This morning was nothing special. I woke up unacceptably early, showerd, dressed, and then got in my vehicle and joined my fellow working-class Americans on the daily morning commute to the place where we spend most of our waking hours. While on my drive I was listening to the radio and the hosting personality cited an "alarming" statistic - more Americans think that their education is of more importance than the war currently taking place in Iraq (and the one in Afghanistan that we don't talk about anymore). Woah...wait...our education is more important than a war...no way!
On top of that, our friendly host personality gave us a few more "statistics" - that most people don't think their educations adequately prepare them for life in the "real world." I say "statistics" because I find it amusing when people talk about statistics and numbers and it's fairly obvious that they don't really know what they're talking about. Usually most people simply write statistics off as mere numbers that don't carry much weight - the exact impression I was given this morning.
In any event, if this faceless personality on the radio is correct, Americans value their educations more than war, but still don't think it's getting the job done. Well now there's a shocker...let's see if we can't figure out why. Education has changed over the decades, to the point that it's not really an education so much as a crash course on how to memorize certain facts so that your school can have high scoring test takers which in turn makes them more money...which they then spend to make their students even better memorizing machines. Doesn't sound like much of an education.
Look back to our parents' generation. How many of our parents were forced to take standardized tests? I don't think very many. Instead they were set on actually learning things that matter - math, english, history, science - the things that they took into the working world to make their lives better. Think about it, how uncommon is it to find someone in your parents' generation who didn't go to college? Not very. Look back even further to your parents' parents' generation - how many of them went to college? Not very many. Does this mean that our parents and grandparents are stupid? That they are utterly incapable of discharging the duties of whatever occupation they chose to go into? Not in the least (well, maybe they are, but that's not my business nor my point). What was different? Of course, it was a much less complicated era back then, much less technology to deal with, and by in large, many fewer international issues to concern oneself with. However, what was also different was the education that they received.
On the flip side, look at today. For graduating high school seniors - what's the first question they are asked? "Where are you going to school?" Confused, some say, "I just finished school, what are you talking about?" Though most simply rattle off the list of schools they were accepted to, which gave them the best deal, and which one they ultimatley decided to attend. No longer is it socially acceptable to say, "Well, I think I'm just going to stick it out with my high school diploma and try to find a nice job; more school isn't really something I'm interested in." Of course, some still take such an approach to their lives, but it's far from acceptable in today's society, at least it is in all the places I've lived.
My point? My point is that we shouldn't be overly happy with the education that we receive prior to college. Rules, red tape, fear of litigation, and the countless other things that plague our schools are only partially to blame. However, let's not forget the students themselves. I remember stories my parent's told me about how it wasn't uncommon to be disciplined by their teachers while in school; the stories from my grandparents are worse. But now, if a teach so much as looks at a student the wrong way they risk being sued, losing their teaching license and their job. Do students know this? You bet, and many take full advantage of it.
So what do we have? We have an educational system wherein teachers are unable to teach for a variety of reasons, a population of apathetic, lazy students who take advantage of the system, politicians who continue to make things more difficult, and parents. I have many friends from college who went into teaching; thier number one complain wasn't the school system, politicians, or even their students. No, the most feared thing are the parents - those parents who think their kid deserves more one-on-one time than all the other students, parents who think they can teach better than someone trained to do so, and parents who threaten teachers and school systems alike with lawsuits.
So why then, should anyone be surprised that we no longer think our education that we get prior to college is preparing us for life in the "real world?" We now have an educational system that is no longer designed to prepare us for jobs and the "real world." Instead we have a system that takes classroom and recess time away from kids, forces them to memorize useless facts, score high on standardized tests (both for the schools and college entrance exams), so that only after they become machines can they enter the sacred halls of higher education and finally take a step toward the rest of their lives.
27 June 2008
08 June 2008
Time
Time. Oh how it has a way of getting away from you. Here I was thinking that I was doing a fairly decent job at keeping up with this blog, and I come to find that it's been nearly 2 months since my last blog. Well, naturally, apologies are to follow such a hiatus, and really...all I can say is that time got away from me. It's amazing how often that happens now that I'm in my twenties.
Well, no use with drawing out the apology - I'm sorry, and that's that. Onto the more important things.
