I have really struggled with Twitter. Not that it is hard to set up an account - although I don't have one yet. I have set them up for my husband and a friend. I just don't get the idea of posting my thoughts for others to read and then writing about what others are doing.
Maybe it comes from the fact that I am an Introvert (as demonstrated by the Myers Briggs Type Indicator). I draw my energy and enjoy solitary pursuits. For me the perfect vacation to re-energize myself is a beach, a chair and a pile of unread books, or a well stocked Kindle.
From what I have seen on Twitter it is lots of people tweeting about their days, their pursuits, their opinions or what they think about other people. Maybe I have it wrong and there is more to Twitter than that.
Now you can say that I really don't know the importance of Twitter until I try it. Many of my writer friends swear by it to help them stay in touch with readers and fans, as well as other writers. I'm not to the that point in my writing career yet. I'm still trying the master Facebook and a blog, as well as my final steps in a doctoral dissertation.
Having spent some time with young adults it seems that Twitter was designed for their generation. Many of the young adults I know are absolutely sure that the world is just waiting for them to spew words of wisdom, or their opinions about life, relationships and everything else that crosses their minds. They do it on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and any other vehicle they can find to spread their understanding of the world and how they fit into it. This is the generation raised by my generation, children of Baby Boomers who were raised to think that we are all just waiting for them to come along and fix all the problems of the world....or at least have an opinion about it.
I'm not being critical but making an observation from my vantage point. It seems to me that maybe it is better to call the person you are writing about rather than post on Facebook, or Tweet that you love them, miss them or just appreciate them.
Anyway, if someone has any advice for me about Twitter then I would appreciate it. Maybe I just need to set up a an account and try it for a while.
Wednesday, November 20, 2013
Thursday, November 14, 2013
Another Hurdle Completed
This week I sat before my doctoral committee and defended my dissertation proposal. It was a grueling process where I was questioned about my ideas and challenged to be more "scholarly." After about an hour of questions and suggestions on how to make my ideas better and tighter the committee approved my proposal and signed off on it. Today I received an email from the graduate school that I attend that I am officially a candidate for a doctorate.
All that is left is the gathering my data, writing up the results and then the final defense of my dissertation to the same group of people. One of my committee members challenged me to come back to our final meeting ready to "wow" them with my work. I guess she was telling me that I will not be allowed to just slide through. It makes sense because they sign off on my work as a committee so their reputations will be linked to my final research and writing.
The final phases of this journey have been a classic example of "approach/avoidance" behavior on my part. This is my goal, to achieve a doctorate and complete this final piece of work. Yet I have fought it all the way. One part of me is astounded that I would be in this place. It has been a dream of mine, and I visualize myself completing it, yet a small part of me does not feel that I am worthy of this type of academic accomplishment.
The other demon I am fighting is my propensity toward procrastination. I would rather be doing anything than trudging through piles of academic journals to prove my point as part of my research. Yet it has to be done and if getting a doctorate was easy everyone would have one.
So I continue the journey step by step, making lists, adding more writing to my document in Dropbox and soon gathering data. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel, there are only a few more hurdles to clear. I will keep you posted on how it goes.
All that is left is the gathering my data, writing up the results and then the final defense of my dissertation to the same group of people. One of my committee members challenged me to come back to our final meeting ready to "wow" them with my work. I guess she was telling me that I will not be allowed to just slide through. It makes sense because they sign off on my work as a committee so their reputations will be linked to my final research and writing.
The final phases of this journey have been a classic example of "approach/avoidance" behavior on my part. This is my goal, to achieve a doctorate and complete this final piece of work. Yet I have fought it all the way. One part of me is astounded that I would be in this place. It has been a dream of mine, and I visualize myself completing it, yet a small part of me does not feel that I am worthy of this type of academic accomplishment.
The other demon I am fighting is my propensity toward procrastination. I would rather be doing anything than trudging through piles of academic journals to prove my point as part of my research. Yet it has to be done and if getting a doctorate was easy everyone would have one.
So I continue the journey step by step, making lists, adding more writing to my document in Dropbox and soon gathering data. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel, there are only a few more hurdles to clear. I will keep you posted on how it goes.
Monday, November 4, 2013
A Member of our Pack has Left Us
For the last 10 years my husband and I have had 2 dogs, Allie and Buddy. They have been our companions, time arrangers, controllers of our schedules (see previous blog entry) and pack members. Buddy, our 15 - year -old retriever mix, had been failing for the last few months. He had severe arthritis in his hips and was being treated by a veterinary acupuncturist for the last several months. The acupuncture was successful but he continued to decline as advanced doggy age caught up with him.
We had to make the tough decision to put him to sleep this last weekend. He could no longer walk and was unable to control his bladder. He just was at the end of his ability to try any longer. He would have continued just to keep my husband happy but was in pain, scared and just did not have the energy to fight any longer. So my husband made the heart breaking decision to allow Buddy to pass from this life.
The vet made arrangements on a Sunday afternoon to help us and we took Buddy for his last car ride. He spent his last day trying to do the things he loved, get a toilet drink, have snacks, steal our other dog's treats and get his ears petted. Yet we knew that every step and movement was taking its toll on him.
Now we have to get through our grief and also help Allie, our other dog, get through hers. She has never known a time when Buddy was not part of her life as her companion and general nuisance. It's heart breaking to watch her look for him as we take our walks, or search the house for him in his favorite places when we return.
I know this grief will pass, we will move on in our lives and keep Buddy in our hearts as a happy memory. I also hope that as my husband and I pass from this life we will see our dogs as we cross from this existence to the next.
Buddy had a long and happy life. We adopted him from a rescue organization when he was a puppy and he lived with us for 15 and 1/2 years. He was not a perfect dog but he was loved and loved us back, especially my husband. He will be missed.
We had to make the tough decision to put him to sleep this last weekend. He could no longer walk and was unable to control his bladder. He just was at the end of his ability to try any longer. He would have continued just to keep my husband happy but was in pain, scared and just did not have the energy to fight any longer. So my husband made the heart breaking decision to allow Buddy to pass from this life.
The vet made arrangements on a Sunday afternoon to help us and we took Buddy for his last car ride. He spent his last day trying to do the things he loved, get a toilet drink, have snacks, steal our other dog's treats and get his ears petted. Yet we knew that every step and movement was taking its toll on him.
Now we have to get through our grief and also help Allie, our other dog, get through hers. She has never known a time when Buddy was not part of her life as her companion and general nuisance. It's heart breaking to watch her look for him as we take our walks, or search the house for him in his favorite places when we return.
I know this grief will pass, we will move on in our lives and keep Buddy in our hearts as a happy memory. I also hope that as my husband and I pass from this life we will see our dogs as we cross from this existence to the next.
Buddy had a long and happy life. We adopted him from a rescue organization when he was a puppy and he lived with us for 15 and 1/2 years. He was not a perfect dog but he was loved and loved us back, especially my husband. He will be missed.
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