Wednesday, March 21, 2007

The PhD Timeline, doctor-t style

People are always asking me how the PhD works and how long it takes. It differs depending on the department, university and country, but here's how my PhD goes:

Year 1
Year 2
Year 3
Year 4 -- TBD
doctor T 7:47 p.m. | 2 comments |

Wednesday, March 14, 2007

I read a book

Yeah, that about sums up today.

I woke up at 6:30 am after five hours of somewhat fitful sleep, dragged my ass our of bed, cleaned myself up, had coffee and a bagel and then hit the couch to read/nap after Mike left for work at 9. I managed to get some extra sleep but woke up with that groggy-what-the-hell-time-is-it feeling and gross coffee mouth. Coffee mouth isn't as bad as nap-after-a-beer-mouth (because even though I KNOW having a beer in the afternoon will make me sleepy I still indulge in the summer), or sick mouth, but it's gross enough.

I finished a book of short stories for the diss and then felt a migraine creeping up my neck so made some black tea in a mad dash to stave off the pain. Did some laundry, loaded the dishwasher, will read a chapter of criticism before I vacuum, then I'm headed out the door to buy groceries and hit good ole WW.

It's a beautiful day and normally I work very well on lovely days -- the view out the window is gorgeous and makes me happy -- but today is just meh. Bleah. Ungh. Not quite Bleargh, megh, or Urgh. Mehbleaungh.
doctor T 3:02 p.m. | 0 comments |

Friday, March 09, 2007

Notes to Faculty.....

*Don't talk about the state of your marriage or your spouse's mental health issues in front of a whole lot of students in a very loud voice. It makes everyone feel awkward and makes you look like a twit.

*Do develop some empathy. Not everyone has the privilege of attending university. People in difficult circumstances aren't in a blessed position in terms of being politically engaged. Maybe you knew some folks who were worse off than you and were politically active and very happy, but that doesn't mean people who don't have money have the luxury of less social propriety and thus more freedom. Not being able to pay the rent does not equal freedom.

*Do Stop praising each other so blatantly. It makes me want to puke. What happened to being critical?

*Do remember my name even when it's not directly to your benefit. It's not that hard to pronounce, really.

*Don't forget what you felt like as a grad student. Remember when you couldn't get your hands on enough money to go on a research trip? Remember when people rejected your proposals repeatedly? Remember how shitty it felt?

*Do tell me it's worth it. Please. Even if you don't mean it, I just need to hear it sometimes.
doctor T 6:35 p.m. | 1 comments |