Ok I'll get us going again... My pact for this week is to not kill the USPS. But to make sure advisor has a copy of my thesis and then to continue to work on it until I get her feedback. I know I sent it with some holes - but I was sick of looking at it. :) Chrissie

Half-way check-up! I have had another remarkably productive week. Despite the fact that I pacted only to read for my class and study for the GREs (on Friday)... well, I got bored and worked on my thesis. I revised my outline for chapter 6 a bit after realizing that my original structure didn't 'flow'. I also made a list of all the ArcView stats I need to run for part II of this chapter. I finished typing in *all* of my notes... and made a pact with myself to accept no new references until the first draft is completed. I als got together all of my recommendation forms: all filled out, with addressed & stamped envelopes, and copies of my statement. I'll hand these out tomorrow to the chosen victims. I also wrote two more entries for a dictionary-like book to which I'm contributing. On top of that I finished my readings, including catching up with the readings I didn't do last week because of my sinus infection. I also finished my morphology homework for the same class. I am sooooooo on a roll! I hope I can keep this up! I think alot of my motivation is coming from my thesis binder. Do you all know what this is? It is way cool and I'd be glad to share the particulars... : ) -kharyssa-

I'd like to start up with the pacts again. By next week I will have filed copywrite protection on all the research that was reviewed by bunches of people during the proposal writing and comp exam time. Also, I will outline the research steps needed to get going again. Oh, and I'll get plumbers in to fix the broken water main and take a shower. Ewwwwwww! :-) Rochelle

Hi again. Okay. Pact. Yikes! As usual, I'm a little behind (no, I didn't say I HAD a little behind). I've been working on revising a draft of a chapter. I'd hoped to ship it off to to my advisor tomorrow (probably by Fed Ex, considering the trouble Chrissie's been having with USPS)--but I also figured I wouldn't quite make it. True to form, I didn't. Now I'm hoping to ship it on Friday (that should be okay with my advisor--I haven't promised her it'll arrive by any specific date). I'm hoping to have one incarnation of the revised chapter done tomorrow. Then on Tuesday I'll have another pass at it, and another pass on Thursday. That'll clear next weekend for a seminar and massive amounts of paper-grading (groan!). Have a good week, gang! Hope everyone else shows up soon. Barb

Yay Rochelle! Glad to see you getting back into the game (and copyrighting your material)! ps. Did you ever find out any info on that potential advisor you were looking into? -k-

I'm calling the university tomorrow to start getting information. One of the big things I'm doing next week is drafting a justification for Supervisor (work, not school) to begin convincing him it's in the best interest of the federal government to send me for a doctorate. The reasons are sound, both politically and economically, plus I have the support of the two PhD's in the office. One is a biologist and the other is an archeologist. Tomorrow, I'm supposed to meet with ex-advisor-to-be and one of t e people who sat on the infamous comp exam committee. ex-advisor-to-be will hopefuly confirm what I think I saw politically at school, may know contacts at other schools and brainstorm things to watch out for next time. The committee member e:mailed me the afternoon of the comp exam and I'm just now getting with him. I'm curious if he will confirm or dispute some of the things Advisor told me. My plan is to see if he'll talk about stuff in general but not ask him directly about things Advisor said. I should prove interesting... Rochelle

Wish me luck, I take my first Oral (first of THREE, if that can be believed!) tommorow. I am BURNED out, have spent the last two days doing nothing else but studying and psyching up. Jason R

Jason, lots of good luck to you tomorrow! Sounds like you are prepared and ready to go... do let us know what happens! Rochelle, sounds like you've got a 'plan' as well. I wonder what school you'll end up at?! Maybe we'll end up geographically close to one another. And I'll be *very* interested to hear what this committee member says! -kharyssa-

O.K. gang it took me a while to figure this one out, but here I am. I was in Mexico for two weeks with my husband (part work, part play). I have to get back on track fast. My first draft for my fellowship is due Nov. 15. I have made quite a bit of progress but time is just zipping by. I am determined to defend my dissertation by the Summer of 2000, but there are too many loose ends right now to know if it is truly possible. Tom, I think we�re on more or less the same track. Let�s pact together, eh?? Jane

Gosh, Kharyssa, I got tired just *reading* about what you did. I'm too old to keep up with that. I need to: 1) finish my homework for my class 2) write up a project-end report for my consulting job 3) decide whether to quit that job 4) read two articles and begin to read two books 5) find the directions for Jeannie's doll house so my dad can put it together (I'm bartering here) 6) design a database for Dad's church treasurer Good luck, Jason. My comps are coming up though I am hoping to stall until the spring semester when I don't plan on taking any courses and will have more time to devote to the exam.

New board, two weeks off work -- so I'd better begin pacting, too. I'm not sure I can do a whole week at first -- so, today, I find and meet with my data contact so that we can decide exactly how to send out the questionnaires. Good luck to Jason on the orals.

Good luck on your comps and orals! Let us know when they are and how it goes. Why don't you guys post some info on how you're preparing? Even though comp/exam requirements vary, the methods we use to prepare should be similar. Rochelle

I've never joined the pact before, but I think it's time I do. My goal for the next few days will be to assemble and review my key literature on aging. When I'm done I should have a good succinct rough draft written which will eventually make up about a third of my second chapter. First, I will discuss chronological aging and its constituent processes of biological, social, and psychological changes over the life cycle. Second, I will describe the ways in which sociology and psychology have dealt with the aging process, and the methodological implications of confounding the aging process with historical processes, generational replacement, and demographic changes in social science research. Finally, I will review the ways in which political science has addressed the issues of life cycle, cohort, history, and demography in the research on political participation, summarizing the various aging-related models that have been employed to explain changes in behavior and attitudes over time. I hope everyone has a good week and a smooth transition into our new home!     -Tom My Diss Page

Hi, Tom. A lot of people find it beneficial to state small goals that can be easily counted rather than giving generalities. When you say, "assemble and review my key literature" that could take me MONTHS rather than the days that you plan. Since this is your first time to pact, it's good form to take a small bite to guarantee success. What about restating your pact to something like "read 4 papers/chapters/whatever and make detailed notes"? Like another poster said, I get tired just reading what you have planned for this week. :-) That way, if you meet your pact in 2 days or 7, it doesn't matter because you will be successful. And you can always make a new pact if you reach this one early. Just some helpful nagging! Rochelle

You, of course, are correct. By the end of the day Wednesday, I'm going to re-read and write up four papers and three book chapters. How's that sound? It may sound like alot, but I think it's a reasonable goal. I'll certainly let you know how it goes. I'm new at this pact thing, so please bear with me! Thanks for the gentle prodding...     -Tom

Hey, Tom. It feels so strange having some folks say things like what you did and others (like ex-advisor-to-be) say almost exactly the opposite. In not so many words he pussy-footed around commiting to a letter of recommendation. I'm bummed and down in the dumps. I'll post more later - I'm sitting in class waiting for it to start. "See" you guys later! I'll talk more in another, more appropriate topic area. Rochelle

Tom I'm glad you are pacting now - and how is the adjustment to the full time Diss work going? Still miss work? :) I think your goals sound good. I still am not sure if advisor has my thesis in hand or not - she's not the most communicative at times. (Of course I haven't called her either). Chrissie

Chrissie - any luck with the post office? Or is your thesis lost and gone forever? Can you send it electronically?

