...a whirling dervish with no purpose and/or direction...or does it?
Whirling Dervish (wurl-ing dur-vish) n. 1. A mystical
dancer who stands between the material and cosmic
worlds. His dance is part of a sacred ceremony
in which the dervish rotates in a precise rhythm.
He represents the earth revolving on its axis while
orbiting the sun. The purpose of the ritual whirling
is for the dervish to empty himself of all distracting
thoughts, placing him in trance; released from
his body he conquers dizziness.
I'm homeless. That's how I'd love to start this entry, but it's not true. I have a family that loves me (and luckily a number of sisters that tolerate me) and a general direction, but nothing clear-cut. Right now I'm working on moving out of Becca's house and then spending some time with Susan (and the new baby) for a few weeks. Will I be a help or a hindrance to her? Time will tell.
Sometimes I wonder if I'm putting off being an adult and indulging in a "Peter Pan" syndrome. Okay, so I worked 8 years for a police department and then decided to go back to school, but am I hiding from the decisions adults make? Hmmm...that may be a deep topic for another time.
What I do know is that I will be getting my M.A. in English at the University of Idaho (Moscow, ID) in the fall. Additionally, I'll have the pleasure of warping young freshman minds as I teach a few courses of Composition/Literature. He. He. He.
I have to admit, while I initially considered U of I as my fallback school, everything has come together to make it the right place for me. I'll be closer to my family, back near friends I miss, scenery I love (whitewater rafting anyone?), and being one step closer to my goal of teaching college English.
Because of scheduling conflicts, I won't be able to return to Alaska this summer. I'm holding out hope for next summer. I was looking forward to some more sea kayaking, trying some ice climbing (am I weird to like the thought of climbing with a pick and crampons on my feet?), and also getting some nice whitewater kayaking in. Wow! I sound a little bit like an adventurer. At least I won't be dodging grizzlies this summer!
Oh, yeah. I graduate tomorrow from BYU-I. Yeah! No more taking classes I am not interested in (anything to do with advertising, math, or science). I am looking forward to meeting my newest niece, as soon as Susan has her. Will that be number 20 or 21? Maybe it's #23. I've lost count!!!
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
I'm Accepted!!!
Is it sad of me to feel glad when I get accepted? Whether it's as a "friend" on Facebook or into Graduate School? I received my first acceptance letter into Graduate School and can you guess where it was? University of Idaho. Who knows? Maybe I'll be heading back to my old stomping grounds in the fall. They definitely have location going for it as well as the fact they have a PhD program as well that I can fast-track into, hopefully cutting a year off my doctorate. Man! That sounds so grown up...and so far away.
I haven't received any rejections yet, so that's a good sign. Is my ego so fragile it will break into a million pieces if I don't get in everywhere I applied? I think I'll be okay, especially since I know at least one school wants me...let's hope that's the first of many acceptances.
A girl's gotta have options!
I haven't received any rejections yet, so that's a good sign. Is my ego so fragile it will break into a million pieces if I don't get in everywhere I applied? I think I'll be okay, especially since I know at least one school wants me...let's hope that's the first of many acceptances.
A girl's gotta have options!
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Happy Saint ME Day!
You know I had to post since today's St. Patty's Day. I need to let my loyal followers and minions have words of wisdom from their leader..."Beware a green Yak. It may Yak."
You're welcome and have a good day!
You're welcome and have a good day!
Monday, March 16, 2009
New and Improved
So, I've moved my blog to blogger.com. I've found it's more user friendly than my old one and it enables me to have a cleaner design.
I'm sure you're wondering what's up with Patty? Well, I'm graduating April 10, 2009 from Brigham Young University--Idaho (but will not be walking). I will finally have my B.S. in English (B.S.--doesn't that seem fitting? I think so. I've definitely learned to B.S. my way through a lot of papers!). I've submitted my applications to Graduate School, but don't expect to hear back before graduation.
Let's see...news...um, I've had a paper accepted to the National Undergraduate Literature Conference in April. This is my second year and it's kinda a big deal. Undergrads from all over the country (Yale, UNLV, UCLA, Harvard, BYU, BYU-Idaho, etc.) submit works they've written, hoping to present it at the conference. It's a nice break from schoolwork, unfortunately the conference comes the weekend before finals, so no one from our school is really cutting loose. We all tend to scurry back to our rooms at night to study for exams. -sigh- only 18 more days of classes!!!
