I reviewed my self-imposed schedule, and I realized, in disbelief, that my first deadline is coming up three weeks from today! THREE WEEKS?? Great Scott! Fortunately, knowing myself as well as I do, I padded that deadline a bit. That paper is supposed to be done at the end of the summer, which of course is not for another six weeks.

Ooh...I shouldn't have said that about the remaining six weeks of summer. Am trying to live in the present and ENJOY the summer! OK, I'll stop now.

Gearing up

I've been sluggish with my dissertation work this past week. It's probably a combination of getting back from a nice week away coupled with a general feeling of "what am I about to walk into?" with this new lifestyle post-coursework and pre-dissertation-proposal approval. Basically, I need to spend the rest of the summer reading, and I have not read a thing related to The Diss all week.

Today I'm finally feeling the focus and drive to (drum roll, please) CLEAN MY OFFICE. Yup. Gotta do that again. I do it at the end of each semester. I've even purchased a real live recycle bin ($3.99 at Local Office Supply Chain) so I can feel like I'm doing my part to be environmental. I'm determined to have a workable space by the end of the weekend. Next week I start my "normal" work schedule of 20 hours at my assistantship and 20 hours on The Diss. Let's hope I can stay focused with all of this unstructured time to myself. It'll be an interesting transition.

We're also gearing up for Son's fourth birthday, two weeks from today. My Chicago-based family will be in town, and I suspect we'll invite just a few of Thomas's classmates from preschool and their parents. Should be fun: a Baby Einstein theme.

Stay cool this weekend. The Midwest is scorching this time of year.

Fireworks

It is DRY in Small College Town this summer. I say this because my idiot neighbors in the more-upscale neighborhood behind my own (!!!) were setting off HUGE illegal fireworks, leaping over their house and landing on the dry tree line that separates my yard from theirs. Any fireworks that leap into the air are illegal in this part of the world. Note the time now: this started just before Midnight. Wife was awakened, and I had been snoozing as well.

So, like a good citizen I called the county sheriff. No, I don't have the exact address: it's dark out and I live on a different street. Why the neighbors up on that street didn't call, I'll never know. (These neighbors have disturbed the neighborhood before: blasting a note on a trumpet at 1AM, setting off fireworks the past two summers. At 8:30 PM tonight, a chain-saw noise was coming from this house when Son was going to bed. Who in the world ARE these people?)

The fireworks continue when I'm on the phone with the dispatcher. After hanging up, I get into my car and drive over there myself, curious if I'd actually see anything. My blood is mildly percolating.

I find a kid at the foot of his driveway, not more than 11 or 12 years old, with a HUGE firework in hand. I informed him the fireworks had awakened my family, was creating a fire hazard, and I had called the sheriff. My tone of voice wasn't as pleasant as that last sentence reads, nor was the language as eloquent. He said, "Sorry," like he didn't mean it very much, and then shouted to someone I couldn't see in the garage to say the police were coming. An "adult" male voice in the garage said "OK we'll stop."

Across the street, a car is parked in another neighbors driveway that says "County Fire Department." Nice. Why in the world THAT person didn't do something about this, I'll never know. I'd be surprised if they didn't hear the noise.

You know, when I was 11 or 12, I was asleep at midnight unless I had a group of friends staying over and we'd be up watching movies or bad late-night TV. This situation tonight was depressing. I shudder to think about home life for that kid.

And why was I the one who made the call when this was happening practically in the middle of another street where a fire-fighter apparently lives??

I guess it's a sad comment on citizenry and society today. Why my neighbors cannot respect each other, and also watch out for each other, I'll never know. It could be a phenomenon in this neighborhood, but I wonder if it's a change in our society in general? When I was a kid, the neighbors were our friends. We watched out for each other. We played together. We didn't do things to each other that was disruptive in the middle of the night: that was left to a group of obnoxious kids or the rare criminal. But the homeowners themselves and their families? Dogs don't defecate in their own spaces, so why would a resident mess up his own neighborhood?

Perhaps Chester could teach my neighbors, and even our society, a lesson or two.

Back Home Again

We had a good time with my Grandmother of Great Age (GoGA), and Son did quite well on the trip. I think GoGA was pleased to see her great-grandson, even though there were times that she probably thought he'd make her house fall down during his "explorations" in the bathrooms, the laundry machines, and so forth. When we ventured out into town, Son enjoyed exploring the various beaches. This picture was taken at the beach across the road from GoGA's house at low tide, a personal favorite spot of mine. When I was Son's age, I learned the differences among oysters, scallops, and clam shells at this beach. In addition, my sister and I used to shout, "Eewww...seaweed!" when we'd step in something slimy. It was a neat experience to show Son these things last week.

Watching an elderly relative age is an interesting phenomenon, and it was with a mixed emotions that we completed this visit. On the one hand, we're thankful for her long life and ability to stay in her own house. On the other hand, we're torn between helping her navigate her old age and allowing her to make her own decisions. Not an easy time, but it was well worth the time spent.

And now it's back to reality and society, but I'm excited to get back on track with the dissertation proposal. Did I MENTION I finished classes? Ha ha. I'm finally at the point I've looked forward to for so long: twenty hours of work per week are my only scheduled time blocks now. The rest of the time is all mine for working on The Book. That scares me just a bit. Perhaps it's just like stepping in icky seaweed: you never know what you're stepping in till your foot is all the way under.

Ew.

Made it through the tollgate

Honestly, I still can't believe I'm done with classes. Wait, did I MENTION I'm done with classes now? The last class, fortunately, was VERY informative and gave me plenty of tools to apply to educational practice.

Now I'm catching up on some things at work and getting ready to go "over the river and through the woods" to my grandmother's house, quite literally, next week. Am looking forward to the time away from SCT and hanging out with "Gram."

After the trip, I feel like I'm starting a new chapter of the doctoral experience. No more course syllabus: it's all up to me to read, write, read, read, write, and write some more. I actually can't wait. I keep hearing Wise Old Program Advisor's voice, "This is the last time in your life that you're going to be a full-time student; may as well take advantage of it." Sounds OK to me.