I am going to make a teeny pact and then work from there: 1. Finish going back over book I am reviewing for a conf. presentation and making notes. Actually hit the halfway mark tonight. 2. Mail out permission forms to be completed/returned so I can conduct my study. 3. Plan my next activities for my last independent study course which I have been putting off for a month now. My hope is to accomplish these goals by Wednesday, Thursday at the latest. To that end, I am no longer allowed to get on the computer and check board or e-mail until I have done substantial work on the above. The old carrot/stick approach. Jason, how was your comps experience? Rochelle, I suspect no one assocated with that infamous committee is ever going to treat you very well. To acknowledge your worth would be to admit they were might have been unfair previously... Best wishes! Mary Ann

Chrissie, I'm finding that working at home all day, day in and day out, is much more difficult than I imagined it to be. Sometime I feel like I'm gonna go berserk with cabin fever! That's one of the reasons I decided to join the pact--it's just to easy to spend all day goofing off around here. Today was good, though...I got through two of my articles and wrote four pages. Not much, I know, but any forward momentum at all makes me feel hopeful.     -Tom

Imagine my utter surprise when "checking in" after 4 days out of town to find this new set-up! I'm still getting the hang of this, so bear with me! Unfortunately, I was completely unsuccessful with last week's pact. But, I am going to chalk it up to a bad week, and try again this week. I need to read and take notes on five articles for my thesis. It's not a big pact, but, I am anticipating a difficult week a work, so I want to make sure this will be do-able. As many of you may know, I am still trying to g t myself working on this thesis again after a 2-month hiatus, and am really challenged right now with work, etc. Believe me, this has been the most motivated I have been the last 2 months, so these pacts MUST be working!! Hopefully, sometime in the future, I will be up to Tom's speed! ;)

Tom, That's the main problem with working at home. I find there are so many distractions - from the phone to the T-Rex-sized dust bunnies to the piles of laundry - that sometimes I fritter my time away on un-diss-related chores. It takes time to build up the discipline to ignore everything but the job at hand. You'll have to figure out how to give yourself rewards for accomplishing whatever you've set out to do for that day. And work in small blocks of time. I put on a CD and work until the last song, then take a tea break and spend 15 minutes or so straightening up or reading. Then it's back to work again with another CD. You could take a walk, or sit outside for a while and watch people go by - but only for a few minutes! I have started to come to campus every day from 8 until 2. When I was home, my husband would dawdle getting ready for work because I was there, and I'd end up having to drive him downtown. That meant I couldn't get started on my own work until 10 and at 1:45 I had to leave to pick up the kids. I'm actually getting stuff done here (I have an office now! So I have somewhere to park myself and my stuff). Any chance you could get a space at your department? Another thing is to make sure you get downtime from the diss. My computer is in our bedroom and work or school stuff is always there, from the moment I get up until I go to bed. The temptation is to work on it 7 days a week, at all times of the day and night. Fortunately for me, (or maybe not!) my kids also need the computer so we are finding that we need to schedule our computer time in order for everyone to get their homework done. That makes us more efficient in how we use the time. You don't have those constraints - but then maybe Ally McBeal is a strong enough temptation to lure you away at least for half an hour a week? It all comes down to discipline, which nobody likes. But keep taking those baby steps and you're up to 10 pages now so that's 10 pages farther than you were last month! Keep up the good work. I know you can get this done. Carol

Carol, thank you for your advice and support. Downtime is not a problem...it's the uptime that I find difficult to maintain, especially when the basement is so messy and the bathtub really needs to be recaulked!     -Tom

I think that's what was meant by those posts, Tom. If you do feel pulled to do some work around the house, I'd recommend talking to your SO about priorities. Back when I was doing research, going to classes and working full time, I still felt like I needed to do stuff around the house. It was driving me nuts and taking time away from the academic persuits. So Hubby and I talked and what he said he'd like was way different from what I thought he wanted. So when I did stuff around the house, I concentr ted on those things that only I would do (ex. clean toilets, clean fishtank) and the few things that he wanted. By having a weekly schedule, rather than daily, blocks of time were identified that allowed for momentum to develop with whatever task was being done. So by the end of the week, routinely a lot of stuff was done and we were both happier than before. Rochelle

Too many things to respond to - let's see Carol, no luck with the PO so far - the web site still says the package got to SF but doesn't say it was delivered! (just processed in the early am) went to the local PO yesterday and of course forgot to take my reciept so that was useless as far as the thesis goes - did mail my other stuff that has been sitting here all week:) Also had to take Liam to the foot Dr and that is a minimum of a 3 hour trip - an hour each way and at least an hour in the office - so I can spend about 5 minutes with the Dr who eems to not even look at Liam! Its nutty but I know he does follow us closely and is great at his job. Just a very frustrating office. The time zones are also working against me on this package thing - can't call advisor until after 9 west coast time and that means its almost too late for me to get to FedEx in time to get a package overnighted, oh well. I have given up on the graduating this semester and will just take it as it comes - too much else going on in life to get upset over this. Liam's surgery takes first place in priorities this week. Tom - keep the pacts with yourself! Use the houshold chores as rewards, yeah it sounds silly but I have told myself that I can't do that cleaning until I get so much of the thesis done - it works (to a point, don't use a dreaded chore or you'll never get done with anything! :)) Make yourself a schedule and try it out for at least 3 days then if need e make adjustments. Ed and I trade off working in the office and watching the kids - he gets the am with the kids and I get the afternoons, most days we also change this at on a whim often if one or the other needs to do something.

Tom, alternatively you could take 2 days "off" and do absolutely everything around the house. It sounds like you have a few handy-man projects (like re-caulking the tub) that could be done easily to improve your home. For me anyway, daily stuff like the dishes and the dust-monsters don't bother me so much as say covering the windows with plastic for the winter -- something that *needs* to be done or they'll be consequences (bigger heating bills). Sometimes doing all these things upfront will help clear your mi d and your space and help you focus on the diss since you a) will spend the time thinking about the diss and organizing your thoughts; b) when finished you no longer have anything to be distracted by; and c) will feel happy in your space. This worked for me in the beginning of summer. I had just gotten my proposal approved and was beginning my thesis. I couldn't get started at all... tomatoes to plant, messy office, clothes to give to Goodwill, locks that needed replacing, garage needed to be cleaned, etc. So I took the first week off and did it all! I was exhausted but satisfied that my house up to snuff and I had no nagging "gotta do's" in my unconscious mind. Just a thought.... -kharyssa-

Well, I met one teeny, tiny goal. I phinished one pass at the draft of a chapter yesterday morning, as planned---and then promptly got hit with a migraine. More downtime while I nursed that. BUT I actually got the M. under control enough to go teach last night and even had a good class. Anyway, today is Second Pass at Revising the Draft Day. I'm going to take it slow (incorporating some anti-headache naps into my schedule) and try to get through it. I may actually get this thing shipped to my advisor this week after all. Hope everyone else is doing well. Tom especially, good luck with your pact and changes in routine! Working at home can be really hard. I know what you mean about cabin fever and distractions. By the way, Carol, I'm going to try your suggestion to work through one CD and then take a little break. Sounds like a very good way to pace oneself. Off to hunt up Mozart's greatest hits, Barb Barb

You guys... I finished writing the first of two sections (about half) for chapter 6 yesterday!!!! 7 pages!!! YAY YA AYAYAYAYAY AYAY Yeahhhhhh! I hadn't even planned on working on it but was stuck at school waiting for that meeting with the advisor and decided to whip out my binder and work a bit. I ended up staying in the office until 9pm! I love my binder! Plus I finished my readings for the class on Wednesday, so all I have to do now is study for the GREs on Friday! Over the weekend I have to start a project for the class. Now that I feel 'on track' I'll rejoin the normal pact from sun to sun. -kharyssa- -kharyssa-

