Quote.

"So. The caterpillar has emerged from its cocoon... as a shark. With a gun for a mouth."

That is how my day went today.

I hope everyone is well.

Peace,
Joe

Eight is Great

This is the 8th post of 2008.

::Balloons fall. Noise makers make noise. Peasants rejoice. OR maybe I just did a dance while sitting on my couch. Take your pick::

That equals last years total, but doesn't really touch past years. I just spent a bit of time looking over old posts of mine and old posts from family and friends. This, I think, is part of the point of blogging. It was really grand. I seemed to have an affinity for saying that in college. Grand, I mean. Its a good word, but I fear I used it too much. Just busting it out sounds good, though. Grand.

I was looking because, as recently as a few years ago, the posts from this time period were filled with things like, "took X final today. Brain oozing out my earz." (Yes, with a Z). THe "Finals" posts were closely followed by blissful accounts of Christmas break and eating too much. This year I am not taking any courses (I haven't in almost two years), I'm not teaching any courses (I'm on a research assistantship), so the "end-of-the-semester" demarcation doesn't mean much this go-round. I work until the 19th, but it won't really stop then, as I'll be collecting data for my dissertation as much as possible until my golden ticket gets punched.

And that is the thing... finishing up these last few months of school has taken on the feel of constructing a golden ticket to leave. I haven't really felt like a student in awhile. I feel most comfortable when I teach (professionally speaking. I feel most comfortable overall when I am having a glass of whiskey on the couch with my wife). I'm not sure when the switch happened, but it has happened. I'm ready to have a profession. My interview @ Spring HIll is January 12th and 13th. I want them to give me that chance at a profession. Because, honestly, I don't feel like a student anymore.

Yes, yes, I know. "The more you know" and all that. I'm going to be a college professor, and keep learning. But there is a difference between how I feel now (and have felt for about a year), and the ability to wear a t-shirt that says "I is a college student" and complain about eating too many noodles. See?

In music news, I just bought "Vampire Weekend." Its a cool sound... like Spoon and Cake had a baby who was born with a tube-amp keyboard. You should take a listen.

And if you are a visual learner, as I am, here is a picture that sums up my post:

Head on Fire.

I hope everyone is well!

Peace,
Joe

Short Goals List, Part 2

Something that I didn't specify, but is awesome anyway:

-Alabama is 12-0. We stomped Auburn last Saturday 36-0. I was there. Ah yes. Roll Tide.

An update to a central tenet of the original list:


-I just found out I have a face-to-face interview @ Spring Hill in early January. One step closer to "Get a job." And an awesome step it is... it fits everything I want to accomplish professionally, like the job was made for me. Keep your fingers crossed! That's right... for an entire month and a half!

And in the spirit of keeping up with this blog:

-I've started a Twitter account for quick, mobile updates. Its on the right of this page. We'll see if I can keep it up.

I hope everyone is well, and that the leftover Turkey and or pie you are eating is still tasty.

Peace,
Joe

Winter Walk

brittle morning cold
breaks, refreezes with each step
frost on my front yard

------------------------

neglected pumpkins
sunken in in the sunshine
Christmas lights blinking

------------------------

what does winnie the
pooh have to do with Christmas?
strangest flag i've seen.

------------------------

Put it back.

I found out today that someone has stolen my debit card number. Again.

I don't know anything about them except that they love GAP.com and Amazon.com.

They love those sites a lot. Or as much as my limited bank account allowed them.

My credit union is closed today, so I haven't gotten to do anything about it except:

1. Be mad
2. Cancel the card on an emergency number
3. Be super mad

To the person out there pretending to be me:

1. I don't have much money
2. You're an $@%$#&%^$!
3. Put it back

I hope everyone is well.
Peace,
Joe

Sunday Ride

During my blogging hiatus I've taken up cycling. Nick gave me his old mountain bike (thanks dude), and I've spent the last few months fixing it up for a commuter / mid-length riding application. I've been mixing running with cycling, and getting better distance in each than I ever have before. So, using Jamie as an example (thanks Jamie), I'm going to occasionally post good runs /rides. I do use this mountain bike mostly for road riding, which I understand is not ideal, but it was a free bike and I really enjoy it. I have no idea what good cycling benchmarks are, so these stats might be slightly embarrassing... but it is something good to write about, so here we go:

Date: Sunday, 2008.11.09

Start Time: 3:00 PM
End Time: 3:45 PM

Type: Mix of road and grass track

Length: 10 miles

This is my "regular ride." I've spent a good bit of my time in this pursuit trying to figure out a bike-friendly route around town. Campus has some good commuter lanes now, and the River Walk has a bike path as well. The problem is first getting to campus, then getting to the river, then connecting the two portions of the river walk. Folks in Tuscaloosa aren't used to cyclists actually riding in the road (or wearing a helmet for that matter, but thats another post), so I often get funny looks in the transition areas... especially when I get on Jack Warner Parkway for about a half mile in between the two sections of the River Walk path. One day they will be connected, but for now I have to get off on a grass track for about a half mile, then weave my way onto Jack Warner Parkway for another half. This is not as stupid as it sounds, I promise. It is not a busy section of the parkway, and I make sure to go biking during slow times traffic-wise, like early in the morning or on Saturday or Sunday afternoons.

