Today (and tomorrow) I have been (will be) participating in a management training course. No, not anger management. Project management. It's a career enhancement thing.
Anyway, this morning the instructor had us all take turns and introduce ourselves and describe any PM experience we may have. One of the other students, it turns out, works for a major tobacco company. At the break, I went over and introduced myself as her "fellow merchant of death," and we just chatted for a little while.
I asked her if, when people quit their jobs there, they ever find they can't quit, and they come back after a few months. Do they have to try to quit again and again and again? Because that would be awesome.
For the record, she didn't seem to think that was very funny, but who cares? I did!
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Monday, September 17, 2007
Weird coincidence
Check this out. This is what I've got at home right now:
(Two of these discs I sent back this morning, but Netflix hasn't got them yet.) Notice anything funny? Yeah, they're all TV shows right now, at least until we finish The Office. But anything else?
They're all "Disc 3" of each show. What are the odds of that? We didn't plan it like this or anything, either, it just happened. Huh.
(Two of these discs I sent back this morning, but Netflix hasn't got them yet.) Notice anything funny? Yeah, they're all TV shows right now, at least until we finish The Office. But anything else?
They're all "Disc 3" of each show. What are the odds of that? We didn't plan it like this or anything, either, it just happened. Huh.
Saturday, September 15, 2007
Many things
Many things have happened since last I wrote.
Some weeks ago, we went to Sam's Club, where, among other things, we had the goal of getting passport photos taken. Neither of us has an active passport, and we've had the passport applications on my desk here for a while, so we figured we should get that process started. Anyway, this meant we had to deal with the people at the Sam's Club photo center. A little word of caution: if you work at a Sam's Club photo center, and you're capable of such complicated tasks as, oh, opening a browser to this page and reading this, you're more intelligent than the employee we had to deal with that day.
Suffice it to say that we waited an hour to get photos that were blurry (mine) and scaled incorrectly (Wife's). When I pointed out that we simply did not have time to restart this process, as we had a cart full of rapidly defrosting food, our employee wrinkled her nose and said, "well, it is a one-hour photo lab." Of course, the photos were taken with a digital camera and printed from a computer, which does not take an hour, but it DOES take an hour when it takes you forty-five minutes to realize you forgot to put the proper photo paper into the machine.
So we just left, furious, and got home, where Wife called the Sam's manager and told her what an incompetent halfwit he had working for him. He apologized and offered to refund our money and retake the photos for free. Great.
We didn't get a chance to get back down there until last weekend. When we got in the door, we went to the customer service desk and explained the situation. The CS woman paged the manager, and we waited and waited and waited...so she paged him again. Again, we waited...until I finally just said, "why do you need him? Just refund our money, please." Which she did. So, okay, halfway to victory here. She took us over to the photo lab and explained that we were owed free photos. The photo lab employee said "okay, but we don't currently have a camera."
! I said "so how are you supposed to take passport photos?" Her answer, of course, was something like "Duhhhhhhh..." It was kind of hard to understand her with her finger up her nose to the knuckle. She suggested that she could scan in our old photos and blow them up. Okay, great, I said, but can you get rid of the blurriness on mine? Well, uh, no. So, once again, we left empty-handed and frustrated at ourselves for returning to that idiot hive.
So Sam's photo center is now 0 for 2. At least we got our money back. Costco, I'm begging you, please come out here. If you need a place to build your store, maybe we can blow up the Sam's Club and you can build there.
On another topic, last weekend I bought some new shoes and pants for work. I got some "clog-style" Oxford shoes that are awesome. There are no laces on them; rather, tension is applied to your foot through a pair of elastic straps that hold the tongue of the shoe onto your foot, and they are the MOST COMFORTABLE SHOES EVAR. Seriously, I've never had a pair of shoes that were so foot-friendly before, especially right out of the box. They weren't particularly cheap, but they were worth it.
So I got that going for me. Oh, I understand that the bookstore in the upscale shopping mall just a few minutes up the road from us is hosting a book signing by...a gangsta rapper named Master P today. Apparently he learned how to write, or at least to ghostwrite, and he has released a book. Which he'll be signing in person today...just a few minutes from the house. I can't imagine how many gangsta thug types will be swarming on this part of town this afternoon. Oh goody.