Good going, Kharyssa and Barb! And thanks everyone for your encouraging words. I'm still slogging through mud, but it helps to have you all nudging me along!     -Tom My Diss Page

Well, the oral exam is over! It actually went very well, except for one member who asked some pretty off-the-wall stuff. But I had half-way expected somthing like that from him, and just rolled with it, thought FAST and came up with an answer that he liked. This was actually not my qualifying exam - procedures differ from dept. to dept. at my school, and my particular dept. requires THREE orals (really 4 - i'll explain...) Number 1 (what I just took) is the departmental exam. It is a very broad exam that is general for my field of study (entomology). There were about 25 possible areas, ranging from agricultural ent, to medical ent (my speciality), evolution, ecology, etc... Not that I had to cover every topic, they chose a subset (only so much can be asked in two hours). But I had to be prepared to answer any topic. The purpose of this test is supposively diagnostic; it is technically possible to fail (and be dropped r m the program), but they told us that none of us has to worry about failing the first time. So it goes... Number 2: this is a defense of the thesis Proposal. I am not worried about this one at all. My proposal has already been funded by NIH and a state organization, and I am well into the actual research (here we don't have to wait until advancement to candidicy to begin research). Since the proposal was good enough to secure funding, my committee won't hassle me to much about it. I will actually be able to present preliminary data at the defense, which may be a bit unusual. They have as much as told m that this particular hoop will be a formality. Number three: This is our actual Qualifying Exam. It will cover 4 areas; 2 in ent, and 2 outside, with it all relating to my research, but my proposal won't come into it. number 4? We don't have to formally defend our dissertation here. Once the committee accepts it, you are home free. But we have to give an exit seminar... Someone asked how I syudied for this. I read ALL the relavent material, and the biggest help was being part of a study group. The entire cohort had to take the exam, and we all had different areas that we were comfortable with. it was a big help. The othe thing I did was try to anticipate the questions I would be asked, talked to the proffs to get a better idea of how they thought, and did "mock Exams", where I pretended I was in the exam and tryed to answer the questions (asked by my study group me bers) as I would in the real exam. Sorry about the long post :) Jason R

Good for you! That's great news. Glad you were prepared for the fruitcake prof. My exam is a qualifying exam - we get three journal articles, one from each committee member, and 20 days to come up with a critical review and integration of the three articles. Then we have a 2-hour oral exam. Because I have family commitments, I want to wait until after Christmas to do this. I don't plan on taking any courses that semester so that will not interfere with the exam time. I am not sure how one could prepare for an exam like this; except that I know the committee members very well, and so I've been doing my diss reading with an eye toward what each one's take would be on the paper. My topic is pretty well set and funding is in place; this exam is really just another hoop to jump through (although it's possible to fail it, and we get two tries at it). My adviser says the exam also serves as a diagnostic aid to the committee to point out knowledge gaps. Once the exam is passed, the next hurdle is the oral defense of proposal. Then the BIG defense, and that's it. Congrats on your success, Jason, and keep up the good work! Carol

Congratulations Jason! In a way, I am thinking while this may not be the hardest of your four hurdles, it may have been so psychologically. Every time you do one of these things it makes it easier for the next, and as you said, one of the others is a sure thing. So you are over halfway there. Also, if your research is already funded, etc. they are not likely to throw up any big roadblocks but rather want you to suceed and make them look good too! So you are on a roll big time! Tom, I don't know if this helps, but probably part of what is happening is you are still adjusting to being off full time. In a week or two I'll bet you see a good work pattern emerge. Chrissie, wasn't today ear tube day? How did it go?? I am making better progress than last week, and actually finished going back over the book I am reviewing for my conf presentation. So I need to make a new pact and here it is...by Friday I will 1. Get my attitude tests ready to administer for my study 2. Mail out permission forms 3. Contact my committee chair and report in 4. Start a work log for my independent study class 5. Talk with the person who is hopefully going to be a grader for my tests 6. Locate a book I need for my presentation 7. Decide upon and start my next project for ind. study This is not really a lot since only #7 requires a lot of time, but putting them down and then doing them will keep me on the right track...I hope! Best wishes to all, Mary Ann

Ah! At last I can get on here and congratulate Jason on getting through the first of the orals! So glad they went well (in spite of the one weirdo). Mary Ann's and Kharyssa's diligence in completing their own pact tasks has shamed me into making a public declaration that I still aim to get my chapter shipped off to my advisor Friday (wonder how late I can give it to Fed Ex and still expect it to arrive by sometime Saturday). Got behind yesterday due to a far-away doctor's appt. As I e-mailed a couple of Phinishers, we blew a tire on the El Lay freeway (inside lane--the cops weren't thrilled and were none too polite about it) and then had to wait a v ry long time at the doctor's. (She was a new doc for me and GREAT--she actually listened. Natch, she is leaving her practice and so I can't be her long-term patient after all. Bummer.) Got home just in time to get to my chiropractic appt. and then came back with another headbanger (but not a migraine). It's still around, so I'll be takin' it low 'n' slow today. Have got CD's lined up so that I can work for short spells and take little breaks (thanks again, Carol, for the strategy). Sorry for the "lif story" here. While Spring was down, I was desperate to "talk"; had to laugh at myself because I'm pretty quiet in person. Hope everyone's doing extremely well. Barb

Barb, Sorry about your tire experience. When we lived in Albany I used to drive Joe back and forth to work every day on I87 (commonly called the Northway). Margaret and Arjay were only 5 and 3 at the time. One of the drugstore chains operated a "Good Samaritan" van that traveled up and down the Northway, helping motorists with flats or broken-down cars, or accidents, etc. One day the kids got in a fight in the back seat, and Margaret bonked Arjay on the head with her FisherPrice fireman's helmet. I had to ull over to comfort him and yell at her - and the van pulled over too, because they thought I was having car trouble. I was, but not the kind they could fix! Maybe LA needs the Good Samaritan van. Maybe Margaret could bonk the cop on the head for being nasty. Have you tried that new ice pack for migraines? I was wondering how that worked.

Carol, I love the image of the cop being bonked over the head with a Fisher Price toy. (I wasn't thrilled that my husband with the heart condition was getting such an unnecessary dressing down.) Re: The ice strips---I've seen them advertised. Haven't given them a try yet, but they look very soothing. (ANY bit of comfort one can acquire while suffering through a migraine helps!) Thanks for reminding me. I keep meaning to buy them. There is a newish (I think) "metro van service" happening in L.A. These vans cruise up and down the freeway, their goal being only to get people out of traffic so they don't block it (not to transport people any distance). Apparently they can fix tires and such. One did stop yesterday, but we'd already called the auto club. We bought a cell phone a couple of weeks ago, right after the car came within a hair's width of overheating. Five more miles and I'd have been stuck on a semi-deserted highway at n ght, on the way back from school. (Problem turned out to be a faulty thermostat, since repaired.) Anyway, my husband jokingly blames our four recent incidences of car and truck trouble on the new phone. (Hmmm. Could use that one in class, as an example of faulty cause-effect.) Barb

Hey folks. I'm being very unproductive this week as well. About the only thing that's happened is we have water again in the house and I took a shower. LOL. I'm rather down in the dumps because today is the last day of the US government fiscal year and none of my research projects have been funded. It's a big bummer when I thought I'd get several funded. The clock's ticking but I don't think it's going to happen - Wahhhhh! I need to get going on the copywrite and research outline still. I guess that's this weekend's project.