Since the end of April a lot has happened. Well, not really a lot, persay, but I say a lot so that my life seems less boring to me.
School. School has ended for the academic year. As many of you know, I'm a graduate student working on my master's degree in Industrial/Organizational Psychology (for a better idea of what that is, see previous blogs). I successfully completed my first year without a hitch and am now completing the requirements for my internship over the summer.
Presently I am working for an amazing company - CSC - in Maryland. For those of you unfortunate souls who aren't familiar with CSC, it is a global leader in outsourcing, computer services, and a bunch of other things. You should check them out, obviously: www.csc.com. In any event, I work for the Public side of the company (in CSC it's known as NPS). More specifically I work for staffing and recruiting. Even more specific, I work for the University Relations team along with 4 other people. Though it's not something I could see myself doing for a career, I do enjoy my work. Mainly I help find interns and full-time recent graduate hires for the various divisions that make up CSC. In addition to that, I'm the Head Intern for the company, so I have a quasi-manager role in the intern program - helping the other interns with any problems they might have, setting up events, and serving as a liaison between the interns and the various managers. It's a lot of work, but I enjoy it and it keeps me busy and out of trouble - any pays me a respectable sum as well. All of that equates to no complaints from me.
Other than school, there isn't much to speak of in my life. My AMAZING girlfriend is still in the picture, luckily, and is spending the summer with me in Maryland. She's a real trooper, as she hates the East Coast with all of her being - she's only out here because I asked her to be; neat huh?
Oh, and now for something that you might actually take an interest in - as I'm sure that you'll relate to the following. I've decided that fake people REALLY bother me. I don't mean they bother me like sand in my shoes, an overcooked steak, or even those irritating people who sit in front of you and put their seatbacks down during a long flight with no concept that it might inconvenience someone else - maybe the person sitting behind them. No, I mean they really bother me. We have a person who works with my group, and she's fake. Well, not really, only somewhat. She's very rude to people, present company included, but when she needs something from them/me she suddenly becomes the "nicest" person in the world. Funny how that works, isn't it? Most people don't seem to notice, and just appreciate that she's not as bad as she usually is, but it REALLY bothers me that she acts that way. These are the behaviors that belong within the walls of a high school, or even middle school; heck, maybe even in the dorms of college freshmen, but in the working world? Really?
Maybe I'm just too optimistic, but I'd like to think that at some point people move beyond being fake, move beyond using others, and can actually pick a demeanor that allows them to look at themselves in the mirror every morning. Is that too much to ask? I don't mind doing favors for people, but I do mind doing them when the person only speaks to me when they need something, only acts like a decent human being when she needs something that she doesn't have and "can't" do herself. *Sigh*
How does that fit in with the theme of this blog (keeping in mind that the original theme was about time)? Well, it doesn't really, but this is my blog, so it doesn't all have to flow back to the theme, ok?
Alrighty, that's all for now. Moral of the story - time gets away from you, so pay attention! And, don't be one of those fake people that others come to loathe, it won't do you any favors.
Until next time,
JD
Well, no use with drawing out the apology - I'm sorry, and that's that. Onto the more important things.
Since the end of April a lot has happened. Well, not really a lot, persay, but I say a lot so that my life seems less boring to me.
School. School has ended for the academic year. As many of you know, I'm a graduate student working on my master's degree in Industrial/Organizational Psychology (for a better idea of what that is, see previous blogs). I successfully completed my first year without a hitch and am now completing the requirements for my internship over the summer.
Presently I am working for an amazing company - CSC - in Maryland. For those of you unfortunate souls who aren't familiar with CSC, it is a global leader in outsourcing, computer services, and a bunch of other things. You should check them out, obviously: www.csc.com. In any event, I work for the Public side of the company (in CSC it's known as NPS). More specifically I work for staffing and recruiting. Even more specific, I work for the University Relations team along with 4 other people. Though it's not something I could see myself doing for a career, I do enjoy my work. Mainly I help find interns and full-time recent graduate hires for the various divisions that make up CSC. In addition to that, I'm the Head Intern for the company, so I have a quasi-manager role in the intern program - helping the other interns with any problems they might have, setting up events, and serving as a liaison between the interns and the various managers. It's a lot of work, but I enjoy it and it keeps me busy and out of trouble - any pays me a respectable sum as well. All of that equates to no complaints from me.
