… that illustrate the state of affairs in the Traveling Ph.D. household:
Sheldon Cooper Ph.D. is not much of a research assistant.
My paper is still not finished.
I have, however, started packing for New Zealand.
Huge suitcase, only because I have to take a suit. Grrr.
Or perhaps just revolting? The critters are on a rampage of epic proportions. I think they might actually miss The Coach. Either way, they are not being helpful when it comes to writing this conference paper. So far today:
If I do get a sabbatical for next year, my husband has an important job to complete: hanging doors on the closets that connect his office and my office. It will be the only way that I will be able to work in peace.
Okay, I know you really don’t want to know the status of my conference paper. But, you know, that’s the danger of being friends with an academic — we can never shut up about our research! Right now, I have 21 pages completed. That includes my title page and abstract and three pages of sources, as well as several longish tables. And, we’re talking single spaced here. I still have several sections to complete — the test “case studies” are going to be the most troublesome — but I do have a nice, solid description of the international institutional (both organizations and policy documents) that is jsut about done. Either way, the paper is in danger of being unwieldy and, quite frankly, I am feeling like I’m in information overload mode. Thank goodness, it’s just a conference paper and not an actual document that’s being sent to a peer-reviewed journal. I’m thinking that this thing could actually become two articles when I do the revisions this summer.
So, tomorrow’s plan: (1) Get up, take some reading and go get my free birthday coffee from *$; (2) come home, write the smallish sections on definitional difficulties and on the cons of ecotourism; (3) dig out my grad school notes on Ostrom’s framework (for my methods section); (4) finish up the institutional framework; and (5) wait for The Coach to proofread the first chunk of this monstrosity. Wednesday, I’ll write the section related to the theoretical propositions and hammer out the case studies. Thursday, I have (HAVE!!!) to do some stuff for the Journal, so that leaves Friday to finish up the final touches on this thing.
And then, I’ll pay bills, pack, and make my Power Point show. Ugh.
In other news: Birdie and the cats got together and dumped over their waterer, causing a three-towel flood in the bathroom. Contrary to popular belief, all dogs do not go to heaven.
Sheldon Cooper, Ph.D.
Boxing Day, 2010
Subtitle: Or, basically, a story about nothing.
As is holiday tradition in the Traveling Ph.D. household (if you can call two years in a row a holiday tradition), The Coach has abandoned me for the glowing embers of a wood stove at his mother’s house. Originally, he was going to leave on Christmas Day, but his brother called to tell him not to come. Apparently everyone was going to be at his new wife’s family’s house — and we have never, ever, been included in this invitation. It’s a complex story, one that I don’t quite understand [1].
So, yesterday, we broke out the suitcases — a small bag for The Coach’s overnighter to Ohio, the large bag for my upcoming trip to New Zealand. And, as usual, as soon as they see the suitcases, the critters freak out. It’s amusing because it’s rare that they are left alone; The Coach and I only seem to be able to coordinate our vacations about once every 18 months. As the animal stress levels skyrocketed, I ended up refereeing fights between Birdie and four different cats. The only good cat in the house was Sheldon Cooper Ph.D. who stayed out of the fray.
Today, however, Sheldon is officially the worst cat in the house. Here I was, trying to bring Chessie in from his walk, when Sheldon made a mad dash out the door! I shoved the dog in the house, took off after the cat, and ended up getting my pajama bottoms soaked in the snow. Evil cat, he is!
Welcome to our ‘Hood!
This was our first White Christmas since 2004.
When The Coach and I were first married, we spent our Christmas holidays treking back and forth across the State of Ohio. My aunt used to host these awesome family gatherings on Christmas eve; my in-laws expected us in Columbus for Christmas Day. Over the years, however, things changed. My aunt and uncle now spend their winters in Florida and The Coach’s brother’s in-laws (if you can follow that) have completely cut us out of the holiday picture. We adapted to these changes by making elaborate holiday plans: one year, it was a trip to the Adirondacks to see my grandmother; another year, it was a trek to Phoenix to see the Hoosiers in the Insight Bowl. We’ve spent the holiday in Santa Fe and in London — England, not Ohio. Last year, we had great plans to go to Williamsburg, but the weather did not want to cooperate and we ended up spending a disappointed holiday in Evansville.
This year, we didn’t even bother to make plans. We’re slightly broke thanks to a rash of car and home repairs; plus, I am leaving for New Zealand in about a week, so it just seemed unreasonable to go away. Instead, we bought nice presents for each other (a Garmin for The Coach, a Kobu for me), put up the Christmas tree, and said the heck with it. It turned out to be a good decision: I ended up working in my office through Thursday, I still have to finish my conference paper, and don’t even get me started talking about the journal that I edit.
My New Favorite House.
I have lived downtown for six years and never noticed this house until last week.
So, we celebrated Festivus with pizza from the good pizza place and a movie from the Redbox. A friend of mine over in Louisville made us fried chicken and coconut pie for my birthday. And yesterday, we took the old dogs for a walk in the snow, opened presents, and went bowling. We ended the day with scalloped potatoes, a huge salad, and steaks in red wine sauce — and a last minute +1 for dinner. All in all, a pleasant day.
… that bowling alleys are open on Christmas Day?
I sure didn’t, but now I have proof!
Here’s The Coach, bowling at the AMF Lanes.
Example 1: Facebook status on Tuesday night:
The Traveling Ph.D. did not know that you could buy a box of cute Xmas cards for $1 at Target.
Example 2: Facebook status, 25 minutes later:
The Traveling Ph.D. thought she wanted a Pandora bracelet for her anniversary in February, then she looked at the prices and nearly passed out on the floor.
So, what reasonably priced item can I ask for to celebrate 20 years of putting up with The Coach?
And here’s what I really did on my last “official” day in the office until next January:
On that note, I am sending my carpooler a 10 minute warning. Off to the grocery store, then home to wrap presents and bake cookies. I’m taking the rest of today, plus my birthday and Christmas off. When I return to writing my paper, I’ll be all relaxed and happy. Woot!
Today’s my last day in the office. I have to get my s*** together so I can work at home next week. Our University has rolling blackouts between Christmas and New Year’s Day, so it’s just not worth dragging myself out into the cold. Aside from working on ye’ old conference paper, I still need to:
Doable, right? I sure hope so because I need some time off for myself. There are still Christmas cards to write and Christmas presents to wrap. Let’s just say that it’s been a hell of a semester folks!
