The light at the end of the doctoral program tunnel is getting larger and larger (hopefully it is not a train heading my way!) I have a date for my dissertation defense with my entire committee, Monday October 27, 2014. Yikes! There is so much to do.
My doctoral committee chairperson and adviser worked with me on dates leading up to that big event. I have to apply for graduation (of course there is a fee for that). Then my adviser and I will be working on rewrites of my document as I complete the writing. It is due to her in a final form by the beginning of October and then to my committee by October 13. They need 2 weeks to read it and prepare for questions to ask me as part of my defense.
This is the culmination of six years of work (with a few breaks for personal issues). I am experiencing an array of emotions. I am excited, scared and just plain ready to be done.
One thing I am working on is my post -doctorate bucket list - all the things I have not been able to do or had time to do while on this educational journey. Some of my friends who have completed this already say that there is a lull after you are done and you don't quite know what to do with yourself. So I thought I would work on a wish list of all the things I want to do. This includes going to the Fabulous Food Show in Cleveland Ohio, spending more time visiting my grandson and getting back to my quilting and crafts I have not done in months.
But first of all I have to finish and graduate in the winter commencement. So much to do and limited time.
Monday, August 25, 2014
Tuesday, August 5, 2014
64 is the new ....
So this last weekend I attended a Heart concert. Ann and Nancy Wilson have been among my favorite rock performers for years. The last time I saw them in a live concert was in the mid-80's. This year for Mother's Day my husband got me second row seats for their concert at Hoosier Park in Anderson Indiana. Since my husband was working I took a friend.
The girls can still rock! We were in a crowd of about 3500 screaming fans. They played many of their older hits and some new material also. When they came out for the encore and launched into Led Zepplin's Immigrant Song the place went wild! We were on our feet for the entire show and during the encore were jumping up and down! It was fabulous.
Yes, the concert is structured so Ann can take a rest or a background role about every third song. But her voice is as strong as ever. Yes, Nancy may not jump and kick as high as she did 30 years ago but she is still a guitar (and other stringed instrument) virtuoso. At 64 and 60 respectively these girls still have it and can rock out with the best of them. (Did you see them do Stairway to Heaven at the Kennedy Center Honors Led Zepplin? If not check it out!). I am so glad I got to go to the show and experience them up close and personal.
My friend I took to the concert is 64 also. She and I jumped and screamed and had a wonderful time.
So then on Monday I was checking Facebook and one of my favorite authors was celebrating her 64th birthday (Liz Flaherty - if you have not read her book "One More Summer" check it out. It's one of my favorites.) She was reflecting on one blog (WordWranglers) that being 64 was not so bad. She is enjoying life and continuing her writing.
Both experiences got me thinking that as I am aging I hope I can continue to do the things I love and learn new things also.
So, rock on, Heart! Write on, Liz Flaherty! Keep it coming ladies. You are so good at what you do and also you are an inspiration to those of us who are not so talented.
Friday, July 18, 2014
Easy Transition - although I am still a Digital Immigrant!
A few weeks ago I got a new smart phone (Samsung Galaxy S5). I was amazed that the transition from my old smart phone to this one was so painless.
A little over 2 years ago I went from my old flip phone to an earlier model smart phone (Samsung Infuse). That transition was so difficult. I talk quite a bit about being a digital immigrant. Usually new technology for me is difficult to learn. When I bought my first smart phone I had help figuring it out from one of my students and my son (who had the same phone). In fact the reason I bought that particular phone is that my son had the same model so I could call him and ask for help if I got stuck. He would patiently walk me through how do certain functions or how to set up apps. As time went on I got more skilled at that phone and did not need to call him for help.
So when I was due for an upgrade I debated on getting a new phone. As I was thinking about it my husband said he wanted the Otterbox case from my old phone and my son wanted my old phone. It was like they were fighting over the carcass before I had ever made a decision.