Other than school, there isn't much to speak of in my life. My AMAZING girlfriend is still in the picture, luckily, and is spending the summer with me in Maryland. She's a real trooper, as she hates the East Coast with all of her being - she's only out here because I asked her to be; neat huh?
Oh, and now for something that you might actually take an interest in - as I'm sure that you'll relate to the following. I've decided that fake people REALLY bother me. I don't mean they bother me like sand in my shoes, an overcooked steak, or even those irritating people who sit in front of you and put their seatbacks down during a long flight with no concept that it might inconvenience someone else - maybe the person sitting behind them. No, I mean they really bother me. We have a person who works with my group, and she's fake. Well, not really, only somewhat. She's very rude to people, present company included, but when she needs something from them/me she suddenly becomes the "nicest" person in the world. Funny how that works, isn't it? Most people don't seem to notice, and just appreciate that she's not as bad as she usually is, but it REALLY bothers me that she acts that way. These are the behaviors that belong within the walls of a high school, or even middle school; heck, maybe even in the dorms of college freshmen, but in the working world? Really?
Maybe I'm just too optimistic, but I'd like to think that at some point people move beyond being fake, move beyond using others, and can actually pick a demeanor that allows them to look at themselves in the mirror every morning. Is that too much to ask? I don't mind doing favors for people, but I do mind doing them when the person only speaks to me when they need something, only acts like a decent human being when she needs something that she doesn't have and "can't" do herself. *Sigh*
How does that fit in with the theme of this blog (keeping in mind that the original theme was about time)? Well, it doesn't really, but this is my blog, so it doesn't all have to flow back to the theme, ok?
Alrighty, that's all for now. Moral of the story - time gets away from you, so pay attention! And, don't be one of those fake people that others come to loathe, it won't do you any favors.
Until next time,
JD
27 April 2008
Summer
Summer. Oh how I miss that last day of school, yes, you know what I'm talking about. That last day of school, that always had perfect weather outside, nothing really to do inside short of being there to count another actual school day. Signing yearbooks, giving hugs to the overly emotional girls who you wouldn't see for...a few days. Giving teachers the small gifts that your parents made you put into your otherwise empty backpack, successfully stealing from you the glory of going to school sans backpack. Oh yes, the glorious last day of school. I can remember waiting until the bell rang so I could run to the bus, go home, and start my summer vacation that generally entailed a whole lot of nothing. What happened to those days? What happened to having such a simple life?
No, now my last day of class is no longer anticipated, but rather it's feared. With so many projects, papers, and homework there simply isn't ever a good time for the last day of class to come and for all outstanding work to come due. And of course, we've replaced the nothingness of the last day of school with the dreaded "final examination," and still worse - the singe phrase that every college/graduate student has come to fear with all their being - "comprehensive final examination." Even while in my undergraduate years life was relatively simple during the summer. Of course, everyone goes out and gets their annual summer job (for me it was changed every year, but still the same kinds of jobs), worked for 6 or so hours each day, made some money, but was otherwise worthless throughout the months of May, June, July, and part of August.
Unfortunately, graduate school isn't quite the same. No, there are no meaningless jobs for me anymore. Instead, with my final exams nearly complete, I have the pleasure of looking forward to my internship. Don't be misguided; this isn't the same thing as an undergraduate internship wherein most are reduced to making copies and stapling papers together. No, my internship requires me to do real work - the kind of work I have to do when I graduate; bummer huh? Life is just more complicated - that's what I've decide. But what I can't figure out is if the increased complication in my life is warranted and necessary? I continue to struggle with this, because I'm inclined to say yes, otherwise why would the complication increase? However, by and large, it seems that it's the minor parts of life that get complicated, and that serves to complicate the rest of life, so is it really necessary? I'm not sure.
In any case, I'm told that it only gets worse from here. Gone are the careless days of summer. Gone are the cherished but overlooked simplicities of a younger age. No more is doing nothing with my life an option. C'est la vie, I suppose. And now, with a raising of my glass and a toast to the complexity of life, I take my leave.
