I turned in my dissertation to my committee today. It's a relief to have it done, but I don't quite believe it yet. It doesn't feel real. I'm really tired, and I keep thinking "what next? what did I forget? I need to make another plot. I need to make another figure. work. work. work." aahhhhh!!! This anxiety is very clingy.
I'll get used to it and move one to more important things like this:
Actually, now I've got to prepare for my defense and apply for a Jay-Oh-Bee.
Friday, February 15, 2008
Wednesday, February 06, 2008
What's in a name?
How would you refer to your significant other if you were cohabitating with no plans for marriage? I don't feel like the term "boyfriend" covers the relationship. When I introduce Patrick as my boyfriend, people look a little shocked when the follow up question is answered with "We've been together over 7 years". The word boyfriend feels too temporary. I could call him my partner, and I kind of like the gender ambiguity of that. Significant Other feels too stuffy and official for casual conversation. I sometimes call him my husband b/c it is just easier. But, it's not the truth. I also don't want to call him my fiance b/c we have no plans on getting married.
So, here are a names I am considering calling Patrick:
Bit of stuff
The father of my cat
My Old Man
Man-Slave
Better half
Voice of reason
Ride home from the bars
Do you like any of them? Got any ideas of your own? Let me know.
So, here are a names I am considering calling Patrick:
Bit of stuff
The father of my cat
My Old Man
Man-Slave
Better half
Voice of reason
Ride home from the bars
Do you like any of them? Got any ideas of your own? Let me know.
Tuesday, February 05, 2008
Happy Mardi Gras!
I miss living in Louisiana. I miss the food, the music, the people, and the festivities. Every event is an excuse to drag out the trumpets, tap shoes, kegs, and crawfish. I miss it.
Have a happy Mardi Gras!
And, don't forget to get out and vote today!!
Have a happy Mardi Gras!
And, don't forget to get out and vote today!!
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
WATCH OUT!!!
dude. you almost got assimilated. You gotta watch out for the Borg-cat hybrids. That's some serious shizz.
Open your eyes -- visualize
You know what is NOT a good idea?
Going to the eye doctor the week you are trying to write your dissertation rough draft.
I had my pupils dialated, and I lost a whole night of work since it gave me a bitching headache. All I could do was sit in my living room with dark shades on, the lights off, and watch some TV from a distance. I couldn't read, write, or look at a computer screen. So, I watched some Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
Well, the positive side is that I got a lot of sleep last night!
...back to work!
Going to the eye doctor the week you are trying to write your dissertation rough draft.
I had my pupils dialated, and I lost a whole night of work since it gave me a bitching headache. All I could do was sit in my living room with dark shades on, the lights off, and watch some TV from a distance. I couldn't read, write, or look at a computer screen. So, I watched some Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
Well, the positive side is that I got a lot of sleep last night!
...back to work!
Thursday, January 24, 2008
I've been feeling like a cartoon character lately
Spending hours upon hours interacting with a computer has made me feel like a cartoon character in the presence of human beings. It is a bizarre feeling. I feel like Chester the Terrier. Remember him? He used to jump around Spike the Bulldog asking a million questions and talking non-stop. I'm getting a lot of work done, but I'm buried in my thoughts. Conversations feel surreal and slightly forced as if I'm watching the conversation from a distance. I'm ready for this to be over, but the end is not yet here.
Monday, January 21, 2008
Inspirational
If you have never taken the time to read and/or listen to this amazing speech, I highly recommend you take the time now.
"I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation.
Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of their captivity.
But one hundred years later, the Negro still is not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundred years later, the Negro is still languished in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land. And so we've come here today to dramatize a shameful condition.
In a sense we've come to our nation's capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the "unalienable Rights" of "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note, insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check which has come back marked "insufficient funds."
But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. And so, we've come to cash this check, a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice.
We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of Now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood. Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God's children.
It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment. This sweltering summer of the Negro's legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality. Nineteen sixty-three is not an end, but a beginning. And those who hope that the Negro needed to blow off steam and will now be content will have a rude awakening if the nation returns to business as usual. And there will be neither rest nor tranquility in America until the Negro is granted his citizenship rights. The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges.
But there is something that I must say to my people, who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice: In the process of gaining our rightful place, we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred. We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again, we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force.
The marvelous new militancy which has engulfed the Negro community must not lead us to a distrust of all white people, for many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny. And they have come to realize that their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom.
We cannot walk alone.
And as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall always march ahead.
We cannot turn back.
There are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights, "When will you be satisfied?" We can never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality. We can never be satisfied as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities. *We cannot be satisfied as long as the negro's basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger one. We can never be satisfied as long as our children are stripped of their self-hood and robbed of their dignity by a sign stating: "For Whites Only."* We cannot be satisfied as long as a Negro in Mississippi cannot vote and a Negro in New York believes he has nothing for which to vote. No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until "justice rolls down like waters, and righteousness like a mighty stream."