I wanted to stay with Samsung (sorry iPhone people) and started researching what was best. The Galaxy S5 had great reviews and was on special when I was ready to upgrade. This transition was so seamless. The nice person at the store transferred all my contacts and other saved data. He gave me a short lesson the the new enhancements to the phone and then he sent me on my way.
At first I was a little unsure but soon I was adding apps and activating functions on the phone. I love the voice search (OK Google!). It tells me the weather, where I am and how the traffic will be on my commute home from work. I take photos, post to social media, answer email and sync my calendar from work. It even counts my steps every day (as long as I have it on me). I feel positively confident that I can handle just about anything.
I also connected my phone to Sync in my car (it's amazing to me that Microsoft Sync has the same voice as Apple's Siri). Now I travel down the highway chatting away with no phone to my ear.
I'm not sure if I would qualify as a digital native but my digital immigrant status may have been upgraded to a digital permanent resident! On second thought, Nah! I still haven't figured out Twitter even though I have an account (when do you hashtag?) and I have never tried Instagram. So I will stay in Digital Immigrant territory for now.
A little over 2 years ago I went from my old flip phone to an earlier model smart phone (Samsung Infuse). That transition was so difficult. I talk quite a bit about being a digital immigrant. Usually new technology for me is difficult to learn. When I bought my first smart phone I had help figuring it out from one of my students and my son (who had the same phone). In fact the reason I bought that particular phone is that my son had the same model so I could call him and ask for help if I got stuck. He would patiently walk me through how do certain functions or how to set up apps. As time went on I got more skilled at that phone and did not need to call him for help.
So when I was due for an upgrade I debated on getting a new phone. As I was thinking about it my husband said he wanted the Otterbox case from my old phone and my son wanted my old phone. It was like they were fighting over the carcass before I had ever made a decision.
I wanted to stay with Samsung (sorry iPhone people) and started researching what was best. The Galaxy S5 had great reviews and was on special when I was ready to upgrade. This transition was so seamless. The nice person at the store transferred all my contacts and other saved data. He gave me a short lesson the the new enhancements to the phone and then he sent me on my way.
At first I was a little unsure but soon I was adding apps and activating functions on the phone. I love the voice search (OK Google!). It tells me the weather, where I am and how the traffic will be on my commute home from work. I take photos, post to social media, answer email and sync my calendar from work. It even counts my steps every day (as long as I have it on me). I feel positively confident that I can handle just about anything.
I also connected my phone to Sync in my car (it's amazing to me that Microsoft Sync has the same voice as Apple's Siri). Now I travel down the highway chatting away with no phone to my ear.
I'm not sure if I would qualify as a digital native but my digital immigrant status may have been upgraded to a digital permanent resident! On second thought, Nah! I still haven't figured out Twitter even though I have an account (when do you hashtag?) and I have never tried Instagram. So I will stay in Digital Immigrant territory for now.
Thursday, July 3, 2014
How do you create?
A few years ago I happened to see an interview with Barry Manilow. He was talking about his creative process and his hit song "Copacabana" He said that usually his lyricists will write the words for the song and then send them to him, and he then writes the music. When he received the words to Copacabana he said the music came almost immediately. It took him about 15 minutes to write the music to the lyrics.
In another example of the creative process Steve Martin and Edie Brickell talk about writing "Sarah Jane and the Iron Mountain Baby" (available on their Love Has Come to You album). Edie Brickell said that for their collaboration Steve Martin writes the banjo parts first and then sends the files to her. She had wanted to write a train song and one track he wrote lent itself to that desire. She did some research on trains and came upon the story of the Iron Mountain train and the baby that was tossed from the train to the ground below. The baby was rescued by a Civil War veteran who was looking for wood for his barn. That man's wife was named Sarah Jane (which coincidentally rhymes with train). It was a story and music match that was perfect.
In talking to author friends they often mention that they are asked how they start a book. Do they start with the characters or the story? It seems most are evenly split. Some authors say the characters are formed in their imaginations and then the story writes itself around them. Others say the story starts first and then they find the characters as they are developing the story.