Until next time,
J
No, now my last day of class is no longer anticipated, but rather it's feared. With so many projects, papers, and homework there simply isn't ever a good time for the last day of class to come and for all outstanding work to come due. And of course, we've replaced the nothingness of the last day of school with the dreaded "final examination," and still worse - the singe phrase that every college/graduate student has come to fear with all their being - "comprehensive final examination." Even while in my undergraduate years life was relatively simple during the summer. Of course, everyone goes out and gets their annual summer job (for me it was changed every year, but still the same kinds of jobs), worked for 6 or so hours each day, made some money, but was otherwise worthless throughout the months of May, June, July, and part of August.
Unfortunately, graduate school isn't quite the same. No, there are no meaningless jobs for me anymore. Instead, with my final exams nearly complete, I have the pleasure of looking forward to my internship. Don't be misguided; this isn't the same thing as an undergraduate internship wherein most are reduced to making copies and stapling papers together. No, my internship requires me to do real work - the kind of work I have to do when I graduate; bummer huh? Life is just more complicated - that's what I've decide. But what I can't figure out is if the increased complication in my life is warranted and necessary? I continue to struggle with this, because I'm inclined to say yes, otherwise why would the complication increase? However, by and large, it seems that it's the minor parts of life that get complicated, and that serves to complicate the rest of life, so is it really necessary? I'm not sure.
In any case, I'm told that it only gets worse from here. Gone are the careless days of summer. Gone are the cherished but overlooked simplicities of a younger age. No more is doing nothing with my life an option. C'est la vie, I suppose. And now, with a raising of my glass and a toast to the complexity of life, I take my leave.
Until next time,
J
20 April 2008
vitae brevis
Have you ever lost someone close to you? Thankfully, I can't say that I have. Unfortunately, I know people who have, and that sucks...a lot.
During my 23 years on Earth, I've had to say goodbye to several family members. This; however, isn't really what I'm talking about. No, what I'm talking about is a different kind of "someone." I mean friends, friends of the close sort. These are the people that you joke around with, grow up with, know inside and out...you know who I'm talking about.
Maybe I've never lost someone like that because I've never had someone like that to loose. As I've said before, I grew up in the military, moving around a lot. Because of that I haven't had those lifelong friends - the people you meet when you're 6 months old, go to school with, graduate from high school and/or college with, and keep in touch with forever. No, most of my friendships have been fleeting. This, however, isn't my point (yes, I have one, read on).
What do you say to someone when they've lost a close friend? Further, what do you say when you have no similar experience from which to draw upon to establish a connection of sorts with the person in mourning? I want to tell them that things will be okay, and that with time they will begin to heal and feel better; slowly moving on with their lives. I want to say that while it sucks that they just lost their friend, they must go on; take away the good times and remember them forever. But can I really say that? At the very least, can I say that without seeming naive or simply rude?
I like to think of myself as a very practical person - perhaps too practical a person. I look at situations and attempt to figure out how we can best benefit from it. That being the case, you wouldn't be far off thinking that grief and sadness are not feelings that I place high importance on or spend a lot of time with. As I'm sure you can imagine, this makes situations in which others are grieving that much more difficult for me. Now I have a person, presumably someone close to me, who is having a hard time because they lost something that I've never had and are expressing feelings that I don't. So how do I empathize while not feeling like a fake and not coming across as an idiot?
Some say that we shouldn't mourn the dead. No, instead we should celebrate the life that was. Well, if that's what we were meant to do, then why do we feel grief when someone dies? If we were supposed to celebrate life shouldn't we be, to some extent, happy? Clearly this isn't the case, though I think I'd prefer it to be. Grief, sadness the the like are not things that we benefit from. Quite the opposite in fact. When we grieve we have to take time to grieve; time that we could otherwise use to do something else. However, were we to celebrate a life that should mean that we're happy, or at least not sad, right? Happy people are productive people, and that, friends, is my language.
