The Myth of Summer as a University Faculty Member

So, when I first found out that we were expecting and that my due date would be late June I was super excited. I thought, if I can just make it through the semester then I'll have about 6 weeks off before the baby comes. I don't know what I was thinking as that clearly isn't happening. Here I sit in my office trying to get research and course prep done before baby makes her appearance. I feel busier now than I did during the regular semester when I was teaching four classes!

How do I not remember this from last year? I remember moving offices (doing that again this year) and traveling for conferences and traveling for fun but I just don't remember doing so much work. I guess that I need to learn to say "no" in the future. The problem is that I enjoy all of the things that I do, there are a few things that I hate (such as moving offices) but otherwise I really don't want to give up anything. This means that I really need to find a way to make it all work I suppose. Maybe I just need to agree to things that don't all have the same due dates :) That might be a good start.

Work/Play in NOLA!

About a month ago I had the privilege of joining some of my colleagues in New Orleans for the annual meeting of the Southwestern Social Sciences Association (SSSA). I was about 27 weeks along in my pregnancy and thankfully not feeling nearly as exhausted as I generally do now at nearly 32 weeks!

After teaching all day on a Thursday I headed to the airport and caught my flight to NOLA via Dallas (of course, because all of my travel includes a stop in Dallas). I got in and to my hotel around 10pm and promptly went to sleep. The next morning I presented a paper with one of my colleagues who is the director of the gerontology center at our university. Our presentation went well and while our session wasn't well attended those of us who were there had a great time.

After the session there was a lot of food to be sampled! We started with the hotel buffet which was outstanding, especially since I didn't have to pay. After brunch I rested and napped until dinner. It seemed like a wasted day but I was so exhausted that I really needed that down time. For dinner we got together and headed to Red Fish Grill a few blocks away on the edge of the French Quarter along Bourban Street. Thankfully someone thought to make a reservation as the place was packed. I thoroughly enjoyed some BBQ Oysters and chicken. For dessert I had the chocolate bread pudding and I just about died from the deliciousness of it! I am not a huge bread pudding fan but this was absolutely amazing. Of course, I ate it so quickly that I didn't get a picture but here is a picture from some random site that does it justice: Red Fish Grill Bread Pudding.

That was it for Friday. On Saturday morning there were more presentations and more buffet followed by a tour of New Orleans. I opted for the open top, hop on hop off, style tour and it was okay. I was a little disappointed in the tour guide quality and some of the other passengers but it was okay. We did go by a lot of the major sites which was nice. First up, the Superdome:

This next picture was taken while driving down some street (I really should have paid better attention or blogged about this less than a month after the fact). The reason for the picture is because my grandmother's maiden name is Nadeau, not a name you see all that often unless you are in a French speaking part of the world!

The tour also went by Mardi Gras World which is where the house all of the Mardi Gras floats. I originally wanted to go in and take a tour but decided that since the door was open and we were able to get a sneak peak that I would save my money and buy beignets instead.

These next pictures are heading into the French Quarter and being that it was a Saturday before a holiday (Easter being the next day) it was super crowded in the Quarter. This church is said to have been an inspiration for Walt Disney and one of the Disney castles which means that I have now seen two of his inspirational castles!

The tour officially ended at this cemetery so we decided to walk around, I think it would have been much more interesting had we had a tour guide or something to tell us what we were looking at! It was also getting pretty darn hot and humid and my feet were really beginning to swell so we set off in search of nourishment, AKA Beignets!

When we were in DC for the inauguration I had some beignets at a Cajun restaurant and was sorely disappointed, were they really just not as good as I remembered them being or was it just that restaurant? Thankfully it was just that restaurant. The beignets at Cafe Du Monde did not disappoint and I ended up coming home with two boxes of mix so that I could make some for the husband.






















By the time we got back to the hotel I was ready to crash! I wish I would have thought to stop and grab some food to take back to the hotel room with me but since I didn't I ended up going out one more time. This time I went right across the street to a little dive that served Po'Boys and ordered the fried shrimp Po'Boy. This picture does not do it justice, the sandwich was as big as my head and there was probably a pound of fried shrimp on it. It was very tasty and hit the spot. I think I ate maybe half of it and a few of the delicious onion rings. Unfortunately, while pregnant, I've found that I don't have as much room in my stomach for huge portions which is both good and also very, very sad!

Overall I had a great trip to New Orleans but I was not sad to get home and back on the ground. I am thankful that all of my air travel is done until after baby comes!