So how do you create something? Is it music first, then words or the other way around. Does the character get your attention first or is it the story. Do you see the finished product in your head or do you see the parts first (such as yarn for knitting or fabric for quilting) and then build from there. I guess there is no wrong or right way to create. The important thing is that it is done, it works for the creator and it gets completed and shared with others.
In another example of the creative process Steve Martin and Edie Brickell talk about writing "Sarah Jane and the Iron Mountain Baby" (available on their Love Has Come to You album). Edie Brickell said that for their collaboration Steve Martin writes the banjo parts first and then sends the files to her. She had wanted to write a train song and one track he wrote lent itself to that desire. She did some research on trains and came upon the story of the Iron Mountain train and the baby that was tossed from the train to the ground below. The baby was rescued by a Civil War veteran who was looking for wood for his barn. That man's wife was named Sarah Jane (which coincidentally rhymes with train). It was a story and music match that was perfect.
In talking to author friends they often mention that they are asked how they start a book. Do they start with the characters or the story? It seems most are evenly split. Some authors say the characters are formed in their imaginations and then the story writes itself around them. Others say the story starts first and then they find the characters as they are developing the story.
So how do you create something? Is it music first, then words or the other way around. Does the character get your attention first or is it the story. Do you see the finished product in your head or do you see the parts first (such as yarn for knitting or fabric for quilting) and then build from there. I guess there is no wrong or right way to create. The important thing is that it is done, it works for the creator and it gets completed and shared with others.
Monday, June 30, 2014
Silver Memories
This last weekend my husband and I had a garage sale. We still have items from both of our mothers' houses that were sent to us or ended up in our possession. We are also looking forward to a big life change for ourselves in the next few years when we retire and possibly move to another state to be closer to our son and his family.
So in preparation for that eventual move I have been going through boxes and cabinets and setting aside items we don't use to sell. In most cases it is an easy decision. "Hmmm, French press coffee pot. I have never used that and am too addicted to my Keurig. Sell!" I have found stacks of serving dishes, bowls, glassware and other things that have lurked in the back of my cabinets for years. All were removed, cleaned and sold this last weekend.
In my search for items to sell I found a box of my mother's silver serving dishes. They were tarnished and dirty so I decided to clean them up and include them in the garage sale. As I was polishing the serving pieces I reminisced about the many times my mother used them.
She loved to have fancy dinners where she brought out all the good china, silverware and serving pieces and we would celebrate a holiday, an event or a special birthday. Everyone had to dress up and dinner was served formally. Of course she also had five daughters so she had a ready made labor force to clean all those pieces and polish the silver. Standing there alone in my kitchen polishing the silver pieces for sale reminded me of all the times my sisters and I would have clean up/polishing duty after a family dinner. Although in the grand tradition of all teenagers we complained about the work (just not loud enough for our mother to hear) thinking back it did not seem so overwhelming or like such drudgery as it did as I was working alone last week.
I am selling the silver pieces because I just don't entertain that way at all. For me a gathering is a buffet on the kitchen island with disposable plates and eating utensils. I would much rather invest my time in spending it with friends and guests than dealing with fancy place settings and serving dishes.
It was wonderful to have the time to think about the past but it is also time for me to move on. I know I am doing the right thing in re-homing these pieces with someone who will appreciate them.
So in preparation for that eventual move I have been going through boxes and cabinets and setting aside items we don't use to sell. In most cases it is an easy decision. "Hmmm, French press coffee pot. I have never used that and am too addicted to my Keurig. Sell!" I have found stacks of serving dishes, bowls, glassware and other things that have lurked in the back of my cabinets for years. All were removed, cleaned and sold this last weekend.
In my search for items to sell I found a box of my mother's silver serving dishes. They were tarnished and dirty so I decided to clean them up and include them in the garage sale. As I was polishing the serving pieces I reminisced about the many times my mother used them.