Unfortunately, this isn't a way to address death. No, trying to make someone think they should be happy because their friend is no longer with them just seems weird to me - it simply won't do. Well, what then? I suppose that, to a large extent, we don't really need to know what do to. Maybe we should just be there for the person grieving. Everyone is different, right? That being the case, I suppose to makes sense that everyone will need something different. Even one person will need different things at different times. Unfortunately, it seems to me that most of the things that people will need are unpredictable, so we just need to be flexible and work with them. Eventually they will get better and move on; it just takes different people different amounts of time.
My point (I'm not even sure that I remember it anymore, assuming that I had one) is that the world doesn't work the way that we'd always like it to. No...for practical people like myself there are things like grief and sadness to think about. For normal people there is death to deal with. Neither are things that we want to happen, but they are things that we have to deal with anyway. Ideally, dulcius ex asperis - through the difficulty will come sweetness. In other words, the hard times that we must go through will hopefully lead to better times in the not-so-distant future.
Vitae brevis. Life is short. Embrace those whom you love and keep them close. Be there for those who are in mourning. Live your life to the fullest - don't be the person who lies on their death bed and regrets not doing something. Live, love, and appreciate. Make the most of your life and include as many people as possible so that, after you are no longer here, those you leave behind have nothing but good memories with which to remember you.
During my 23 years on Earth, I've had to say goodbye to several family members. This; however, isn't really what I'm talking about. No, what I'm talking about is a different kind of "someone." I mean friends, friends of the close sort. These are the people that you joke around with, grow up with, know inside and out...you know who I'm talking about.
Maybe I've never lost someone like that because I've never had someone like that to loose. As I've said before, I grew up in the military, moving around a lot. Because of that I haven't had those lifelong friends - the people you meet when you're 6 months old, go to school with, graduate from high school and/or college with, and keep in touch with forever. No, most of my friendships have been fleeting. This, however, isn't my point (yes, I have one, read on).
What do you say to someone when they've lost a close friend? Further, what do you say when you have no similar experience from which to draw upon to establish a connection of sorts with the person in mourning? I want to tell them that things will be okay, and that with time they will begin to heal and feel better; slowly moving on with their lives. I want to say that while it sucks that they just lost their friend, they must go on; take away the good times and remember them forever. But can I really say that? At the very least, can I say that without seeming naive or simply rude?
I like to think of myself as a very practical person - perhaps too practical a person. I look at situations and attempt to figure out how we can best benefit from it. That being the case, you wouldn't be far off thinking that grief and sadness are not feelings that I place high importance on or spend a lot of time with. As I'm sure you can imagine, this makes situations in which others are grieving that much more difficult for me. Now I have a person, presumably someone close to me, who is having a hard time because they lost something that I've never had and are expressing feelings that I don't. So how do I empathize while not feeling like a fake and not coming across as an idiot?
Some say that we shouldn't mourn the dead. No, instead we should celebrate the life that was. Well, if that's what we were meant to do, then why do we feel grief when someone dies? If we were supposed to celebrate life shouldn't we be, to some extent, happy? Clearly this isn't the case, though I think I'd prefer it to be. Grief, sadness the the like are not things that we benefit from. Quite the opposite in fact. When we grieve we have to take time to grieve; time that we could otherwise use to do something else. However, were we to celebrate a life that should mean that we're happy, or at least not sad, right? Happy people are productive people, and that, friends, is my language.
Unfortunately, this isn't a way to address death. No, trying to make someone think they should be happy because their friend is no longer with them just seems weird to me - it simply won't do. Well, what then? I suppose that, to a large extent, we don't really need to know what do to. Maybe we should just be there for the person grieving. Everyone is different, right? That being the case, I suppose to makes sense that everyone will need something different. Even one person will need different things at different times. Unfortunately, it seems to me that most of the things that people will need are unpredictable, so we just need to be flexible and work with them. Eventually they will get better and move on; it just takes different people different amounts of time.
My point (I'm not even sure that I remember it anymore, assuming that I had one) is that the world doesn't work the way that we'd always like it to. No...for practical people like myself there are things like grief and sadness to think about. For normal people there is death to deal with. Neither are things that we want to happen, but they are things that we have to deal with anyway. Ideally, dulcius ex asperis - through the difficulty will come sweetness. In other words, the hard times that we must go through will hopefully lead to better times in the not-so-distant future.