Um, that's about all I have right now, but I'll work on cutting and pasting my other posts to this blog, as well as downloading some pictures.
Peace!
I'm sure you're wondering what's up with Patty? Well, I'm graduating April 10, 2009 from Brigham Young University--Idaho (but will not be walking). I will finally have my B.S. in English (B.S.--doesn't that seem fitting? I think so. I've definitely learned to B.S. my way through a lot of papers!). I've submitted my applications to Graduate School, but don't expect to hear back before graduation.
Let's see...news...um, I've had a paper accepted to the National Undergraduate Literature Conference in April. This is my second year and it's kinda a big deal. Undergrads from all over the country (Yale, UNLV, UCLA, Harvard, BYU, BYU-Idaho, etc.) submit works they've written, hoping to present it at the conference. It's a nice break from schoolwork, unfortunately the conference comes the weekend before finals, so no one from our school is really cutting loose. We all tend to scurry back to our rooms at night to study for exams. -sigh- only 18 more days of classes!!!
Um, that's about all I have right now, but I'll work on cutting and pasting my other posts to this blog, as well as downloading some pictures.
Peace!
Sunday, December 14, 2008
December 14, 2008
Has it already been over three months!
Can I just say whew! I never want to jump from a job right into school. I literally had three days "off" between work and school...but they weren't even real days off! They were travel days from Valdez, AK to Idaho Falls, ID. I flew into Spokane, spent the night at Susan and K.C.'s and then drove (8 hours) to Idaho Falls. When I got to school on Monday, I jumped right into my school work and started doing, not only the work/assignments due for my classes, but the tons of homework I had already missed. And yes, there was a lot. For those of you who don't know, although I love how BYU-Idaho is a more academically leaning college (no sports teams, unless you count their extensive intermural program), even I have to admit that only 14 weeks of class (13 if you count we have one week of for Thanksgiving) with no decrease in work load from the old 16 week schedule, is brutal.
Furthermore, I would recommend you never take 3 english classes as well as 2 art classes in the same semester. In addition to all of the reading and writing you have to do in any english class, the art classes were about 3 hours long (twice a week) and then I spent between 20-30 hours a week just on completing and working on assignments...JUST FOR THOSE CLASSES. I'll be lucky if I pull a B out of each of those classes.Did I mention brutal?So, my semester consisted of those 5 classes and I also did an Internship this semester (don't ask me why...apparently I hate myself). The internship was for the English Department, so I was basically a Teacher's Assistant for the 5th semester in a row, but this time I was paid more and had to work 20 hours each week...in addition to my school load. Definitely my toughest semester thusfar.
Because I was so busy with my internship work (reading and grading papers...oh, the power!, as well as entering grades into the computer grade book and meeting one-on-one with students to go over their papers) and school work, I can honestly say I haven't been to the movie theatre ALL YEAR, except for the one movie I saw in Valdez this summer (the new Indiana Jones...what a disappointment). If you don't believe me about the whole busy-ness aspect of my semester, just ask Becca. She'll vouch for how anti-social I was (translate to no fun).
Although I've been moaning an complaining about my semester, there were some good things. I am now an officially published writer! The school journal, which is only published once a year, included two papers I had written (an original short story as well as an academic paper) in the journal. This is actually quite impressive because: 1. I'm the only person with two papers and 2. there are only about 10 papers from more than 50 submissions. Yeah for me! I also took my Graduate Requirement Exams (GREs) this semester. I scored well enough to meet the minimum requirements to get into any of the English Graduate programs I've looked at. Yes, Patty is applying to Graduate School. I have six on my list right now (2 each in Washington, Montana, and Idaho). My first choice is Boise State, but for my peace of mind, I'll take any of them.
So although Patty is finally done with finals (and for some reason I'm talking about myself in the third person...), I have the "opportunity" to continue the stress streak from finals and work on Graduate Admissions forms. -sigh-Luckily, I get to fill out the applications in a different environment...Susan and K.C.'s house in Spokane, WA. Since Susan is like Mary (read: great with child), I'm trying to help her out with the whole ACBoquet craziness and working with her during my break. I think I can help her a bit, make some money, and have a change of scenery without really putting anyone out -- except for Elisha since she's graciously given up her room to me.