Goals set yesterday: 1. Get my attitude tests ready to administer for my study 2. Mail out permission forms 3. Contact my committee chair and report in 4. Start a work log for my independent study class 5. Talk with the person who is hopefully going to be a grader for my tests 6. Locate a book I need for my presentation 7. Decide upon and start my next project for ind. study 1. Get my attitude tests ready to administer for my study Results today: Completed #1,3,4,6. Almost finished #2, just need to buy stamps. Tried #5 but she could not be reached by phone. Will try tomorrow. It is really helping to get back into setting goals again. I am thinking about #7, which is something, I guess. Sorry to bore everyone with the details but somehow this is working for me this week. New pact: 1. Have a major working weekend 2. Get going on independent study at that time. 3. Come up with some visuals for conf presentation 4. Develop informal survey for same. Hasta la vista, Mary Ann

Way to go, Mary Ann! Hope you have a successful (and migraine-free) working weekend. I have completed one more revision of that pesky chapter I've been working on. It won't get Fed Exed today. But as my advisor is going out of town this weekend, she wouldn't be able to read it till next week anyhow. So Monday is shipping day. Really. I mean it this time. Anyway, I'll have one more pass at the thing today (making little changes, mostly). Then I'll let it get cold, or at least cool, while I mark student essays (later today) and attend an all-day seminar (tomorrow). I'll have a fresh ook at the chapter on Sunday and fix whatever needs to be fixed before sending it out. Oh. And this time I'll have my husband read it for typo-s and missing pages (long, embarrassing story I won't go into). Barb

First time pact. Not sure if I'm aiming right, but no doubt you'll give me some feedback on that! By the end of next week I aim to thoroughly look through the 'suggestions' from my supervisor for part 2 of my thesis. (Following transfer viva (i.e. I'm thesis writing only now, passed the preliminary stages - it doesn't transfer exactly to US stages) my PhD thesis is in four parts or sections, the first two being theoretical and the second two based on the practical research in Africa) decide which section of part 2 I will work on in detail (i.e. finish writing!) go to the university library to get out some books/articles on that section set myself a target date to submit a 'finished' section of Part 2 to my supervisor evaluate the relevance of social cartography in comparative studies (my supervisors book which I have to return in the next couple of weeks) HOWZAT? Maggie

Maggie - sounds good to me. Welcome to the pact and good luck with your goals. Barb - if you don't mail that on Monday i don't want to see you here:) Ok just a little friendly push for you to get it done. MaryAnn - I hope you slow down a bit - your makeing the rest of us look bad:) My goal this weekend is to do the damn yard work we have to get done! Ok I am letting my thesis get icey cold as advisor has it and I am not touching it again until she gives me feedback. Chrissie

Hi, Chrissie, et al-- I think I'm well on my way to shipping my chapter off to you-know-who on Monday. I revised it again today. It took me a lot longer than I'd thought it would, like all day ("fixing little glitches," indeed!--More like overhauling the whole thing). I got zero student essays marked, and now my eyes are shot. I'm going to go soak them--I wish--as soon as I . . . Gawd. I started to say "hang up." I must be punch drunk. I mean as soon as I sign off. And I mean soak the eyes, not the essays, although that's an interesting thought . . .. Tomorrow's that all-day seminar I foolishly signed myself up for. A whole day lost. But at least I won't be reading the chapter and MISSING all manner of little errors because my eyes are playing tricks on me and my brain is saying, "Oh. That looks just fine!" when there's some huge fubar glitch staring me in the face. I'll do a better job of proof reading if I wait until Sunday. Barb (Rambling even more than usual)

Barb--Here's hoping a day doing something different gives you perspective. And rest your eyes for goodness sake. You do not want them to blow out on you (trust me on this!) Maggie--your goals sound great! Putting down realistic goals and then crossing them off publicly really helps me. Chrissie--The reason I sound successful is because most of the stuff I have done is really small. But it was little picky stuff that was nagging at me and which I really needed to do. I did complete my list, even coming up with some plans for my ind. study. So here is my next pact: By Sunday: 1. Figure out how to get internet acces on another computer I have from work instead of the poor overworked little laptop I am currently using. 2. Email one of my advisors with a question I want to ask her about my grading procedures. 3. Do some visuals for my conference presentation. 4. Start going through the book I decided to read next for my ind. study. 5. Personal--Pay bills before I get carted off! Have a good week-end, Mary Ann

I got the project report done after 4 hours of writing my part and editing what my intern wrote. I read two articles but only skimmed some of the book chapters. Homework is ~half done. Didn't find the doll house directions (but I did find the instructional video) or do the database. Got another meeting set up with the company my advisor wants to do a project with. I got another article in the mail and it's in German! Will have to find my German-English dictionary and build my Wortschatz up again. So for this week: 1) Finish homework 2) Do database 3) Read German article 4) Start the IDA book

I forgot - practice my drum music!

Re pact: I got very little done today. I did pay my bills so the wolf is not at the door. Then the mail came, including a letter from my new health "insurance" provider. I knew there was a list of prescriptions that they would not cover unless you got special dispensation from the pope or somebody. Anyway, I threw a hissy fit upon discovering that two of my standbys were on the s(hit) list, including my migraine medicine. When I get mad I clean house, so at least the house is clean, but I got next to not ing done on the pact. Is it a common thing for health insurance providers to do--limit the medicines they will cover? Isn't that defacto prescribing on the providers' part? Also, I took my computer in to get dial-up networking installed, and they said they did the job but did not. Just put a shortcut on the desktop. Weird. And frustrating. On the up side, it was a beautiful day and I do now have a clean house. I am happy I do not work in the insurance industry. I think I would have trouble looking at myse f in the mirror or sleeping at night. What a ripoff. And shame on my employer for opting for such a cheezy plan. Shame on me if I come back for another year. More reason to quit! Sure hope I get to. Anyway, I have to work tomorrow but hope to do SOMETHING toward my pact. Hope somebody out there had a productive day! --ma

There's an echo in here again! Mary Ann, the same thing happened to me this past Thursday re: meds and health "provider" coverage. They will cover my blood pressure meds but not the migraine meds. My husband has had similar problems--he takes several heart-related meds. Every time he goes to pick them up, he has a fight on his hands, not because of anything the pharmacy's done but because there's been another screw-up with the "provider." He gets really p.o.'d and is sure his blood pressure shoots sk high, which is kind of ironic, considering that some of his meds are for lowering blood pressure. Okay. Pact time. I went to that seminar thingy today. It was okay but long and tiring. I came home and took a nap and then did some of the lesson-planning I have to have done for Monday night's class. Soon as I hop outa' here, I'm going to try to mark nine student essays. More than that tonight and my brain'll turn to mush and all the essays will look alike; so will the grades and the students will hate me. So better to wait till tomorrow to grade another small batch. (I have 28 in all, which isn' really that bad.) The chapter: Have let it get cold all day and done some minor ruminating about it. I plan to print it out as-is tommorrow morning and then go through it and make some smallish (I hope) corrections. When I think I've got it as good as I can get it, I'll print it out again and proof it and have my husband proof it, too. I posolutely WILL ship it off come Monday morning. Say, will one of you out there please consume an alcoholic beverage in my name? I can't drink (Headache City if I do). A rum and cola would be especially appreciated. Thanks. Barb