Vitae brevis. Life is short. Embrace those whom you love and keep them close. Be there for those who are in mourning. Live your life to the fullest - don't be the person who lies on their death bed and regrets not doing something. Live, love, and appreciate. Make the most of your life and include as many people as possible so that, after you are no longer here, those you leave behind have nothing but good memories with which to remember you.
05 April 2008
Different Traditions
Evening folks. Tonight we'll hit on a topic of a different nature that you're generally accustom to reading on my blog (and yes, I know...the topics are, if nothing else, random). Today I went to my cousin's bat mitzvah (I think that's how it's spelled, if not you have my apologies). For those of you who don't know, when Jewish boys and girls "come of age" in their faith they have a special service wherein various members of the congregation (is it called a congregation?) bless the person and they become an adult in the church/faith. This ceremony is known as a bar mitzvah for boys and a bat mitzvah for girls; today I went to my cousin's bat mitzvah.
Being raised a Christian, and going on to become a self-proclaimed Agnostic (for the most part anyway), I'm not what you'd consider well-versed in the ways of the Jewish faith. I don't know much of their history, nor their rituals, and I'm certainly not what you'd consider at all familiar with the Hebrew language. No, instead I went to show support for my family member. The whole process was, despite being unnecessarily long and at times confusing, rather interesting. I never realized how much a Jewish service differed from a Christian one. Everything is highly ritualized, as it is in the Church (the "Church" meaning all of Christianity, not just Catholicism), but they don't really talk very much; they sing all of their prayers and blessings.
As I said, the whole experience was very interesting. The ceremony and party lasted for most of the day (the actual ceremony started at 930 and I didn't leave to come back to my parents' house until nearly 9pm) which wasn't what I'd expected at all. I thought the ceremony would be an hour or so, then brunch after for an hour, and then I'd be back here by noon at the latest, giving me plenty of time to do some homework and study for the test I have on Tuesday.
In any case, if you ever get the opportunity to attend such an event, I'd strongly encourage you to go...it's a very different, interesting process. You'll no doubt get lost a few times, unless you've been to one before or know the language/customs, but it's neat to see a 14 year old person reading from the Torah as well as the Rabbi...at least I was impressed.
And with that, I take my leave. It's been a long day, and my bed is calling me - a call that I'm not willing to resist.
Be well and go experience new things.
Until next time,
J
04 April 2008
Family
Ok...so we're supposed to love family members, right? Hm...well, is it bad if "love" isn't exactly the word that you'd use to describe your feelings toward a family member? That sounds bad...let me explain.
I have two brothers, one is three years younger than me and the other is three years older. My younger brother, B, and I get along fairly well. We talk about stuff and have good laughs - mostly at each other's expense - and generally have what I'd call a characteristically good relationship. My relationship with my older brother, C, isn't quite so nice. We've never gotten along, not even when we were growing up and certainly not now that we've both grown up and moved out of my parent's house. I've always been told that when you're not around your sibling(s) very much you actually grow closer, and to a large extent that hasn't happened, at least not with C and I. In any case, today was C's birthday, and believe me, it was ALL about him. He said today that he is the most self-absorbed person he's ever known, and I find myself agreeing whole heartedly. Is that bad? I never know what to think anymore; I feel like a bad person for not having a great relationship with my brother, but at the same time I know that I've tried to make it work and he has yet to put in the same effort, so that seems to legitimize the issue.
I guess I still love my brother, but only because he's my brother and for no other reason; we don't get along, aren't anything alike, and have entirely different outlooks and goals for our lives. Oh well, generally I don't lose much sleep over the situation, but it just made me think about it a little more - what with today being his birthday and all.
In any case, that is all. Just something for everyone to consider - enjoy the good relationships that you have with your siblings and other family members, try to make the ones that are bad better, and if you try to make those poor relationships better and it doesn't work, move on with your life.
Be well in all that you do. Until next time,
J
03 April 2008
Stuffage
Alrighty, not much to really say today, but it's been a while since I posted, so I feel compelled to write something.
It's a pretty nasty day outside - cold and rainy - and I have nearly 5 hours of class to sit through today and then a 5-6 hour drive to get back to my parents' house this evening...all on a nasty day.