Man, I'm glad I bought that shotgun :)
Some weeks ago, we went to Sam's Club, where, among other things, we had the goal of getting passport photos taken. Neither of us has an active passport, and we've had the passport applications on my desk here for a while, so we figured we should get that process started. Anyway, this meant we had to deal with the people at the Sam's Club photo center. A little word of caution: if you work at a Sam's Club photo center, and you're capable of such complicated tasks as, oh, opening a browser to this page and reading this, you're more intelligent than the employee we had to deal with that day.
Suffice it to say that we waited an hour to get photos that were blurry (mine) and scaled incorrectly (Wife's). When I pointed out that we simply did not have time to restart this process, as we had a cart full of rapidly defrosting food, our employee wrinkled her nose and said, "well, it is a one-hour photo lab." Of course, the photos were taken with a digital camera and printed from a computer, which does not take an hour, but it DOES take an hour when it takes you forty-five minutes to realize you forgot to put the proper photo paper into the machine.
So we just left, furious, and got home, where Wife called the Sam's manager and told her what an incompetent halfwit he had working for him. He apologized and offered to refund our money and retake the photos for free. Great.
We didn't get a chance to get back down there until last weekend. When we got in the door, we went to the customer service desk and explained the situation. The CS woman paged the manager, and we waited and waited and waited...so she paged him again. Again, we waited...until I finally just said, "why do you need him? Just refund our money, please." Which she did. So, okay, halfway to victory here. She took us over to the photo lab and explained that we were owed free photos. The photo lab employee said "okay, but we don't currently have a camera."
! I said "so how are you supposed to take passport photos?" Her answer, of course, was something like "Duhhhhhhh..." It was kind of hard to understand her with her finger up her nose to the knuckle. She suggested that she could scan in our old photos and blow them up. Okay, great, I said, but can you get rid of the blurriness on mine? Well, uh, no. So, once again, we left empty-handed and frustrated at ourselves for returning to that idiot hive.
So Sam's photo center is now 0 for 2. At least we got our money back. Costco, I'm begging you, please come out here. If you need a place to build your store, maybe we can blow up the Sam's Club and you can build there.
On another topic, last weekend I bought some new shoes and pants for work. I got some "clog-style" Oxford shoes that are awesome. There are no laces on them; rather, tension is applied to your foot through a pair of elastic straps that hold the tongue of the shoe onto your foot, and they are the MOST COMFORTABLE SHOES EVAR. Seriously, I've never had a pair of shoes that were so foot-friendly before, especially right out of the box. They weren't particularly cheap, but they were worth it.
So I got that going for me. Oh, I understand that the bookstore in the upscale shopping mall just a few minutes up the road from us is hosting a book signing by...a gangsta rapper named Master P today. Apparently he learned how to write, or at least to ghostwrite, and he has released a book. Which he'll be signing in person today...just a few minutes from the house. I can't imagine how many gangsta thug types will be swarming on this part of town this afternoon. Oh goody.
Man, I'm glad I bought that shotgun :)
Monday, September 10, 2007
Another Day at the Office
Most people get stuck going to work in the same cubicle day after day. Today was not that kind of day for me. Instead, I got to go down to Hunting Island. It is about a 3 hour drive one-way, but man is the view worth it. I had to do some work, and work in the hot humid sun, but then I got to eat my lunch on the beach. I took some pictures for you to envy...I mean enjoy.
On the other hand, don't be too jealous. I also had to go into the maritime forest to look for a marker and had my first introduction to a tick, or should I say a nest of them. Somehow I managed not to get one to bite me though, and for that I am very thankful. (Especially to DEET.)
On the other hand, don't be too jealous. I also had to go into the maritime forest to look for a marker and had my first introduction to a tick, or should I say a nest of them. Somehow I managed not to get one to bite me though, and for that I am very thankful. (Especially to DEET.)
My feet in the Atlantic
Now I have been in both the Atlantic and the Pacific. (Ignore how white my legs are.)
For the birds
These were my adoring fans. I fed them my bread crusts. They were willing to get really close to me in order to get them as well.
Friday, September 07, 2007
Graduate School
I will warn you that the first half of this post is going to be filled with whining, but I promise it gets better.
School started August 23 and I was not ready to go back yet. Well I was ready in the sense of having all of my books, payed tuition, etc; I just wasn't mentally ready. Ready or not though, it started and I hit the ground running.