Between last night and tonight I have done enough drinking for exactly 14 people. So one goes to Barb and the rest can be claimed as needed. : ) I am so happy to see that everyone is making progress! I have been rather lax this week with the GREs and all. Honestly I can't remember what I had pacted other than reading for class and studying for that test. Actually I think that *was* all I pacted. I am a little up in arms about the semester right now. That paper I wrote 2 weeks ago got back to me on Thursday and it was a C- (my lowest grade ever!). This was the paper I wrote during the two weeks I was laid up with a sinus infection and then subseque tly had an allergic reaction to the meds. I had called the professor the day before the paper was due to explain my health situation -- I told her I had a doctor's note, told her my symptoms (bad migraines and hives), and asked for a week's extension. She refused! In fact I don't think she believed me at all. I was given the option of turning it in by Friday, but it would have been two days late and would have cost me two letter grades. Yes, she actually said this to me. Anyway, I managed to throw somethi g together and get it to her on time. I guess I'm angry because I sense some unfairness here, and she was so cold about the whole thing -- she could've have given me a letter grade just for effort! After I got it back I asked her if I could have a chance at a re-write since I had been so sick. Nope. Instead she suggested that I "do well on everything else for the rest of the semester". So I am really concerned now that I won't have much time after all to work on my thesis -- I'll be spending more time on his class than I anticipated just to pass it. So my pact for this week is to: 1) Sunday -- carry out my ethnographic speech study in the afternoon; meet with the gang that night to discuss the paper. 2) Monday -- closely review the key references for this paper and work out an outline. 3) Tuesday -- write it up. 4) Wednesday -- finish writing and read the material for class. 5) Thursday -- go to school to work on the thesis; conference call at 11am; study group at 6pm. 6) Friday -- read for the next class; review next paper's project (this one is due on the 20th). 7) Saturday -- conduct the second ethno-speech study in the afternoon. 8) Sunday -- recuperate, relax, and reward. Phew. Sweet Mary I don't think I can keep this up all semester and be expected to finish my thesis at the same time. I really resent this class right now! Otherwise, I keep reminding myself that the GREs are over! Yay! I still feel the need to study... but I'm sure that will pass soon. I also need to start typing up my apps for PhD school... so I'll use this as a reward when I need a break from the other stuff. I just hope I get my transcripts and letters of rec soon! -k-

I'm still trying to get used to this format :) so haven't been keeping up or following as well as I should. Congratulations Kharyssa on those wonderful GRE scores! I met with my co-chair this week and we had a good meeting. She has asked me to revise the results sections again which I am doing now. My goals for this week is to finish revising the results, finish revising the tables and figures, and continue writing the discussion section. I'm a little frustrated with my co-chair. She's very nice but she's not very clear on what she wants or how she wants it presented. She's not all that good at being able to explain herself well which puts me in the position of guessing and then having her tell me what's not right. what's so frustrating in all of this is these revisions wouldn't need to go on like this if she was able to convey what she wants more completely in the beginning. I feel like I did waht she asked and now she wants it differ nt. Ok - she's right - her new suggestions definitely make it tighter and better but why couldn't we have started with that format? I'm sensing a pattern here with her and I'm not liking it. It's like she's able to comment on a few things at a time and that's it. I asked her for feedback on the Tables and she gave me some but I can feel in my bones that she's waiting for the next draft to give more feedback. These Tables take forever to put together . Just needed to vent. On the positive side of things, I did get her to commit to a December graduation and December defense. I'll have to bring my other co-chair in fairly soon to make sure this happens but I'm thrilled that she understands the timelines I'm under from this point foward. Good luck everyone! Lynn

Maybe now that you've gotten her to agree to defense in December she will clarify her requests? I really hope she doesn't continue to do this to you. Are you in a position where you could revise *only* the results section and leave the tables and charts unrevised until she has read the new text? Gee, now I'm not being very clear?! ; ) What I mean is revise the results section and give it to her with the old charts and tables -- explain that it takes a large amount of time to fix these and you'd like to ge her feedback on the text before you revise those tables and charts so that you can incorporate any new revisions in text into the revisions of the tables and charts. I wouldn't ask her if this is possible, I'd just drop by her office with the revised results and give it to her with the explanation. Sorry to be so redundant... but my brain is still a little muddled (I haven't had my coffee yet). --haryssa-

Okay, as I am getting used to the new format too, I have been slow in posting this week. Here I will post up for this week. With the job search on I will be working on a lot of job search materials while trying to work on my dissertation as well. My goals for this week are: finish my job packet and consruct a generic cover letter finally finish my history chapter outline my next chapter (generally) work on 2 essays that I am sending out for publication, gotta have more publications on my CV for the job search This seems to be pretty ambitious but this is dream list. --Samantha

Well, I found out copyrighting isn't possible on ideas, methodologies and processes so anyone who wants can steal my research idea. I can copyright the program scripts I created and the diagrams in the research proposal but that's about it. Bummer. I had a lot of problems getting motivated this week. Looks like baby steps are needed to get me going again. Pact for next week is to re-read the research journal and reorient myself with respect to the program scripts. The next goal will be to begin inve tigating the next steps necessary for the scripts to do their ultimate purpose. But that's a pact for later. -Rochelle

Hi again. Well, I have just finished printing out my chapter for about the 16th time. I think I've finally got the glitches out of it--at least for now. (I'm reminded of the late poet Wm. Stafford who said that he read his poems aloud, listening for odd sounds. He called it "getting the geese out.") I will for sure mail the chapter off tomorrow morning. Here's what I plan for this week: Finish lesson plan for tomorrow. Finish marking student essays. Plan a mock lecture for that seminar, part 2 (next Saturday--another day shot) Begin revising another chapter; I'm aiming to ship it on Friday, Oct. 15. That's all I can stand--er, handle--for now. (Kharyssa, thanks for passing me that drink. Much obliged!) Hope everyone does well this week. Lynn, a special "good luck" with your advisor troubles. Barb

Fritter! I feel that best describes what I did most this week-end. Frittered away time. I really did plan to get a lot more done. Consequently my next pact sounds a lot like previous one. Maybe tomorrow... 1. E-mail advisor question about graders for my study. 2. Make a respectable dent in the book I am going through for my ind. study. 3. Come up with visuals for proposal. I'll stop here in the hope of being realistic about what I might get done tomorrow. Good luck to everyone for a productive week. ma

Maybe that could be a new topic - ways to avoid frittering away one's time. I am an expert on frittering. Maybe I could get a PhD in it!