She loved to have fancy dinners where she brought out all the good china, silverware and serving pieces and we would celebrate a holiday, an event or a special birthday. Everyone had to dress up and dinner was served formally. Of course she also had five daughters so she had a ready made labor force to clean all those pieces and polish the silver. Standing there alone in my kitchen polishing the silver pieces for sale reminded me of all the times my sisters and I would have clean up/polishing duty after a family dinner. Although in the grand tradition of all teenagers we complained about the work (just not loud enough for our mother to hear) thinking back it did not seem so overwhelming or like such drudgery as it did as I was working alone last week.
I am selling the silver pieces because I just don't entertain that way at all. For me a gathering is a buffet on the kitchen island with disposable plates and eating utensils. I would much rather invest my time in spending it with friends and guests than dealing with fancy place settings and serving dishes.
It was wonderful to have the time to think about the past but it is also time for me to move on. I know I am doing the right thing in re-homing these pieces with someone who will appreciate them.
Monday, June 16, 2014
It's Always Something!
It seems like recently I have been either saying or hearing this phrase "It's always something!" I was talking to a work colleague late last week and we were comparing notes on the reorganization at the college where we both work. Although many of the changes will end up eventually being positive we were both unsure about what the changes would bring to our lives and jobs. Between the two of us it seems like that was the theme of the day, "It's always something!"
As I was telling my husband about this over the weekend he also agreed. No matter what is going on it seems like "It's always something!" Recently I had a check up with my doctor and even though everything was fine he reminded me I was overdue for two regular wellness check ups. So I left his office with referrals for two different doctors I need to see over the next six months.
It can also be something positive that brings up the phrase, "It's always something!" A few years ago we had a hockey player living with us who has a lobster business with his father. He and his father have a commercial lobster license and they tend about 100 lobster traps off the shore of Massachusetts. During his school breaks he works the traps, either selling or giving away the lobsters he catches. One spring his father sent us 8 live lobsters he had caught the previous day. He wrapped them in seaweed and sent them over night to our front door. Although we were thrilled to receive the very generous gift we also were extremely busy that day. Luckily I had a chef friend who offered to cook them for me so that evening we enjoyed fresh lobster for dinner!
So "It's always something!" can be something negative, like a work reorganization the results in stress and uncertainty about the future. It can also be something unexpected in the midst of good news, my doctor check up was fine but I needed to take care of some regular maintenance on my body. Or it can be something positive, a box of fresh, live lobsters on your front porch and a friend who helps to cook them for your evening feast.
As someone who tries to look at life as a "glass half full" experience I hope to continue to say, "It's always something!" knowing that something can be a transition to a positive experience or outcome.
What do you think? How do you handle "It's always something!"
As I was telling my husband about this over the weekend he also agreed. No matter what is going on it seems like "It's always something!" Recently I had a check up with my doctor and even though everything was fine he reminded me I was overdue for two regular wellness check ups. So I left his office with referrals for two different doctors I need to see over the next six months.
It can also be something positive that brings up the phrase, "It's always something!" A few years ago we had a hockey player living with us who has a lobster business with his father. He and his father have a commercial lobster license and they tend about 100 lobster traps off the shore of Massachusetts. During his school breaks he works the traps, either selling or giving away the lobsters he catches. One spring his father sent us 8 live lobsters he had caught the previous day. He wrapped them in seaweed and sent them over night to our front door. Although we were thrilled to receive the very generous gift we also were extremely busy that day. Luckily I had a chef friend who offered to cook them for me so that evening we enjoyed fresh lobster for dinner!
So "It's always something!" can be something negative, like a work reorganization the results in stress and uncertainty about the future. It can also be something unexpected in the midst of good news, my doctor check up was fine but I needed to take care of some regular maintenance on my body. Or it can be something positive, a box of fresh, live lobsters on your front porch and a friend who helps to cook them for your evening feast.