On a lighter note, my partner and I FINALLY finished our validation study. To most, "validation study" means little more than a paper we had to submit (which, for the record, ended up being 35 pages long), but to those in the I/O field, we know better. Validation reports are technical, time consuming, and for the most part dull. Technically, they're considered legal documents that one must produce for a selection method that a company uses (the method by which a company selects its employees) should that company ever be sued for discrimination or any other form of unfair hiring practices. In any case, it's done...well, mostly. Presently my partner is doing her final edits and then sending it back to me to print, then we're done. Sadly, there is no "sigh of relief" as we have more projects and papers to work on before the conclusion of the semester, but we can still take a mini sigh, right? *sigh*
So, with tests looming overhead, final examinations charging at me, project and paper deadlines making themselves known, time speeding up, and work that goes at a break-neck pace, it's hard to take time for myself and just do something that I want to do. However, I've found through my nearly 5 years in higher education that you have to be able to do that, else you run the risk of losing your sanity (of course, this goes on the assumption that you have yet to do so). I've found that even a 30 minute walk around a park or something is nice. Previously I tried "reading for pleasure," though in graduate school you do a lot of reading, so when I don't have academic reading to do, it's hard to motivate myself to read anything, let alone the authors that I enjoy.
And that's that. I have finally secured an internship for this summer, as well as housing, so that's one less thing that I need to worry about. Unfortunately, as I said earlier, there's no time for a sigh of relief...not until finals are done, but then I start working 4 days later, so again...a mini sigh will be in order; I'll take what I can get. And...what's even better is that in...less than 2 months T and I will be reunited for the summer...oddly, though my classes speed by the time when I'll see T seems to get further and further away...not sure how that works, but...oh well.
Ok...and that's all. I have an article to read for class (yes!) and a validation report to print off and finish so that it can be turned in and forgotten about in roughly3 hours.
I hope that today finds you in good health and high spirits, and nice weather wouldn't hurt either. Enjoy life, and your day, and thanks for stopping by!
Until next time,
J
It's a pretty nasty day outside - cold and rainy - and I have nearly 5 hours of class to sit through today and then a 5-6 hour drive to get back to my parents' house this evening...all on a nasty day.
On a lighter note, my partner and I FINALLY finished our validation study. To most, "validation study" means little more than a paper we had to submit (which, for the record, ended up being 35 pages long), but to those in the I/O field, we know better. Validation reports are technical, time consuming, and for the most part dull. Technically, they're considered legal documents that one must produce for a selection method that a company uses (the method by which a company selects its employees) should that company ever be sued for discrimination or any other form of unfair hiring practices. In any case, it's done...well, mostly. Presently my partner is doing her final edits and then sending it back to me to print, then we're done. Sadly, there is no "sigh of relief" as we have more projects and papers to work on before the conclusion of the semester, but we can still take a mini sigh, right? *sigh*
So, with tests looming overhead, final examinations charging at me, project and paper deadlines making themselves known, time speeding up, and work that goes at a break-neck pace, it's hard to take time for myself and just do something that I want to do. However, I've found through my nearly 5 years in higher education that you have to be able to do that, else you run the risk of losing your sanity (of course, this goes on the assumption that you have yet to do so). I've found that even a 30 minute walk around a park or something is nice. Previously I tried "reading for pleasure," though in graduate school you do a lot of reading, so when I don't have academic reading to do, it's hard to motivate myself to read anything, let alone the authors that I enjoy.
And that's that. I have finally secured an internship for this summer, as well as housing, so that's one less thing that I need to worry about. Unfortunately, as I said earlier, there's no time for a sigh of relief...not until finals are done, but then I start working 4 days later, so again...a mini sigh will be in order; I'll take what I can get. And...what's even better is that in...less than 2 months T and I will be reunited for the summer...oddly, though my classes speed by the time when I'll see T seems to get further and further away...not sure how that works, but...oh well.
Ok...and that's all. I have an article to read for class (yes!) and a validation report to print off and finish so that it can be turned in and forgotten about in roughly3 hours.
I hope that today finds you in good health and high spirits, and nice weather wouldn't hurt either. Enjoy life, and your day, and thanks for stopping by!
Until next time,
J
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