The ways I frittered this weekend. Hubby and I dug up the old Iris bed, then marked out the new flower beds, there are alot of them - we have a big yard. That night we went to a wedding - it was great, very casual the kids had a great time. Sunday we went to church, dug out some of one of the new beds, painted a dresser, made 2 chalkboards (with spray on chalkboard paint). Now I'm should go paint the stars on the bed and dresser to match the chair - this not getting the draft back for a week or two has l t me catch up on my other projects, Oh which reminds me I also made Hannah a dress and one for her doll, gotta get the buttons and velcor on that one... Chrissie

Sorry folks, this is a test. Can't get my responses to post on the board. Deb

Okay, now that that worked. Amy I couldn't get my responses to post after I limited the postings to read w/ the /since/- restriction. Anyway. Spent the weekend at college homecoming. Graded essays in the car. We need a conf. topic for teaching/work I think. Didn't see anyone we new. A former prof. did say she thought my project was interesting. Going to get back to work this week now that Aubree's closet is stocked w/ suitable fall clothes instead of shorts. Taking earlier hints above about breaking things down into smaller bites here is my bite-sized pack for the week. 1. Finish 1st letter section on Arbella 2. Finish 2nd letter section on Arbella and ficticious lover 3. Integrate conf. paper into last body section of essay 4. Proofread 5. Finalize notes 6. Make appt to have my colleague here in town read my draft. My goal is to ship this out via Fed/Ex next week. Must write a conf paper b4 end of month for 16thc conference in St. Louis. Anything I should see/do/eat while I am there? Productive and healthful week to all, Cheers, Deb

Ok. I just (finally) sent that chapter off to my advisor, via Fed-Ex! One small step completed. (However, I'm sure she'll have suggestions.) This week I'll get started revising another chapter. In the meantime I'm off to write the lesson plan I should have been working on yesterday. Barb

Deb In Saint Louis go to Raggiz's (spelling may be wrong) on "the hill" for great italian food, they have the best toasted ravoli in town! yum! Also do go up the Arch, its fun and you should do it to say you have been. You can call me Aunt for me and say Hi. hum what else. Union Station is nice, haven't been since it first opened so that may have changed, and I think the art museum is good. But go to Raggiz's! Chrissie, who's parents are both from St. Louis so we usually only see family when we are there:)

YEAH BARB! Feel good to have sent it? Chrissie

Gee, I seem to have struck a nerve with "frittering." Sadly, got little more done today. Very busy day at work. Every spare minute ws spent on the phone trying to get help with my insurance. I was trying to get them to grant coverage for my medications. I had limited in mixed success. Tomorrow my daughter is coming in for a one-night only visit, because of a concert in town she wants to attend. So I spent the evening fixing some treats and trying to get ready for her visit. Just now checking my email. May e tomorrow? Same pact, obviously.

I missed you all! Like many of you I was thrown in a state of bewilderment when I logged on and found our board missing. I have come to rely on our check-ins for invaluable support and advice.I also join the group in thanking Amy for her incredible dedication in finding a new home for us. My life has been so very busy during the last three weeks that I have only now been able to log on and read your messages. Good to see "old friend" (not literally) moving ahead and find new friends on the board. Work has been very bus and family life incredibly full but did find time to run my stats..and run them again...and run them again! Completed my last pact: 1. Met with Statistician/committee member. He said my stats are done, regressions have statistical significance and I got the OK to start writing Chapter 4. 2. Found the stats book Dr. Idleman recomended by Tabaschnick and Fidell. It is excellent for multivatriate statistics and is easier than most to read and comprehend with great examples at the end of each chapter for the result write-ups. Pact this week: 1. Start to draft Chapter 4 2. Rework my time-line Thanks for being there/here! Ellen

Hey, Ellen! Nice to see you again! And congrats on phinishing your last set of pact goals. Hope the writing of Chapter 4 goes smoothly. Chrissie--Yes, it does feel good to have shipped off that chapter. I hope my advisor likes what I've done so far. Today I am going to rest my eyes as soon as I sign off. I've got another eyestrain headache a brewin'! Mary Ann--Hope you're able to get the results you need re: the med/insurance snafu. What a pain! Barb

Hi Barb, Glad to read that you have sent off that chapter to your advisor. I hate the delay in between responses/feedback but it is inevitable. Have you heard from Sandra? Wasn't she schedule for defense next week? Ellen

Hi, Ellen-- Haven't heard from Sandra. Didn't she say (at the other site, I think) that her advisor was having trouble getting an outside committee member whose schedule would work with theirs? You know my memory . . . it's a total sieve. But I think she wanted to defend on her b.day (Oct. 27?), but the defense was set for a few days before, like the 21st or thereabouts. SANDRA! Are 'ya out there? (Are your ears burning? I feel as if I'm talking about you behind your back.) Anyway, wherever she is, I'm sending her good thoughts. Hope she drops us a line soon. Barb

Having trouble getting work done between having a cold and grading student essays. Amy could we have a topic on Teaching/Work:How to do it and Still Work on Your Project? Pacting for the day in hopes that small goals (as Kharyssa both says and demonstrates so effectively) will help me make progress. Wednesday Pack 1. Write section on Arbella's 1st proposal 2. Write section on Arbella ficitious lover 3. Get remaining student essays marked/commented on Nose to the grindstone, Deb

Hey, Deb-- Let's mark student essays together today, okay? :-) (I got through about two-thirds of a batch over the weekend but had to let the others wait.) That done, my pact for the rest of the week will be as follows: Thursday: Plan a presentation (mock lesson) for session two of the seminar thingy I'm going to (next session is this Saturday). Friday: Re-read my diss chapter on Adrienne Rich (she's one of my three authors), looking for "holes" I need to fill (missing bits of theory, etc.). Saturday: Drag myself to seminar and do a good job on my presentation. Sunday: Start filling holes in Rich chapter. Write a lesson plan for Monday night's class. . . . . .and then I'll go from there. Best to all, Barb

Felt the need to check in. Working at home for four days drafting the next Chapter. Sitting here for hours is spreading my back side. I need to move and do some exercises that don't take me far from the computer because otherwise I am afraid I won't come back. Today looked like a great fall day but I stayed glued to the study and created tables and charts. Is it just me or does anyone else feel that everything takes longer than the original time alloted? I never seem to get as much accomplished as I wa ted too. Take care, good night, Ellen

Teeny progress: Did mark off two of my small goals from previous pact. I finally emailed two advisors with problems/questions about my study. I have read two chapters from book for ind. study. It ain't much, but something...ma

Finally, some progress. I had a holiday today for no good reason. It was a staff development day but you could be excused if you had summer training, which I did. Anyway, even though I had a migraine, I put together a Power Point presentation to use for my conference presentation. I still need to tie up some ends with it but mostly it is done. I am also continuing to read my book for my ind. study, and finished another chapter. Here are my goals for tonight and tomorrow: 1. Tie up ends in Power Point presentation 2. Read another chapter 3. Write up presentation for conference website 4. Write letter as follow-up to an article I submitted for publication recently. Hoping for a fritter-free tonight and tomorrow, Mary Ann

Was taken out to BIIIIG meal by a friend. Now I'm stuffed and trying to reflect on the weeks goals. Probably not the best time to do it, but I don't want to put it off. Like others I'm a good fritterer. But I did complete my review of my professors book which I have to give back. I've also spent time looking at my thesis (well, what I've done so far!) but haven't decided which bit of which part I want to work on next. So I didn't go into the library because I hadn't been able to make a decision on wh t to work on. Wow is that contorted thinking. Anyway, I have to make a decision by Tuesday because I have Seminar then and so I might as well go to the library as well. Apart from that my supervisor will probably ask me what I'm working on! I'm finding not working (i.e. the job I gave up so I could concentrate on the studying) harder than I thought. The day is so formless I end up feeling it looming ahead of me. I'm also getting back into French, does that count as frittering? I'll need it for Mali n xt year, but I think I'm also using it as an avoidance technique. By the way I have a really super ASTERIX French language learning CD Rom - you can even play the various characters in the ASTERIX story. (In case ASTERIX hasn't made it to the States- he's a Gaul whose village rebels against the Roman domination of France. His village has a magic potion which makes them invincible and there are loads of stories about their fights against Romans and pirates.) Goals for this week: Try and get into a routine Work before I watch TV!! - use it as a treat when I've actually done something Ditto for French language learning tapes - no matter how much I try to convince myself it's work! I will decide on a small section to work on, get the books out of the library and write. Go to the seminar group, and try to look and sound intelligent Arrange a meeting with my supervisor So - by the end of next week I aim to have one (at leas) small section finished ready to hand in.