The stress of writing a dissertation

Maybe I should have stuck with my original plan to be an elementary school teacher. Yeah, the hours are terrible, the work is hard and the pay is just okay but man, I would have been done with school about 5 years ago. That's 5 years that I could have been earning an income rather than racking up the debt. I need to stop thinking about it though, I chose the path I chose and I just need to finish the race that I started over 6 years ago. I guess that if I hadn't chosen grad school and a PhD I would never have met my husband or my best friends. I probably wouldn't live in the Los Angeles area either. It's interesting what an impact that one decision that I made 7 years ago has had on my life.

Right now, I sort of wish that I had made a different choice or at least chosen to stay in Indiana rather than move while I'm still trying to finish up my dissertation. But, that's not the choice I made and now I'm struggling because of that choice. I am trying to work on my current round of revisions but I just don't want to, I don't care about this line of research anymore. I want to do other things with my career! Anyway, I guess I should turn my thinking around and get this done so that I can do those things. The quicker I get through these revisions the sooner I'll be able to move on with my research. Yeah, that's it, finish quickly so that I can move on.

Speaking of moving on, I applied for the visiting professor job. They finally approved the budget for it and I took in my application materials. Now I'm just waiting to hear whether or not I'll get to interview for the job. I really want this job. I want to teach, even if it is a lot of intro. I want to be back in the classroom interacting with students again.

Another thing that I want that really has nothing to do with my dissertation is to run another half marathon. I'm thinking Long Beach or the other Dreamin' series race in SoCal. I think I can do it and I really want something to train for. It's hard though when I can't really afford to buy new running shoes or sports bras. I know that the training will help relieve stress and make me feel better though. I'm going to start small and build up to it. It will also help me with my weight loss goals which have really stalled the last few months. I'm working on it though and I know that it will all come together soon.

My feet might fall off!

Today was a very busy day which followed a very busy weekend! This morning I got up and did my Tae Bo video, the original, super-cheesy version with Billy Blanks in a tight electric blue unitard :) It was challenging but it felt really good to start the day out with exercise. I'm planning to do it again tomorrow morning.

After my workout I got ready for my friend Hilary's wedding shower. This is what had me so busy this weekend. I headed over to the shower at 10:30 and was amazed at how beautiful everything looked! We went with a fall theme and it was fabulous. I made cookies and cupcakes and we had tons of photos of the bride and groom both as kids and then current pictures of them. Hilary loved it and she got a ton of awesome stuff for their new apartment. In about a month she's going to move closer to her new job and it makes me a little sad, I'm going to miss having her so close by. It's been great having a friend around here who just finished grad school, struggled to find a job in her field, is my age, is totally awesome!! Anyway, I know that we'll see them even when they move but it made me think about my friendships here in California and how quickly I've developed close and meaningful relationships.

After the shower and clean-up I came home and cleaned my house! I cleaned the kitchen, entry and bathroom floors and then cleaned the entire bathroom (except the tub, hubby will take care of that tomorrow). It feels good to have a clean house but I can definitely feel that I've been on my feet all day.

Tomorrow I'm off to work, not sure what I'm going to do yet but, I'll find something to keep me busy. In my first two weeks of work I posted 45 hours. At $13 an hour that's $585 before taxes. So, I hope to see about $450 on my paycheck, who knows, maybe it will be more :)

I need to get a solid 40 hours this week since next week I'll be off in Indiana visiting Emma and Melissa and working on my dissertation. I'm guessing that my back is going to be very sore by the end of the week.

Well, that's all for now, hopefully the week will go smoothly and I'll get some rest :)

Life in the real world...

Ahh, I'm just another working stiff. I go sit in a small office where the temperature is either too hot or too cold and type away at my computer all day and then come home to a house that needs to be cleaned and laundry that needs to be done. I already miss the days when I got to stay home and take care of the house and my husband, ah, the good 'ol days!

My job isn't bad, I like my boss and I don't really interact with too many coworkers so theres not a lot to complain about. I just miss my free time and time to cook dinner for my hubbie. It's going to take some getting used to. Fortunately I have a very flexible schedule and good friends to have lunch with.

Unfortunately, I am barely making progress on my dissertation! I got a call from JD asking how I was doing and sadly, I'm avoiding him because, well, I'm not getting anything done. Today was the first time I even touched my dissertation in the last 2 months. Pathetic, I must get it done before we send out the happy Christmas card with me smiling and wearing my cap and gown :) Anyway, I am on it and no longer going to procrastinate. I'm even going out to Indiana in 10 days to get some work done and enjoy time in the academic setting again. It should do me some good.

ASA in San Francisco - Part 1

I went to the American Sociological Association meetings in San Francisco and met up with some awesome friends. On Saturday we went to the wharf area and got free chocolate at Ghiradelli got a drink at an Irish pub, went to dinner at In-N-Out Burger and then headed to Alcatraz! In all my visits to San Francisco this was the first time that I got to go to the island. I've never thought to buy the tickets in advance until now. It was totally worth the $30 for the ticket! We went on the night tour and now I need to go in the day time so that I can fully take in the grounds and everything. It was awesome. I'd post a picture but my battery died and so I have to get the pics from one of my awesome friends. After Alcatraz we went back to Ghiradelli and ate yummy sundaes and then caught a cable car back to union square.

