I have moved...again. This is the 4th move in a little over a year (Minneapolis to Rochester; Rochester to 8719; 8719 to 8619; and 8619 to my current apartment). I moved from New Palo Verde to Old Palo Verde, which means that my rent went down nearly $100 a month. I'm not going to air my dirty laundry on this blog, so I will spare you the details of why I moved. The O-side fam came up to help me with the first move, so I had my friends help me with the 2nd. I am already looking for new friends in case I need to move a 3rd time. ..joking. Friends say that I have a 7th month itch since I haven't been able to stay in one apartment for longer than 7 months.
I am finishing up my RA responsibilities with KB. It looks like I should be wrapping things up by next week, which is good since classes begin on Thursday. Under KB's guidance, I will be starting work on a qualifying paper. This paper will explore the current abortion debate as it develops along the lines of privacy, family, and the welfare state. I also met with CU, the first reader of another qualifying paper this week. This paper will look at opinion formation and the processes that impact abortion attitudes. Theoretically, I could write these papers simultaneously. However, this probably will not be feasible since I will also be taking classes, TAing, and working on a coauthored paper. Instead, the development of these qualifiers will most likely be staggered.
Our summer is wrapping up, and we begin classes next Thursday. I am taking Statistics and Political Participation. TA assignments were announced today, and I got my first choice: US Supreme Court with the department chair, MP. I love teaching about the US government, and the Supreme Court is my favorite branch. This will also be a great opportunity to cultivate a relationship with MP.
After spending a year in California, I find that I am finally getting used to the weather. During this time last year, it was still really warm to me; I wore flip flops and skirts year round. I have noticed that it is getting cooler during the day and chillier at night. Of course, it may be due to the thunderstorm that we are expecting tomorrow. You know the song about how it never rains in Southern California? Well, that's the truth. When I was in Minnesota last July, I saw more rain in a day than I had seen in almost a year.
After a year long hiatus, I am knitting and crocheting again. Since I don't want to be a one dimensional grad student, I am trying to cultivate non academic hobbies. Here are my current projects:
I am knitting a colorful scarf and crocheting an off white baby afghan. Tonight, my friend Lorien and I went to the Stitch n' Bitch in Long Beach. This is a group of women of all ages and backgrounds that meet on a weekly basis to knit (or crochet) and socialize. It felt great to get away from Irvine, meet new people, and take a much needed vacation from academia. Being in grad school is like being in a bubble because we are surrounded by other grad students and professors. This can get really monotonous and overwhelming. It is easy to forget that there is this big world full of "normal" people, and sometimes I start to feel like I am defined by what I study. It was really nice to be in the company of non academics because it means that conversations can never be about school, classes, professors, research, etc.
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