As someone who tries to look at life as a "glass half full" experience I hope to continue to say, "It's always something!" knowing that something can be a transition to a positive experience or outcome.
What do you think? How do you handle "It's always something!"
Tuesday, June 10, 2014
Tony Awards, The Good Wife, Acting and Education
I have been a little absent recently from this blog. My only defense is that my work has been unusually busy and I'm also working on writing my dissertation. So between advising students, helping then get into classes for summer semester and getting data results from my research I just have not had the "umph" to think about topics for this blog. I will do a better job from here on out.
On Sunday night I watched some of the broadcast of the Tony Awards. I always like to do that because I really admire those actors who work in the musicals. I love watching extremely talented people who can sing and dance - AT THE SAME TIME! They can also act.
One of my favorite television shows is The Good Wife (on CBS). It's a great combination of powerful story lines, great characters and an strong female lead. One character on the show is Eli Gold (played by British stage and screen actor Alan Cumming). On The Good Wife he plays a buttoned-up political strategist and chief of staff to the governor of Illinois. It's a great role and he plays it well. When watching the Tony Award Ceremony on Sunday night Alan Cumming showed a very different side of himself. He is currently reprising his role as the emcee of the Kit Kat Club in Cabaret (the role made famous by Joel Grey). His performance is dead on outrageous and he seems to enjoy playing the part. Needless to say I will never look at Eli Gold the same way again!
That got me thinking about acting. I am an introvert according the the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator. So for me the thought of putting myself "out there" in a role that is totally outrageous is about the same as me doing brain surgery. Probably won't happen. Yet in thinking about it further I realized that in my own way I do put myself "out there."
During the school year I teach an Introduction to Psychology class at a community college. I realized that for three hours every week during the school year I am performing. I tell stories, I do impressions, I cue up videos that make my lecture points and I put on a performance all in the name of education.
I want my students to first of know that learning can be fun - and what is more fun than using a clip from Big Bang Theory to illustrate a point about learning and classical conditioning. The second thing I want my students to know is that learning is all around us and can often be found in popular culture.
So in my own way I am an actor, treading the boards not in pursuit of the "theater" but conducting a class where psychology, acting, popular culture and learning come together in something that is lots of fun!
On Sunday night I watched some of the broadcast of the Tony Awards. I always like to do that because I really admire those actors who work in the musicals. I love watching extremely talented people who can sing and dance - AT THE SAME TIME! They can also act.
One of my favorite television shows is The Good Wife (on CBS). It's a great combination of powerful story lines, great characters and an strong female lead. One character on the show is Eli Gold (played by British stage and screen actor Alan Cumming). On The Good Wife he plays a buttoned-up political strategist and chief of staff to the governor of Illinois. It's a great role and he plays it well. When watching the Tony Award Ceremony on Sunday night Alan Cumming showed a very different side of himself. He is currently reprising his role as the emcee of the Kit Kat Club in Cabaret (the role made famous by Joel Grey). His performance is dead on outrageous and he seems to enjoy playing the part. Needless to say I will never look at Eli Gold the same way again!
That got me thinking about acting. I am an introvert according the the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator. So for me the thought of putting myself "out there" in a role that is totally outrageous is about the same as me doing brain surgery. Probably won't happen. Yet in thinking about it further I realized that in my own way I do put myself "out there."
During the school year I teach an Introduction to Psychology class at a community college. I realized that for three hours every week during the school year I am performing. I tell stories, I do impressions, I cue up videos that make my lecture points and I put on a performance all in the name of education.
I want my students to first of know that learning can be fun - and what is more fun than using a clip from Big Bang Theory to illustrate a point about learning and classical conditioning. The second thing I want my students to know is that learning is all around us and can often be found in popular culture.
So in my own way I am an actor, treading the boards not in pursuit of the "theater" but conducting a class where psychology, acting, popular culture and learning come together in something that is lots of fun!
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