Anyway, today was a great ride. The temp was perfect (about 60 degrees), there was little wind, and the roads were all but deserted. The river looked amazing, too: no clouds in the sky, so the turning leaves reflected crisp and clear in the water. In fact, it was so nice I nearly ran into a tree. But that was my only close call, and considering how long I've been doing this (about 3 months now), thats not too bad for me.

Now its off to the grocery store, Mass, and then thank you notes from the wedding. A thoroughly quiet and enjoyable day.

I hope everyone is well!

Peace,
Joe

Short Goals List

In November of last year I wrote myself a short goals list to be completed by November of this year:

1) Marry Tonya

2) Help elect Barack Obama

3) Get job*

*Tenure-track position at small liberal arts college preferable.

So here we are in November of 2008, and I've hit 2 out of 3. I have an awesome wife and our nation now has an awesome President-elect. I cried in both instances, and am proud of that fact.

Number three is still up in the air. The job market is, to put it lightly, total crap right now. I have one promising prospect, and that is Spring Hill College in Mobile, Al. In all honesty, it is a dream position for me. Small, jesuit, liberal arts college in a cool town with an amazing educational tradition. I would get to continue my training blend of social psychology and gerontology, and the college is right across the street from a retirement community where I could continue my research and intervention work. Finally, they have a nursing program with a certificate in gero, so I could fulfill my dream of being on the ground floor of educating medical professionals who dominate patient contact time with older adults.

For points 1 and 2 on the list, I had a 90 / 10 mix of confidence to nervousness. Confidence of the sort that tells you "this is right, this is true, this is awesome." Confidence of the sort that speaks to you from your core, like it has been sleeping there for your whole life and just woke up. The 10% nervousness should be familiar to anyone who has ever wanted something so great. That tiny voice asks, "Can this actually happen to me? Do I deserve this?" And then it happens, and you cry. Partially for the confirmation of the 90%, and partially for the death of that 10%.

I am struggling to find the mix for point #3, my dream job. This time the nervous component is higher, I think. But that has a lot to do with the aspirational aspect of it compared to marriage and a new president: it is a mandate on the last 5 and a half years of work; it is the test by which spending my 20s still in school can be proven worthwhile.

I dreamt of my perfect partner, and I got her. I hoped for a transformational president, and we got him. I want a job where I can help others learn to think critically, live in a community where service is king, and use my energy to improve the lives of older adults. We'll find out about that one soon.

Also, if it helps, you can imagine a little slow strings music to go along with this post, since I just wrote something that could have been the "on screen journal" section of a TV melodrama. You know, whatever facilitates the mood :)

I hope everyone is well!

Peace,
Joe

Sabbatical

Facebook. Dissertation. Job Applications. Marriage. Apathy. What do all of these have in common?

They can all be categorized under "reasons why Joe's blog is more stale than gas-station Krispy Kremes."

Some are happy (marriage), some are obvious (facebook, apathy) and some really shouldn't be excuses, but sources of post material (job applications).

The meta-reason for lack of posting, however, sits squarely in the middle of my latest dilemma: information overload.

Not overlord, overload.

I've been looking closely at my own productivity lately, as is hip among academics these days, and have found myself, er. Hmm.
Not sure how to end that. I suppose I haven't. Found myself, that is. Because it is difficult to see yourself when covered in emails, Facebook applications, iPhone apps, website updates, visual voicemails, and the like. Earlier this week I had a day where I spent 9 hours at work and got nothing done. Wait. Strike that. I didn't produce anything. I consumed many things, mostly digital things. And a sandwich. And too much coffee. Anyway, when I got home, exhausted from, something, I decided to make a list of reasons why I didn't get anything done.

Aha, you say. But lists are time-wasters, too. Well, yes, they are. But a list of your lists and things that produce lists can be quite helpful. Point-in-fact:

I estimated that about 3 hours of my day is spend haphazardly absorbing information. Easy information. Like emails, and online news, and facebook pages. These things used to be filler at some point, I think. Now they are sort of the bread and the filler. Schedule a meeting and prioritize the goals therein? Sure! Execute said meeting? Well, I'm not sure I'll have time. Let me check my email.

I never really had to worry about this phenomenon in the past, sort of like my weight or staying in shape. But now, just like staying thin and in relative shape, I find I have to work at it. To further the analogy, it appears as though I need to more carefully control my information diet. In college I ate what I wanted, exercised when I wanted to, and blogged prolifically. But now, for deeper reasons to be covered in another post, I must be more disciplined on all these fronts. Thus the attempted re-start of this blog. Its like whole wheat crust on a pizza, or running on very cold mornings. Its something that I enjoy in its most basic sense, and something that, occasionally, I need to force myself to take part in. As part of my info diet, I am setting aside time for this blog. I'll probably take it from unstructured Facebook time. Because writing is better than e-stalking, I think.

So have a light beer in celebration, and jump for joy three times a week for 30 minutes. Mr. T. Loves Buddha has returned.

I hope everyone is well.

Peace,
Joe

Directions toward goals for things and hard working kids like me Mr. President.

So I admit it.

I DID watch old Bushy boy's final state of the union.

But worse than that, I watched the democratic (oops! I mean American!) response.

I think the good Gov. of Kansas might have completed a salient thought. Perhaps. But I did not catch it.

So instead, I give you the greatest series of videos on the interweb. Thanks to Josh for enlightening me!



I hope everyone is well. Also, Happy 2008!

Peace,
Joe