Irons (in the fire)

I made a list yesterday of all the semi-completed projects that I have somewhere (in my office, at home by the computer, on-line, in my head). I have a lot of irons in the fire, I think. Speaking of that, I finished stuffing the wedding invitations yesterday. There's one project out of the way. That's not to say that there aren't three more waiting to take it's place. Thankfully, it looks like Dr. Earley's mixed methods class is going to be very helpful and informative toward writing my dissertation proposal. The rest of my irons are not nearly so bulky or important as that big one. Well, maybe finding a job, but really those are going to go hand-in-hand for me this year (I hope). I have to say I'm a little nervous about the job hunt. It feels like something that as a young (soon to be) married man, wanting to provide and make good on the promise that I have valued skills and talents in this field, that finding a job is intimately tied to my own sense of self-worth and confidence. So, time to stop blogging and get my ass on monster and crtnet.

200-level course

I received work this week that, starting in the fall, I am teaching my first 200-level course. (ooohhh...ahhhh). It's called, 'presentational speaking in organizations'. I'm really looking forward to preparing for a new, challenging class. It should mean new assignments, activities, materials, and mostly non-Freshmen students.

I finish up my Free Speech class this week, and am sitting pretty as far as work goes for that class. I've finished both my final assignments for that class and am looking forward to moving on to mixed methods (which should be a fine primer for writing up my dissertation proposal).

Oh, yes, and I installed the air conditioner yesterday. Sleeping was soooooo sweeeet last night. Now I'm off to attempt to organize my syllabus for my IPC 205 course. Yippy!

-M.D.S.

The Week Ahead

These summer sessions fly right by, don't they? This is my final week of SPSS; next week is my final week of Free Speech. This means I still have to finish my SPSS final project this week and my 10-page paper by next Thursday. (We take the good with the bad, methinks.)

I'm traveling to Columbus this Friday (a long drive that I hope will be well worth it). I'm meeting with Roxanne Swogger of the Ohio Office of Victim's Services and hopefully getting a peek at their operation there. I hope that will turn out to be the venue for my dissertation research. (I'll certainly be keeping my fingers crossed on the way there and, hopefully, elated on the way home.)

Other things keep on keepin' on. I will hopefully be talking with Dr. Burke this week about my assistantship, Gina and I got a lot of wedding things done this weekend (met with the DJ, looked at wedding bands (for fingers, not for the ears), and I asked Kyle to be my best man. Now, if I can only figure out what to get the guy...

-M.D.S.

Two Months

From today, I will be married in two months. Gulp. We have a lot of things to do between now and then. I have a lot of things to do between now and then.

And now for something completely different: I have successfully defended my preliminary exams (yea). I am now officially (drum roll please): a guy who has passed his preliminary exam defense (yea). Now all I have to do is one final paper: the dissertation. Piece of cake, I hear. Oh, and finish my final three classes, and write my proposal, defend that, secure a context for my research, conduct my research, analyze the data, evaluate the results, and complete the dissertation, defend that, find a job...oh, and we're picking out our wedding invitations tonight. It seems I'm always one with a full plate. Thankfully, it's always filled with things I love.

M.D.S. Away!