I am not unmindful that some of you have come here out of great trials and tribulations. Some of you have come fresh from narrow jail cells. And some of you have come from areas where your quest -- quest for freedom left you battered by the storms of persecution and staggered by the winds of police brutality. You have been the veterans of creative suffering. Continue to work with the faith that unearned suffering is redemptive. Go back to Mississippi, go back to Alabama, go back to South Carolina, go back to Georgia, go back to Louisiana, go back to the slums and ghettos of our northern cities, knowing that somehow this situation can and will be changed.
Let us not wallow in the valley of despair, I say to you today, my friends.
And so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.
I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal."
I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.
I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.
I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.
I have a dream today!
I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of "interposition" and "nullification" -- one day right there in Alabama little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.
I have a dream today!
I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, and every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight; "and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together."²
This is our hope, and this is the faith that I go back to the South with.
With this faith, we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith, we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith, we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.
And this will be the day -- this will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with new meaning:
My country 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing.
Land where my fathers died, land of the Pilgrim's pride,
From every mountainside, let freedom ring!
And if America is to be a great nation, this must become true.
And so let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire.
Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York.
Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania.
Let freedom ring from the snow-capped Rockies of Colorado.
Let freedom ring from the curvaceous slopes of California.
But not only that:
Let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia.
Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee.
Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi.
From every mountainside, let freedom ring.
And when this happens, when we allow freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual:
Free at last! Free at last!
Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!"
--Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
"I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation.
Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of their captivity.
But one hundred years later, the Negro still is not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundred years later, the Negro is still languished in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land. And so we've come here today to dramatize a shameful condition.
In a sense we've come to our nation's capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the "unalienable Rights" of "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note, insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check which has come back marked "insufficient funds."
But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. And so, we've come to cash this check, a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice.
We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of Now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood. Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God's children.
It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment. This sweltering summer of the Negro's legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality. Nineteen sixty-three is not an end, but a beginning. And those who hope that the Negro needed to blow off steam and will now be content will have a rude awakening if the nation returns to business as usual. And there will be neither rest nor tranquility in America until the Negro is granted his citizenship rights. The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges.
But there is something that I must say to my people, who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice: In the process of gaining our rightful place, we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred. We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again, we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force.
The marvelous new militancy which has engulfed the Negro community must not lead us to a distrust of all white people, for many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny. And they have come to realize that their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom.
We cannot walk alone.
And as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall always march ahead.
We cannot turn back.
There are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights, "When will you be satisfied?" We can never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality. We can never be satisfied as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities. *We cannot be satisfied as long as the negro's basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger one. We can never be satisfied as long as our children are stripped of their self-hood and robbed of their dignity by a sign stating: "For Whites Only."* We cannot be satisfied as long as a Negro in Mississippi cannot vote and a Negro in New York believes he has nothing for which to vote. No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until "justice rolls down like waters, and righteousness like a mighty stream."
I am not unmindful that some of you have come here out of great trials and tribulations. Some of you have come fresh from narrow jail cells. And some of you have come from areas where your quest -- quest for freedom left you battered by the storms of persecution and staggered by the winds of police brutality. You have been the veterans of creative suffering. Continue to work with the faith that unearned suffering is redemptive. Go back to Mississippi, go back to Alabama, go back to South Carolina, go back to Georgia, go back to Louisiana, go back to the slums and ghettos of our northern cities, knowing that somehow this situation can and will be changed.
Let us not wallow in the valley of despair, I say to you today, my friends.
And so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.
I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal."
I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.
I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.
I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.
I have a dream today!
I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of "interposition" and "nullification" -- one day right there in Alabama little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.
I have a dream today!
I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, and every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight; "and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together."²
This is our hope, and this is the faith that I go back to the South with.
With this faith, we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith, we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith, we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.
And this will be the day -- this will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with new meaning:
My country 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing.
Land where my fathers died, land of the Pilgrim's pride,
From every mountainside, let freedom ring!
And if America is to be a great nation, this must become true.
And so let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire.
Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York.
Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania.
Let freedom ring from the snow-capped Rockies of Colorado.
Let freedom ring from the curvaceous slopes of California.
But not only that:
Let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia.
Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee.
Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi.
From every mountainside, let freedom ring.
And when this happens, when we allow freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual:
Free at last! Free at last!
Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!"
--Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Quote of the day
"I managed to clip the cat's hind toenails while she was sleeping. Later she rewarded me by rubbing poo on the carpet".
I received this delightful text message from Patrick today. He's a trooper.
I received this delightful text message from Patrick today. He's a trooper.
Sunday, January 13, 2008
The hate scarf
I finally finished Patrick's skull scarf. Patrick would hear my plans for new baby blankets, "touch and feel" books, and quilts. He would look at me and ask "You will start those after finishing my scarf right?"
I would look at him with disbelief in my eyes and think, "seriously? You are going to pressure me to finish your stupid scarf? It's only been a couple of years since I started. geeezlouise."
So, I'd pick it up with exaggerated, loud sighing, and I would start working. It has since been dubbed the hate scarf. I call it that with love b/c I really like the result. It is a cute little scarf, and Patrick seems to like it too.
Saturday, January 05, 2008
Great News!!