Maggie What age group is the French Cd aimed at? Sounds like one my kids (very young) would enjoy but it might eb a bit old for them - then again Ed said he wanted to start learning French again before the kids hit it in school, the school we are looking at the most has French from PreK through 8th grade. Who makes the CD and do you know if they have a web page? Thanks! ChrissiPS your goals sound reasonable to me - getting into the routine was the hardest part for me and now waiting for feedback from my advisor the old routine is slipping away and I'm sure it will hurt to start it all over again! sigh.

Is Asterix a little cartoon guy with horns on his hat? Strangely, he sounds sooo familiar but I cannot think where I encountered him! Are there books about him for young readers?? Anyway, I must say I did not fritter excessively today. I almost finished writing up my conference presentation and read another section in my book. So I am gaining on my previous pact. I will not make new goals until I am completely done with the old, hopefully by tomorrow evening. Incredibly, I am off Monday due to Columbus Da and can get some more work done then. Best wishes to all pacters, Mary Ann

Hey all! Hope you are all having a productive holiday (Columbus Day) weekend! So I haven't yet my second ethnographic speech event (due the 20th)--I'm just not sure what to do for it yet. *But* I did accomplish everything else on my list, plus I reprogramed a couple of maps in black and white (they had been color). Yay! This week I vow to: 1) Monday: afternoon-go to school and retrieve a book I (foolishly) left in my office, speak with advisor about the comps and stats; evening-verify site database for accuracy and fix any errors. 2) Tuesday: morning-finish fixing database if necessary and then convert all the resulting themes into grid format, create maps for all time periods (8 in all) and create layouts for all (I'm going to try to create an 8 1/2 by 14 z-fold thingy). Make sure to leave off at a convenient point! 3) Wednesday: morning and afternoon-run stats on the new grids; evening-meet the gang for Linguistics homework 4) Thursday: morning-write up info for the meeting, meeting at 11am; afternoon-conduct speech event study and write up the results. 5) Friday: read for class and continue working on paper. 6) Saturday: review articles for the paper and continue writing. 7) Sunday: edit theory chapter of thesis (as a writing sample for PhD apps), finalize C.V., and have both copied and bound for those apps. Gosh I must be nuts! Oh well... I did it last week and I can do it again! -kharyssa-

Chrissie, the CD rom is quite advanced. I don't really think it's little kid material, although the stories are fun. It's supposed to be for adults and teenagers. They also produce German, Italian, Latin and Spanish versions. However, the brochure that came with the CD shows the company produces multimedia flashcards for kids too. The website for Eurotalk is www.eurotalk.co.uk I've got other Cd roms by two other companies: Aurolog and The Learning Company. I can't find a web address for them but you could try a search. Yes, Asterix is the little guy with the funny hat - a winged helmet infact. There are LOADS of books - aimed at kids but loved by adults, and even a couple of movies. Kharyssa - I'm breathless with admiration. Are you really going to do all that this week? What's an ethnographic speech event?

MaryAnn, You seem to be doing well as does Kharyssa, Maggie and others. Chrissie and Barb, hope you hear from your advisors with good news this week re: your chapters that were sent out. Lets not forget to take care of our health. Cold and flu season is approaching. Vitamins and flu vaccine anyone? This past week was a series of "take two steps forward and one step back". I am still working to finish my goals: started to draft chapter 4 and did rework the time-line (which is very helpful and I recommend for anyone who hasn't done one). Chapter 4, the results chapter, raised many more questions than answers. I began questioning my methods and interpretations. I am fortunate to have a wonderful colleague who met me today for two hours and reviewed with me the results and interpretation. I wasn't s far off as I thought(whew! the thought of redoing all the stats gave me very little sleep last night). I'd like to pass on one lesson learned: that is ask for help from qualified friends when stuck...don't let too much time go by trying to figure it out by yourself. This week: 1. Finish draft of Chapter 4 and mail off to committee member Ellen PS. Started keeping a journal describing the process and progress. It made me realize how far I have come and validated the journey. Has anyone else kept a journal?

Maggie, yes, I'm taking on alot this week, but I don't feel like I have a choice. Luckily I'm not teaching or working, and my wednesday class is cancelled this week. I feel like I have alot of time on my hands... which is never the case, but I figure it's worth a try to accomplish as much as possible this week. I won't get another break from class until the semester is over (all the more reason to crank out material for the thesis as well). An etnographic speec event is really simple... it's the particpant-observation of a conversation including all the context possible. Not so hard (it's actually kind of fun and an easy write-up) but I don't do well in public places, and this assignment expects us to camp out in a public place with a tape-recorder and 'eavesdrop' on conservations. Plus I have an ethical problem with this and so I've been dreading these projects. This week we are supposed to examine a situation in which there are expected ou comes and an almost formulaic speech act anticipated (like buying a cup coffee)-- to me it seems counterintuitive to be expected to remain inconspicuous (so as not to effect the speech of the participants) yet be close enough to eavesdrop. Such a pain in the rear-end. This is why I'm an archaeologist -- everyone I talk to is very very dead. ; ) Glad you're making progress... and that you've found a home here on Phinished! -k-

Wow! It seems as though everyone's making good progress this week. Hooray! Today I've been working on clearing the decks of paper-grading, lesson-planning, and the like so that tomorrow I can get to school way early (like five hours before I teach my evening class) and devote a block of time to revising the diss. chapter. My (continuing) goal for the week: Get the chapter marked up and changes made on the word processor. I'm not bound to ship it to my advisor by Friday--although I'm informally aiming for that. (If I trick myself into believing I must get it done by then, I should actually have it ready to go by Monday, Oct. 18.) Happy working, everybody! Barb

Cheers to all, Hope everyone has a productive week. My pact is not dissimilar from last week's. I had a cold and wasn't very productive. Ellen, as soon as I am well I will get my flu shot at Health Services on campus. This is a detailed weekly pact (a la kharyssa) Mon.--Draft 2 remaining section Tues. p.m.-integrate 3rd body section, start conclusion Wed.-revise pages 1-14 with Elizabeth's suggestions Thurs.pm.-revise, proofread, print draft Fri.-meet Elizabeth to exchange and read drafts, pm.make recommended revisions Weekend-print clean copy, run copies for committee Mon.-ship via FedEx to my committee Barb, you and I seem to be working toward similar ends keep me posted on your progress. Bzzzz, bzzz, busy bees, Deb

I am late again with the pacting this week! My pacts for this week are: To turn in two chapters to my director. Do a final (yeah right) rewrite on my job materials Write a conference proposal Re-edit an article for publication. Here's to being over ambitious!! Samantha

Well, hello everyone. It has taken me this long to figure out just how to get into this place and read postings. I'm an ENGLISH major--this computer stuff is not exactly second nature. I guess I could echo some of the previous posters when I say that I am having difficulty with this new site. I really liked the "old way" of doing things....guess I'll have to get used to this. Pacts? What are pacts? Am I ever going to get anything substantial done again? Sometimes I doubt it. The baby's been sick for a week (ok, at almost 3, she doesn't qualify for "baby" anymore, but the sick thing is still difficult to handle no matter what age) and that has put me behind in everything. Now that the October job lists have been posted, there is that craziness to add to everything, as I'm working to compose my "Please Give Me A Job" letter. Just whistlin' Dixie and tryin' to keep my head above ater...hope everyone is fine and well and gettin' on with life! Mary