So that's about all I have right now. I will be graduating from BYU-Idaho in April, but dont' know if I'll walk or not...right now I'm thinking yes...but give me a couple of days and I will probably change my mind. Lucikly, next semester is going to be a cake walk compared to this semester. I only have 12 credits (4 classes) and will not be interning. I will still be a TA, but not have to meet such strict requirements.
So, yet again, that's all I have right now, but I just want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas. There's snow in Spokane (along with a bitingly cold wind) so it's finally starting to feel like Christmas. Stay safe for the holidays and I hope you have a wonderful coming year.Love,Patty
Can I just say whew! I never want to jump from a job right into school. I literally had three days "off" between work and school...but they weren't even real days off! They were travel days from Valdez, AK to Idaho Falls, ID. I flew into Spokane, spent the night at Susan and K.C.'s and then drove (8 hours) to Idaho Falls. When I got to school on Monday, I jumped right into my school work and started doing, not only the work/assignments due for my classes, but the tons of homework I had already missed. And yes, there was a lot. For those of you who don't know, although I love how BYU-Idaho is a more academically leaning college (no sports teams, unless you count their extensive intermural program), even I have to admit that only 14 weeks of class (13 if you count we have one week of for Thanksgiving) with no decrease in work load from the old 16 week schedule, is brutal.
Furthermore, I would recommend you never take 3 english classes as well as 2 art classes in the same semester. In addition to all of the reading and writing you have to do in any english class, the art classes were about 3 hours long (twice a week) and then I spent between 20-30 hours a week just on completing and working on assignments...JUST FOR THOSE CLASSES. I'll be lucky if I pull a B out of each of those classes.Did I mention brutal?So, my semester consisted of those 5 classes and I also did an Internship this semester (don't ask me why...apparently I hate myself). The internship was for the English Department, so I was basically a Teacher's Assistant for the 5th semester in a row, but this time I was paid more and had to work 20 hours each week...in addition to my school load. Definitely my toughest semester thusfar.
Because I was so busy with my internship work (reading and grading papers...oh, the power!, as well as entering grades into the computer grade book and meeting one-on-one with students to go over their papers) and school work, I can honestly say I haven't been to the movie theatre ALL YEAR, except for the one movie I saw in Valdez this summer (the new Indiana Jones...what a disappointment). If you don't believe me about the whole busy-ness aspect of my semester, just ask Becca. She'll vouch for how anti-social I was (translate to no fun).
Although I've been moaning an complaining about my semester, there were some good things. I am now an officially published writer! The school journal, which is only published once a year, included two papers I had written (an original short story as well as an academic paper) in the journal. This is actually quite impressive because: 1. I'm the only person with two papers and 2. there are only about 10 papers from more than 50 submissions. Yeah for me! I also took my Graduate Requirement Exams (GREs) this semester. I scored well enough to meet the minimum requirements to get into any of the English Graduate programs I've looked at. Yes, Patty is applying to Graduate School. I have six on my list right now (2 each in Washington, Montana, and Idaho). My first choice is Boise State, but for my peace of mind, I'll take any of them.
So although Patty is finally done with finals (and for some reason I'm talking about myself in the third person...), I have the "opportunity" to continue the stress streak from finals and work on Graduate Admissions forms. -sigh-Luckily, I get to fill out the applications in a different environment...Susan and K.C.'s house in Spokane, WA. Since Susan is like Mary (read: great with child), I'm trying to help her out with the whole ACBoquet craziness and working with her during my break. I think I can help her a bit, make some money, and have a change of scenery without really putting anyone out -- except for Elisha since she's graciously given up her room to me.
So that's about all I have right now. I will be graduating from BYU-Idaho in April, but dont' know if I'll walk or not...right now I'm thinking yes...but give me a couple of days and I will probably change my mind. Lucikly, next semester is going to be a cake walk compared to this semester. I only have 12 credits (4 classes) and will not be interning. I will still be a TA, but not have to meet such strict requirements.
So, yet again, that's all I have right now, but I just want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas. There's snow in Spokane (along with a bitingly cold wind) so it's finally starting to feel like Christmas. Stay safe for the holidays and I hope you have a wonderful coming year.Love,Patty
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