I've been working hard, so I haven't had time to post my great news. I heard from the graduate school Thursday. They have approved my extension request, and I will be able to graduate in May. What a relief! Now, I'm in the final stages of putting together the dissertation, and I hope to defend February 1st. It is amazing to me that the end is in sight. I'm surprised at my perserverance. I wanted to give up so many times, but I never did.
I hope y'all have a great Saturday. I'm at work, but there isn't an ounce of resentment about that.
I hope y'all have a great Saturday. I'm at work, but there isn't an ounce of resentment about that.
Thursday, December 27, 2007
Revelation of the day -- a.k.a. who can I blame today?
No matter how many cookies I eat, I still have to write my dissertation.
Reality sucks sometimes.
I wish I were a wizard like Gandolf. I bet he could give the act of "eating cookies" the power to "write a dissertation". I would be finished if I were Gandolf.
I blame my parents.
Why didn't they send me to wizarding school? They only sent me to a stupid magnet school. Darn them and their short sightedness.
Reality sucks sometimes.
I wish I were a wizard like Gandolf. I bet he could give the act of "eating cookies" the power to "write a dissertation". I would be finished if I were Gandolf.
I blame my parents.
Why didn't they send me to wizarding school? They only sent me to a stupid magnet school. Darn them and their short sightedness.
Friday, December 21, 2007
This is how I get my stuff done
I now understand why I'm in my 8th year of graduate school. None of my chairs squeak, so now I can get my stuff done.
((Note: sorry for the non-blog blogs. I'm working hard and creating a masterpiece of a dissertation right now. Happy Holidays everyone! Think of me on Christmas morning when I will be hanging out with my cat watching Ghost Hunters!))
Thursday, December 06, 2007
This is how I roll
Sometimes you just gotta dole out the attitude to the kids and armchair astronomers. This cartoon is courtesy of my friend and gave me a good chuckle on a particularly difficult day.
Wednesday, December 05, 2007
Fall/"winter" in T'town
Suddenly Tuscaloosa leaves change color in the fall. It was a shock to me the first time I saw it last year. I thought it was a fluke. Maybe it has something to do with the drought we've been experiencing. I'm not sure, but I sure love fall in T'town these days. Gorgeous. I know these photos don't do the colors justice. I took them with my phone, so they aren't the best quality.
Saturday, December 01, 2007
My love of knitted goods
I am a huge fan of Mochimochiland, a website of impressive knitted toys. Mochimochiland's imagination, creativity, and skill blow me away.
I'm including "borrowed" images of Mochimochiland's work. Above is a "sleepy snake and mischevious mouse". Below, you see lemmings falling off a cliff into the sea.
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
I heart puzzles
Now THAT is a challenging sudoku!
(FYI: "Toothpaste for dinner" is the name of the cartoon drawn by Natalie Dee's hubby.
Monday, November 19, 2007
Planet Earth
I know I'm behind the times. Not having cable or free time usually results in being a year or two behind what is hip and happening. I finally watched an episode of Planet Earth last night. I was so impressed with the visuals, the narration, and the animals. It makes me long for the days I was a marine biology student.
I particularly enjoyed the birds working hard to attract a mate. The birds, with their aggressive dances, reminded me of the the Night at the Roxbury guys. You decide.
I particularly enjoyed the birds working hard to attract a mate. The birds, with their aggressive dances, reminded me of the the Night at the Roxbury guys. You decide.
Thursday, November 15, 2007
Jesus loves to wear camo pants.
I just took a very brief walk around the University of Alabama's quandrangle and something funny is afoot. The bell tower has a small swarm of upright citizens rocking out to completely benign sounding Jesus rock. I turn the corner and approached the darker portion of the quad.
I hear some rustling and someone grunts "HUT.HUT. If you've got a clear shot then take it".
I look over and the ROTC is crawling through the leaves attacking the indian mound on the quad. Some army guys are lined against building walls. Some are running around randomly dodging sorority girls in pink long sleeves out for their hourly calorie-burn fest.
Seriously, is the ROTC trying to take out the Jesus followers?
It's so weird, but it took my mind off of work if just for a few minutes. For that, I have to thank both Jesus and the ROTC.
I hear some rustling and someone grunts "HUT.HUT. If you've got a clear shot then take it".
I look over and the ROTC is crawling through the leaves attacking the indian mound on the quad. Some army guys are lined against building walls. Some are running around randomly dodging sorority girls in pink long sleeves out for their hourly calorie-burn fest.
Seriously, is the ROTC trying to take out the Jesus followers?
It's so weird, but it took my mind off of work if just for a few minutes. For that, I have to thank both Jesus and the ROTC.
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Maybe I will nap my problems away
I'm kind of in a panic today because I have too much on my plate. Trying to finish a dissertation and apply for jobs simultaneously is overwhelming me. I have no experience writing letters of intent and/or cover letters.
sigh.
This might take a while, and that makes me resentful. I just want to focus on my data. argh.
Serenity NOW!!
sigh.
This might take a while, and that makes me resentful. I just want to focus on my data. argh.
Serenity NOW!!
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