 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
I finished my CIA presentation tonight and gave it. It went okay, I suppose. Not bad, not terribly good... though it did inspire a great deal of discussion. I didn't really feel prepared for it (I wasn't) and I rambled a bit, but it still went. I was pretty exhausted by the time I was finished, honestly.
I always feel shitty when something's not my best work. I'm not sure where this particular guilt complex came from, because it certainly didn't used to exist. I felt like I had sold this presentation short a bit because I didn't invest enough time to really create coherent analysis.
Now, I'm pretty tired. I always am on Tuesday nights after night class. Some of my classmates go out for brew afterwards. I've gone out once. I'm usually ready to be home after I'm done. Beyond that, I've usually not seen Amy all day, and if I don't spend time with her, not only is she fit to be tied but I feel like I've cheated myself out of something I really wanted by not spending time with her when I could.
Speaking of Amy, she's working on new forms for her job. Their forms and paperwork is pretty irregular (and much of it handwritten), so she's cleaning it up and standardizing it. She's doing a good job of things. I don't know if Pet Guards knows the quality of deal that they're getting with her.
It's now about a week until I leave for AAG in Chicago. I'll be gone for about four days... and three nights, as Amy is sure to often remind me. I'm looking forward to it, but it's just kinda a pain in the ass at this point. The material that I'm presenting, on my old masters thesis is no longer terribly in-touch with my research goals or standards, but since I won the Kasperson Award, I have to present that stuff. I'm also up for the Student Director gig in the Hazards Specialty Group, which means I have to attend the business meeting and glad-handle a bit. I don't know if I'll get elected, but it's an odd possibility. I've got Burrell (and anyone she rounds up), Ute, Tom and Schwartz on my side. That's a start in a specialty group where 20 members attended the last meeting.
It's going to be fun hanging and living and partying with Mary and Jeff and everyone... I think. We're going to be crammed into a hotel room in the downtown Travelodge, which isn't ideal but it will work. And Chicago is always fun.
But I worry about my presentation because the research is old and it's no longer my best work. I want to present on "Indiana and Terror" or on "Nascar and the Global Economy." Luckily, I will get to present one of those (not sure which) at the upcoming Grad Student Colloquium on campus. It's a start.
Enough career garbage for tonight!
I still want to buy a mandolin, but that dream is remarkable time away from reality.
Meh. It feels like I don't have time for personal things anymore. So goes getting a PhD, I'm told. Two more years and change, that that'll be Dr. Shears to you, motherfucker.
I'm still working on turning my thesis into a workable paper for a journal. It's not going well, but tomorrow will be the day I crack down.... Dahhh! Career shit again.
Fuck. I need a life.
Posted by Your Friendly Neighborhood DJ on February 28, 2006 10:28 PM | Permalink
Share this entry:
