It's the little things that matter most

Ok...I need to correct a mistake in the "About Me" section...or rather an omission. I forgot to mention my girlfriend that I've been with for nearly 2 years. She reminded me, ever so humbly, that I forgot to mention her, so now she gets an entire post, just for her!

Anyway, aside from her reminder, it was something that happened tonight that was the real inspiration for this blog post. There was nothing remarkable about my day - I didn't give any great answers in class, didn't accomplish a whole lot in the line of work or homework, and didn't really do anything that made me feel overly impressed with myself. However, after talking with my girlfriend, T, for a while tonight she said that she'd "wait...patiently" for something to happen (I'm sure there'll be more on this topic at a later time). For whatever reason, that made the day a lot better, granted it was at 1100pm or so, but still...totally brightened my day and made me feel like the most important person in the world - much more so than would any answer given in class, "A" on a test/paper, or completion of a project at work.

While this post may appear vague to some, I think it'll be clear to the one person that it need to be. Moral of the story - don't over look the small things that people say and/or do for you; sometimes they can make all the difference in the world - or at least, all the difference to you.

-J

Thesis: the beginning

Good afternoon. Today is Sunday, which means that it's the end of my "weekend" and tomorrow is the beginning of a new week filled with classes, projects, work, and no doubt more homework than can possibly done in a 5-day period. I'm sure that many of you are familiar with this realization - kind of puts a damper on the fun that you're supposed to have on the weekend, doesn't it? Though I've realized that as I get older the less fun that I'm allowed to have on the weekends...c'est la vie...*sigh*...

In any case, I have a new thing to discuss. As I mentioned in my "About Me" section, I'm a graduate student working towards my masters degree in industrial/organizational psychology. For those who have no idea what this means (I'm still trying to figure it out myself) it's basically psychology applied to the business world (no, there's no counseling "sick" people, no working with schizophrenics, none of the "cool" things that you generally think of psychologists doing; sorry to disappoint). Personally, my interests lie in employment law, compensation, affirmative action plans, benefits, etc. That's right folks; I want to do the boring things that most people run from!

So the point of today's message (yes, there is one, I promise) is that I've officially started my thesis. I'm in the very beginning stages of my literature search/review, but I'm pumped! It's amazing what a little research can do for a person.

Because this blog is getting rather long, I'll end it here. I'm sure that you'll learn more of my thesis and my frustrations therewith as this blog gets older. Have a great day and enjoy the rest of your weekend!

The beginning

And so begins my journey as a new blogger. To be honest, I'm not really sure what all will appear here - hopefully something interesting.

Hm...so I suppose I should explain the name of my blog - Dulcius ex Asperis, This is a motto that I consider on a daily basis; one that I try to always think about and, for the most part, live by. Originally I hadn't planned on translating it for everyone - I figured that would take the fun away, but then I figured that it'd be difficult to talk about if you didn't know what it meant. "Dulcius ex Asperis" is Latin, or at least I think it is and it means sweetness through difficulty. Basically, through the hard and/or bad times will come the good times.

I feel as though this is a phrase that could do everyone a little good. Don't be afraid of hard work - it'll take you places. Nowhere have I learned this more than in graduate school. As I mentioned in my "About Me" section, I'm working toward my masters degree in industrial/organizational psychology - for those of you who've no idea what that means, stay tuned as I'm sure I'll both explain and talk about it later on.

Alright, that's it for tonight. Thanks very much for stopping by and reading my little blog. Until next time...

-J