On Sunday, I navigated the public transportation system like a champ and met my mom, step dad and aunt at ATT park for a Giants v. Reds game. Now, I am a Reds fan via my husband and my family are major Giants fans. We got awesome seats for free through a connection at the Reds so my parents couldn't really get to mad when the Reds won, I mean, they did pay for our tickets. Here we are at the game:
Here is the final score from the game, just to prove that the Reds can in fact win a game:
Stay tuned for more details from my awesome Summer!

Son Rock Kids Camp!

This week was Vacation Bible School at our church here in California. The theme was Summer camp. The image to the left sums it up. It was a lot of fun but I still have the songs stuck in my head :)

I taught the nursery kids (ages 0-23 months) and we had a ball. We did a lesson and activity and then played all morning until the day was over. I really enjoyed meeting all of the parents and kids. I feel even more connected now. The only difficulty is that I was exhausted every day and then had to go to work! It was very trying but I'm glad that I did it.

As I said, I went to work every day after VBS and for the most part the week went really well. We didn't have any major tantrums or fits and I think that the little boy is getting used to me being there and being an authority. Yesterday afternoon they finally left me at home alone with him and all went well. I've noticed that he definitely does better in the morning than the afternoon. The later it gets the more prone to tantrum he is. I wish he would take an afternoon nap because it would probably make the afternoon much more enjoyable. Oh well, only 2 months left of working with them. Actually, more like 7 weeks. I think I'll enjoy working with a baby after this. Hopefully I'll be able to put the baby in the stroller and go for walks and get ready for the BC 3day in November. Anyway, right now I need to get the darn dissertation done and out of the way so that I can have more fun and relax. Getting it done also means a trip to Indiana where I'll get to see Melissa and everyone. I miss my Indiana friends :(

Figured it out!

Why I'm so tired, that is. I have been taking Zyrtec (well, the Costco version of it) and it's making me so tired that after sleeping 12 hours I took a 2 hour afternoon nap and would have continued sleeping if I hadn't needed to go to work! It's so strange because I've never had that reaction to the medicine before. Anyway, today I am drug free and feeling more alert and awake.

I even put together some boxes this morning and planned a weekend of packing for the big move. Hehe. This move will be a piece of cake compared to our last 2 moves. Rather than drive 2500 miles we only need to go about .25 miles! We don't even need to rent a truck. I'm going to pick up some furniture dolly's on Sunday and that should get us through.

Today is my first payday and the first time I've been paid hourly in about 6 years. I'm excited to see the check and spend it on a new couch! Working hourly really makes me want to work all the time. I have much more motivation. Maybe I should pay myself per word to work on my dissertation, do you think that would improve my speed?

Let the packing commence!

Okay, so yesterday I promised to give you the full update on what's been going on around here. First, I have not made any significant progress on my dissertation. I've been crawling towards the finish line and not even crawling like a baby that really wants something but crawling just using my elbows to propel me forward. I feel like I'm never going to see the end of this darn thing! Each week my boss and I sit down to plot my hours for the next week and I keep saying "I might be defending that day" and the day keeps getting pushed forward. What happened to the drive and motivation I had a few weeks ago? Is it gone? Will I ever finish? Today, after lunch, I am heading back to Starbucks to get the revisions done. I want to get the monkey off my back and start making everyone call me Dr. Suzie!

Second, we are switching apartments in just 2 weeks!!! We have been approved for the one bedroom bond program so we are moving on June 28th. We really like the location of our new apartment and it will be a lot easier to move out of when we finally get a house. I imagine we will live there for two years or so and hopefully be able to save up for a house by then. We will be saving $500 a month on rent which makes me super happy. With the savings and the income from my job we should be debt free in about 6-7 months. We have also sold most of our big furniture so we have much less to move these days. It should be fairly painless :)

Third, my job is going well. I really enjoy working with the family and the time seems to go by quickly. Each week I am getting more and more hours which is really great. I am also working to line up another nanny job to start in September which will be fantastic.

Fourth, and most exciting, we went on a hike on Sunday and ran across 2 rattlesnakes on the trail. I got totally freaked out but the snakes didn't rattle, they just slithered off into the weeds. We definitely have to keep our eyes open whenever we are on the trail to prevent any tragedies. The hike itself was great, we were out for an hour and a half and there was a lot of uphill. My behind was a little sore on Monday.

I think that's all that's been going on, we are excited about the move and looking forward to all that is to come.