The first class was Dr Casey's course on the history of anthropology theory. Even before the course had started we were supposed to have read a 600 page book, which of course most of us had simply skimmed. Each week's assignment was a tremendous section of the book along with an accompanying book that better explained the first. We were also assigned 6-12 articles that we had to provide a 2-3 page annotated bibliography on each. Our main task for the semester including teaching the course for three days on a given subject which was to include a discussion session and a project of our creation for the class to accomplish. Another task was to research another subject given to us and explain how it fit into the greater sphere of anthropology theory. That was due the second week of class.
The second class was Dr Smith, who is British elitist and is known as the hardest professor in the department. The other graduate students have told me that if you get a B+ in his course, it is equivalent to an A++. That really made me intimidated of him, and then I saw his syllabus and almost passed out right there. I had ordered the books for the class a few weeks before, so I knew there was one every week, which I was worried about being able to keep up. (I am not a good skimmer. I like to read it through.) In addition to all these books, which are quite large in themselves, we have 6-12 journal articles to read. So all told in an average week there is about 600-800 pages of reading. We also had two essays due during the semester where we explain how the readings we have read fit into the larger historiography. In preparation of being professionals who have to present at conferences, we each were assigned a book where we have to write a professional book review and then present it to class without looking at it. (He later explained we could have a few note cards.)
The next day I went to Dr Brown's class, who is the department chair. His syllabus didn't look awful except for the first four weeks where we have to do a lot of reading and site visits. The rest of the semester appeared to be guest lectures, which I assumed meant just a response paper. I was right and I was wrong. In addition to a response paper, we also have to do what ever reading they assign (which we have been told will not be given to us more than 3 days ahead of the class), and we each are going to be assigned one of the guest speakers and we have to interview them and create a discussion session. Then he also announced that he was adding a project to be completed by the end of the semester. We have to read through 20 years of a single academic journal of our choosing and describe how it has changed.
My last class, which made four for the semester, was my American Architecture course with a former coworker Mr Sidebottom. This was the class I was most looking forward to, because it was actually directly related to the field I want to enter. The syllabus didn't frighten me since we had only a 100 pages to read in a week, two tests on architectural elements, and a historical research project on a style of our choosing.
By this point I had been in school for one week and I started to freak. For some reason I had gotten it into my head that I could handle not only more classes than is recommended, but also more work at my two jobs totaling 34 hours a week. (20 is the recommended with a 6 credit hour load. I had 12 at this point.) I was spending every moment studying, and I even had to leave work early to get everything done in the first week.
I evaluated the situation and decided that since the Anthropology course was the only one taught again while I am here, I would drop that course. I also decided that I should drop my second job, which was 14 hours a week. However, when I went to talk to my second job about quitting they instead wanted to compromise. They said to take the next two weeks off, get my head around my situation, and come back to talk. They are willing if needs be, to let me only work for 4 guaranteed hours a week plus any I can salvage here and there, with the understanding that next semester should be better and allow me to work more hours again.
That made me feel better, but I am still struggling with my reading but I am getting better at skimming. It really is a talent you either have naturally or don't. I apparently don't, but people are helping me learn a few tricks to help, and I am appreciative of that. It will also get better here in the next few weeks, I hope, when Dr Brown's class starts the guest lectures.
Although I don't like the late nights, the time away from Tim, driving home in the dark from class, and the insecurity that comes with a new challenge; I am loving graduate school. I feel honored to be able to attend and get to study in depth something in which I have a great interest. There is also a great sense of community among the faculty and students. If you have a problem understanding something, you can talk to anyone and they will help you. Your opinion isn't about being right or wrong, every point has a value as long as you can express it clearly.
I have already learned a lot and feel like I am going to grow professionally more than I ever would have imagined. It has also rekindled my drive to go above and beyond, which got lost in the summer heat I swear. I have set two goals for each year which involve presenting and attending professional conferences.
I didn't imagine that it would be so different from my undergraduate experience since I am attending not only the same school, but I am working with the same professors I have known my whole undergrad career. But it is different and it takes some getting used to. Especially being asked to call them by their first names, which one of my professors whom I have known for years now is adamant about.
I guess what I am trying to say is I am tired, but happy. If you don't hear from me, now you know why. I promise I am not ignoring anyone out of spite. Also, I can't wait for Christmas break!
School started August 23 and I was not ready to go back yet. Well I was ready in the sense of having all of my books, payed tuition, etc; I just wasn't mentally ready. Ready or not though, it started and I hit the ground running.
