My sis and her family just left, and we really had a lovely visit with them. Her husband got some sort of food poisoning from teh food he got on the way to his hotel from the airport (on the first night here), and today was the first day he's felt like himself. Poor guy.

Miss Molly, too, has been under the weather. Man, teething is a bitch. She's had fevers of nearly 103 that were unphased by baby Advil OR baby Tylenol, OR both. The poor dear has been like that for 2 days, and now today woke up a little more like herself, or at least sans fever. She spent the last 2 days crying and sleeping, and what felt like more crying than sleeping at night. Not to mention my parents are old and left the plastic on the mattress and the sheets don't fit it and it's a saggy miserable pull-out bed and every part of me hurts for lack of sleep.

This is easily remedied by beer and afternoons in the pool. I'm working hard on my tan-to-albino ratio, and finally feel as if I'm getting somewhere. ( There is photo evidence. )
I should delete it, I just found a picture that my dad has of my ass in a bathing suit. It's a million kinds of wrong.

At any rate, we'll probably have more pictures later.

Oh, and we saw the Discovery go up from Mom and Dad's back yard. Neat!

Some of you are aware that ND won't work out for my graduate program because it doesn't appear that they offer Soc as a terminal degree. Since Purdue has everything that I need plus friends and family very nearby, we're considering a move to Lafayette in a year or two so that I can attend Grad school there. This would require us to sell our house and find one less expensive, as well as rid ourselves of a bunch of debt. It could happen, but I think one of us needs to get a second job, or something. It's the goal, at least. We'll see where we're at in a few months. I still have lots of research, reading, and networking to do.

Hope everyone had a great holiday!

My boss is listening to country music in his office. His stereo is right next to the wall we share, and so therefore, so am I.

He, and some other coworkers are WHISTLING ALONG.

Kill me.
Please?

Thank god Jon Stewart comes on in 10 minutes.

Also? Notre Dame doesn't accept part-time students (except in special circumstances).
It is just about my only hope then, that I can nail a job at ND. From what I can tell, as an employee you are only ALLOWED to take 1 class a semester. At least, that's my current assessment of my options in this situation.

Thoughts, Mister Brosco? Do you know if they admit an employee into a program that does not accept part time students under most circumstances (or are all graduate programs at ND like that)?


Florida countdown: 30 hours til landing!

Trev and I have talked, and made the decision that if I am going try Notre Dame for their Graduate program in Sociology. The classes will be about $5,500 each, and that's about what work will pay a year. So, if I would decide to stay at Comcast, basically I'd have one semester out of pocket a year, 2 if I take a summer course.

And, in the words of my father, 'That's what people have school loans for!'

In the mean time, I will just try like hell to find a job at ND to try to help me with the cost of tuition. At that point, that's more valuable to me than 600 cable tv networks.

So, I'll spend the next few months trying like hell to get good GRE scores, and probably invest in one of the mini courses IUSB offers. I've got plenty of time to study up.

Those of you who'd know... will getting a good GRE score be enough to get me in, if I basically went to a community business college? I mean, I realize I have the advantage of being out in the working world and holding relatively decent jobs, if they consider that sort of thing for admission.


Hey, if nothing else, it can be said that I am ambitious.

New pictures behind the cut of Moz and I. Thanks to ashkicks for taking them, they're adorable, and there are not many picture of her and I!

( Now, who's the real ham for a photo op? )

for those keeping up with the academic dillema: I'm currently considering Social Anthropology for a Doctorate. This is based on my years of interest in world religions and how they've affected the role and perception of women. (Thanks to quintessentialj for her valuable input about what majors fit my interests and goals!) ND doesn't offer Anthropology, but Purdue and IU Bloomington do. I don't know what to do about that, but we're definately getting closer. I'm considering a Masters in Education, (Counseling and Human Services), since I want to teach with my PhD anyway.

Huge thanks to everyone who has commented or spoken with my about my recent academic woes.

Recent research has told me that the job outlook in academia for a PhD in Philosophy is incredibly poor (there just aren't enough positions), and that's pretty discouraging when we're talking about something I'd be spending 5-7 years on. So, it's back to the drawing board a bit.

I think ultimately, my best bet is to go to IUSB and get my Masters degree in Something, and spending some time with guidance counselors and the like is probably very wise. Since I'm planning to ultimately teach college anyway, a Masters in Education with a concentration in Counseling/Social Services seems like it might be a good fit, so long as I don't end up being a High School counselor.

It'll buy me some years to take some electives to help me figure out what I want to do with my life, too.

Trev teases me a lot because I'm having trouble adjusting to this Mommyhood thing. Yanno, I tend to be really good at handling change... I look forward to it because I have the attention span of a 3-year-old, usually. I love that Molly, she's gorgeous and wonderful and makes my day every day, regardless. I guess I'm in kind of an identity crisis, and this education thing isn't really helping matters much, because now I'm second-guessing what I thought I wanted, what I thought I was interested in, and what I thought I'd be good at.

The way I see it, I've spent the last 10 years worrying more about exploring my sexuality than exploring the rest of this brain matter, and nowadays, all that is pretty irrelevant in the grand scheme of things for a married mom like me, I guess. I forget to develop my real attributes and use the wrong ones more often than I should, I think, and I probably do it because it's easier than using my brain, or letting people in.

So, this whole PhD thing is a whole lot more complicated than I thought it would be, and I think it's simply because I didn't realize I could be making this decision right now.

Firstly, big thanks to mybrokennight for her advice and information about the process. I was pretty lost in all this, and frankly if you hadn't said something, Andrea, I fear I might have just settled on any school and that might have been detrimental to my cause, as at this point, I *think* I want to teach college. The GRE? I didn't even think about having to take that!

So, I did check out ND's Philosophy PhD program, and given my qualifications (none), I'm pretty sure they'd just take my $40 and laugh at me. So, I've got some work to do. I talked to xandrian about this over the weekend, and he's pretty frustrated with my indecision, and thinks I have no business even thinking about a PhD program unti I know what it is I want to do, and he doesn't want me to spend any more money.

I suggested that I take some undergrad classes at IUSB in Philosophy, to test the waters and see if thats really where I want to be. Sure, I can study on my own, but I really think taking the classes with a group of other students is the way to go.

It also also occurred to me to explore what other areas I might want to pursue? See, anything business is out because my math skills are so bloody poor that I think I'd probably not even pass the SAT's at this point. Algebra? Funk that. I think I could handle a Masters program in business but it'd be pretty touch and go on the math. I'm just not cut out for it. So, it's gotta be right brain stuff. There is no Doctorate in Boozing, or surely I'd have been given an honorary degree by now.



Alright, readers. My brain exhausts from looking at what seem to be the same possibilities. I wanna be Doctor Coble. Give me a new perspective.

Now, what do YOU (want to) see me as being a Doctor in? What should I be when I grow up?

Work has me going out on client meetings now once in a while, it's nice getting out of the office. Yesterday, one of those meetings was at IUSB.

( Now I'm questioning not only where to finish my Masters, but what Masters to pursue. )

Also? It is possible that I have an extra ticket for the Eels show in Indianapolis a week from today, Friday June 9 at 7:30 at the Vogue. Holler if you're interested.