Vacation

The quarter has finally ended. My papers are turned in and the books are closed for a few weeks. I have mindless reading lined up for vacation: John Grisham, Patricia Cornwell, and a book of short stories. I can't wait!

For the next few weeks I'll be in Cyprus (yes, the country; it's in the east Mediterranean). Farewell until I return!

Papers galore

I just finished writing a short paper for one of my classes. I decided to time myself so that the next time I have to write what seems like a pointless 5-pager, I can tell myself to just do it rather than spend the same amount of time complaining about it. So, now I know. It took me two hours to write the 5 page paper. Not bad. I'll remember that the next time I complain all day about having to write.

Today's Grad Gravy: Writing the paper will only take half as long as complaining about it.

My first journal submission

I've spent the last hour or so preparing a submission to an academic journal. I wrote a paper last quarter for field methods and my professor suggested I email editors to gauge interest in reading my piece. It worked and one editor expressed interest. So, I'm about to dive head first into the world of publication. I can't believe all the nitty-gritty stuff I had to do: reformat all my citations, add appropriate headers, format headings to a specific style, and, of course, write the all-important cover letter. I do have to admit, the whole process, tedious as it is, is much more exciting than finishing up that paper I have to do for class next week!

Today's Grad Gravy: Dive right in!

Today's Procrastination

All I have to say is: Exactly!

Slacker

Sheesh, have I been slacking on the blog. No really, I have an excuse: the quarter ends in a week and a half. I'm jetting off to Cyprus (the country, not the city in California. I didn't even know the city existed until I found out that more people know about the city than the country.) in exactly 11 days. Before then, I have a paper to write, an article to submit, and a bajillion other loose ends to tie up.

So, what does all this have to do with school? Everything of course. As much as I hate the end of the quarter rush, I kinda like the productivity of it all. After all, there are only three times in the whole year that I actually feel like I work hard enough to be called a grad student. I'm really trying to remind myself these days that I'm doing this because I choose it. I hated life in the "real" world and now I get to spend years on my time, learning what I want and changing my mind about my interests at will. I'd better enjoy it while it lasts...

Today's Grad Gravy: It's not about work, it's about having fun.