The first class was Dr Casey's course on the history of anthropology theory. Even before the course had started we were supposed to have read a 600 page book, which of course most of us had simply skimmed. Each week's assignment was a tremendous section of the book along with an accompanying book that better explained the first. We were also assigned 6-12 articles that we had to provide a 2-3 page annotated bibliography on each. Our main task for the semester including teaching the course for three days on a given subject which was to include a discussion session and a project of our creation for the class to accomplish. Another task was to research another subject given to us and explain how it fit into the greater sphere of anthropology theory. That was due the second week of class.
The second class was Dr Smith, who is British elitist and is known as the hardest professor in the department. The other graduate students have told me that if you get a B+ in his course, it is equivalent to an A++. That really made me intimidated of him, and then I saw his syllabus and almost passed out right there. I had ordered the books for the class a few weeks before, so I knew there was one every week, which I was worried about being able to keep up. (I am not a good skimmer. I like to read it through.) In addition to all these books, which are quite large in themselves, we have 6-12 journal articles to read. So all told in an average week there is about 600-800 pages of reading. We also had two essays due during the semester where we explain how the readings we have read fit into the larger historiography. In preparation of being professionals who have to present at conferences, we each were assigned a book where we have to write a professional book review and then present it to class without looking at it. (He later explained we could have a few note cards.)
The next day I went to Dr Brown's class, who is the department chair. His syllabus didn't look awful except for the first four weeks where we have to do a lot of reading and site visits. The rest of the semester appeared to be guest lectures, which I assumed meant just a response paper. I was right and I was wrong. In addition to a response paper, we also have to do what ever reading they assign (which we have been told will not be given to us more than 3 days ahead of the class), and we each are going to be assigned one of the guest speakers and we have to interview them and create a discussion session. Then he also announced that he was adding a project to be completed by the end of the semester. We have to read through 20 years of a single academic journal of our choosing and describe how it has changed.
My last class, which made four for the semester, was my American Architecture course with a former coworker Mr Sidebottom. This was the class I was most looking forward to, because it was actually directly related to the field I want to enter. The syllabus didn't frighten me since we had only a 100 pages to read in a week, two tests on architectural elements, and a historical research project on a style of our choosing.
By this point I had been in school for one week and I started to freak. For some reason I had gotten it into my head that I could handle not only more classes than is recommended, but also more work at my two jobs totaling 34 hours a week. (20 is the recommended with a 6 credit hour load. I had 12 at this point.) I was spending every moment studying, and I even had to leave work early to get everything done in the first week.
I evaluated the situation and decided that since the Anthropology course was the only one taught again while I am here, I would drop that course. I also decided that I should drop my second job, which was 14 hours a week. However, when I went to talk to my second job about quitting they instead wanted to compromise. They said to take the next two weeks off, get my head around my situation, and come back to talk. They are willing if needs be, to let me only work for 4 guaranteed hours a week plus any I can salvage here and there, with the understanding that next semester should be better and allow me to work more hours again.
That made me feel better, but I am still struggling with my reading but I am getting better at skimming. It really is a talent you either have naturally or don't. I apparently don't, but people are helping me learn a few tricks to help, and I am appreciative of that. It will also get better here in the next few weeks, I hope, when Dr Brown's class starts the guest lectures.
Although I don't like the late nights, the time away from Tim, driving home in the dark from class, and the insecurity that comes with a new challenge; I am loving graduate school. I feel honored to be able to attend and get to study in depth something in which I have a great interest. There is also a great sense of community among the faculty and students. If you have a problem understanding something, you can talk to anyone and they will help you. Your opinion isn't about being right or wrong, every point has a value as long as you can express it clearly.
I have already learned a lot and feel like I am going to grow professionally more than I ever would have imagined. It has also rekindled my drive to go above and beyond, which got lost in the summer heat I swear. I have set two goals for each year which involve presenting and attending professional conferences.
I didn't imagine that it would be so different from my undergraduate experience since I am attending not only the same school, but I am working with the same professors I have known my whole undergrad career. But it is different and it takes some getting used to. Especially being asked to call them by their first names, which one of my professors whom I have known for years now is adamant about.
I guess what I am trying to say is I am tired, but happy. If you don't hear from me, now you know why. I promise I am not ignoring anyone out of spite. Also, I can't wait for Christmas break!
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