I've still been a bit slow to get back into the academic swing of things, but I've had some (somewhat) random thoughts/ramblings/vents that I wanted to articulate a bit more...
Dear day care providers, I like both of you very much as people. However, when I provide 3 bibs for DD for each day that she attends, why can't you use those bibs instead of allowing her to nearly spoil every single outfit? I put the bibs in the same place every time, and I know that you have used them in the past.
I've come to the realization that if I just accept the fact that there are certain days/times that I will not be able to do academic work, my stress and frustration level decreases significantly. Yes, my daughter usually takes a decent afternoon nap, but there are times that I just cannot do work during that time for one reason or another. Sometimes it is a household task that just has to get done while neither child is in my way. Other times, I just need time to think (well, that is part of work, but sometimes we don't always see it that way-- one of those paradoxes of life). Then, there are times that I am just too dang tired.
I know that if I had a "normal" job, certain close family members wouldn't call me so much during the day; other close family members wouldn't ask me to run errands on the 2 days per week that both children are in day care. Truly, as I mentioned in the previous paragraph, sometimes it is easier to just run those errands by myself. However, there are days that even a small errand that only takes half an hour can really throw me off.
Sometimes, I feel like my e-mails to people in my department go into a black hole. Granted, the semester ended a month ago and I know people are busy with other things. I wish that it was easier for me to just show up on campus and try to meet with people in person, but I'm not going to drive nearly 2 hours and pay to park to find out no one is there on that day. At times, I've had luck with trying to get in contact with people the "old fashioned" way...via office phone. However, this isn't always successful.
Although media analysis is a big part of my research, I often get extremely frustrated with the media in general. I could write a mega post about this. For now, I will just say that the media really does not have to emphasize certain things, but I know that they are trying to one up the next media organization. For instance, the meat cleaver attack in London. Was it necessary to emphasize the video that the attacker made???!?!?! I have so much more to say connected to this, but I will leave it at that. Not to mention, how certain media figures often perpetuate xenophobia, racism, sexism, etc.
Not to be a debbie downer, but I've been feeling quite isolated and just "down" in general lately. Maybe it's just this transition phase between completing my comps and trying to REALLY get started on my proposal, not to mention other projects that I have to work on in the next couple of months. Although I might have a little less time to work, I'm looking forward to when my son is done with preschool in a couple weeks and I can take both kids to the playground or other places on those days. Every time I do that, I get to at least have an informal chit-chat with another mom/grandparent at the playground and I don't feel so isolated. I actually miss the coursework phase for that...being able to interact more with other people in the department; commiserate with other grad student moms who are juggling similar responsibilities. Hey, I might actually go ahead and buy that children's museum membership. I might actually try to find other groups/activities to get me out of the house with the kids and, maybe?!?!? just maybe by myself, too??? What about actually putting a priority on having a date night more than once every six months?? I think that as a grad student parent, these things might actually help us to feel more "human" and get us out of a rut in general.
I've come to the realization that I am not as self-motivated as I would like to be, and I really need to do something to change that. I haven't come up with a fantastic solution to that one....yet....
In reflecting on all that has happened in Oklahoma and other midwestern states with the tornadoes, I've been reminded that we often forget the fact that millions of other people around the world are still recovering from natural disasters that happened YEARS ago. I've seen this in my own geographical area. Also, recovery does not just have to do with the built environment. There are mental, emotional, biophysical, and spiritual dimensions. We need to keep this in mind when making decisions about how to enact our own personal philanthropic intensions.
There are many other things I could go on about...the situation in Syria, the persecution of minorities in many countries, oh, those are big ones, but I will stop there for now.
Dear day care providers, I like both of you very much as people. However, when I provide 3 bibs for DD for each day that she attends, why can't you use those bibs instead of allowing her to nearly spoil every single outfit? I put the bibs in the same place every time, and I know that you have used them in the past.
I've come to the realization that if I just accept the fact that there are certain days/times that I will not be able to do academic work, my stress and frustration level decreases significantly. Yes, my daughter usually takes a decent afternoon nap, but there are times that I just cannot do work during that time for one reason or another. Sometimes it is a household task that just has to get done while neither child is in my way. Other times, I just need time to think (well, that is part of work, but sometimes we don't always see it that way-- one of those paradoxes of life). Then, there are times that I am just too dang tired.
I know that if I had a "normal" job, certain close family members wouldn't call me so much during the day; other close family members wouldn't ask me to run errands on the 2 days per week that both children are in day care. Truly, as I mentioned in the previous paragraph, sometimes it is easier to just run those errands by myself. However, there are days that even a small errand that only takes half an hour can really throw me off.
Sometimes, I feel like my e-mails to people in my department go into a black hole. Granted, the semester ended a month ago and I know people are busy with other things. I wish that it was easier for me to just show up on campus and try to meet with people in person, but I'm not going to drive nearly 2 hours and pay to park to find out no one is there on that day. At times, I've had luck with trying to get in contact with people the "old fashioned" way...via office phone. However, this isn't always successful.
Although media analysis is a big part of my research, I often get extremely frustrated with the media in general. I could write a mega post about this. For now, I will just say that the media really does not have to emphasize certain things, but I know that they are trying to one up the next media organization. For instance, the meat cleaver attack in London. Was it necessary to emphasize the video that the attacker made???!?!?! I have so much more to say connected to this, but I will leave it at that. Not to mention, how certain media figures often perpetuate xenophobia, racism, sexism, etc.
Not to be a debbie downer, but I've been feeling quite isolated and just "down" in general lately. Maybe it's just this transition phase between completing my comps and trying to REALLY get started on my proposal, not to mention other projects that I have to work on in the next couple of months. Although I might have a little less time to work, I'm looking forward to when my son is done with preschool in a couple weeks and I can take both kids to the playground or other places on those days. Every time I do that, I get to at least have an informal chit-chat with another mom/grandparent at the playground and I don't feel so isolated. I actually miss the coursework phase for that...being able to interact more with other people in the department; commiserate with other grad student moms who are juggling similar responsibilities. Hey, I might actually go ahead and buy that children's museum membership. I might actually try to find other groups/activities to get me out of the house with the kids and, maybe?!?!? just maybe by myself, too??? What about actually putting a priority on having a date night more than once every six months?? I think that as a grad student parent, these things might actually help us to feel more "human" and get us out of a rut in general.
I've come to the realization that I am not as self-motivated as I would like to be, and I really need to do something to change that. I haven't come up with a fantastic solution to that one....yet....
In reflecting on all that has happened in Oklahoma and other midwestern states with the tornadoes, I've been reminded that we often forget the fact that millions of other people around the world are still recovering from natural disasters that happened YEARS ago. I've seen this in my own geographical area. Also, recovery does not just have to do with the built environment. There are mental, emotional, biophysical, and spiritual dimensions. We need to keep this in mind when making decisions about how to enact our own personal philanthropic intensions.
There are many other things I could go on about...the situation in Syria, the persecution of minorities in many countries, oh, those are big ones, but I will stop there for now.