Hi, Mary-- Welcome back! Glad you found your way into this site. Keep on treading water! Best, Barb

To Mary, just returning to the group, you are RIGHT to call your 3 year old a baby. My baby is 22. Still my baby. I am still my mother's baby. She is 87. And so it goes. I finished my previous pact! Next goal: Regroup and come up with next pact! Hope everybody is having a good week. Mary Ann

Mary, I tell my kids they will ALWAYS be my babies. They don't seem to mind. My pact for this week (even though it's already Tuesday): 1) Study for Thursday's midterm exam 2) Have the first draft of the tech communications article ready for Thursday a.m. 3) Write my dad's database (I know, that was last week's pact but I didn't get to it) That's enough for this week. My husband is going away on business for 3 days and I have to juggle 4 schedules around to compensate. Hey Tom - how's your pact coming along? Nag Nag Nag Carol

Welcome Mary, You are among good company--several of us are in English. We've been sick around here lately as well. Kids and germs go together. I can cope with everything but the lack of sleep. I hear job listings are promising this year. My office mate is on the market. Perhaps you can do something toward putting your dossiers together w/out do anything taxing. My office mate is making a spread sheet to track the positions he is interested in. Sounded very productive to me. When I am stuck on my writing, I find there are a couple of great writers in my field that can reignite my fire for my topic. How are you doing, Tom. Been thinking about you. I wish a productive day to all. Deb

Mary and the others who are sick - so glad cyberspace is germ free, just found out that my kids have been exposed to chicken pox at preschool! What fun, now we wait the 2 to 3 weeks to see if they get it. Have called the ped.'s office to see about the vaccine, as I have heard that getting it after you have been exposed will reduce your case to a mild one if you get it at all. Worth a try in my opinion - was planing to ask about getting it at their yearly checkups later this month anyway! what timing. Let' hope Hannah doesn't have them for the wedding - which is Nov 13th. Chrissie

Hey Carol and Deb, Thanks for thinking about me. Things are going OK--not great, but not horrible either. I'm a little under the weather today, though. I don't think it's the flu, but I'm not sure what it is. Just feeling kinda crappy with a low-grade fever. I'm gonna try that Ben Dean workshop tomorrow and see how that goes. Happy Hump Day to everyone!     -Tom

Hi Chrissie Are you getting married?

Yikes - NOpe not me:) The wedding if of 2 good friends and I am one of 2 Matorns of Honor, hubby is the Bestman and Hannah is one of 2 Flowergirls! So the bridal shower is this weekend in Philly - I think I'm ready - I am in charge of games, not sure how this will work with 50 guests! (the other MOH insisted we invite everyone who was invited to the wedding). The bachelor party is also this weekend, one good thing about both of us being in this wedding is we got to pick the dates and make them the same we kend! Only one trip to Philly that way. So far no spots on my kids...but I think they have another week or 2 to go before they'd get sick anyway. Chrissie

Hi, all-- I need to keep myself honest by making a one-day pact for Sunday (it's still Saturday here), come hell, high water, or another earthquake, God forbid. (I awoke at 2:45 this a.m. to the clicking of the TV antenna against the wall and a slow rumbling under the bed. Very, very eerie indeed. The quake's epicenter was about 115 miles almost due east of us. A 7.0 is nothing to sneeze at, but we got really lucky this time, because of the location and the hour at which it chose to happen.) Anyway, I resolve to get through another revision of my infamous chapter tomorrow, Sunday. I SHALL mark up the hard copy, make some small editorial changes, and incorporate some stuff from a few books and articles I've already taken notes on. Still hoping to ship said chapter to the advisor on Monday. Hope everyone's having a good weekend, working or otherwise. Peace, Barb

Barb, So relieved this earthquake, as large as it was, did relatively minor damage. Glad you and your family are okay. Didn't you also have a scare with fire this year? Anyway, I too have been struggling to finish a chapter. I am very close and if I can keep from getting too obsessive I think it can be sent to my advisor tomorrow also. I join your pack and will finish yet another "revision" today, Sunday and will send it off to advisor on Monday. Can we check in tomorrow night and see how we are doing? I really need to keep moving forward and PhinisH. (My husband left for a business trip yesterday that we had planned to go to together but I felt the need to stay and get this chapter done. I really don't want to keep missing these opportunities as he is so much fun to be with). Ellen

Hi, Ellen-- Hey! Good luck with your revision, too. Yes, let's do check in tonight--if my computer is willing. Had a scare with IT this morning; everything seemed to be working, BUT we had a blank screen. After we shut things down and turned them back on again a couple of times, it decided to work. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the contraption stays well. BTW, you can see a picture of our fire (from several weeks ago) at my website: http://www.netport.com/bjmcgra/ Happy working! Barb

Hi Barb, I didn't know you had a web page! Why didn't I hear about this before? In any case, I enjoyed visiting your page and learning a little more about you. Nice job!     -Tom

Tom-- Thanks! Glad you like the web page. My husband made it for me (not bad, considering it's only his second one). We just got it up and running about two weeks ago. --------------- Ellen--I hope you've got more brain power today than I do. I got most of my chapter marked up. And then my brain quit. I was penning in total gibberish. So in a bit I'll key in the changes on the computer and mull over the not-yet-done portion tomorrow. As I have not phinished my pact goals for today, by rights I should forego my reward: Coloring my roots. But I'm going to do that anyway, if for no other reason than to avoid scaring my students tomorrow night. ------------ Sandra--If by any chance you're out there lurking, please catch these good luck vibes for your defense, which, if I recall correctly, is coming right up: -----/\---------/\-------/\--------/\--------/\---------/\--------/\-------/\-- Hope you'll drop us a post to let us know how things turn out. ---------- Hope everyone else had a good day. Barb

I went a week without any pacts and, while I did perk along last week, I was left with a feeling of "What did I do??" because I did not account for it. So back to promises this week. 1. Finalize paper to use for conference November 5. 2. Make sure the teacher delivering instruction for my study is A-OK with all equipment---a must for tomorrow. 3. Continue reading book for independent study--one more chapter by Tuesday at least. 4. Also for ind. study, continue with my do-it-yourself html lessons. 5. Call and make arrangements for grading associated with my study. Tomorrow or Tuesday at latest. There. I feel a little better. Good luck with your chapters, Barb and Ellen, and...Good luck to everyone else! Mary Ann

I just completed a very good Draft of Chapter 4 with 21 Tables and all! I have 23 more tables to go for the Appendix but have the need to get this Chapter out tomorrow. While I wait for feedback/critique I can be doing the other tables. I heard a good one on the radio at 5AM this morning. Someone spoke of "gluteal spread-itis"...I think I have it! Barb, I like your home page, pictures very creative but the fire was a bit too close for my comfort. Good luck with finishing your chapter tomorrow and have fun coloring tonight (always makes me feel good). Sandra, where ever you are...good luck! The D-day should be soon. MaryAnn, you have a healthy list there. Keep packing! My pact for next week: 1. Send Chapter out 2. Finish tables 3. Clean up Chapter 3 to reflect the methodology used in Chapter 4. Have a good week everyone! Ellen

Ellen-- Way to go! Congrats on completing your draft with the 21 tables! (You're a better man, er, woman, than I. But I've got great, newly-auburned hair!) I do resolve to get that chapter off to my advisor this week. Probably won't be tomorrow, Teaching Day, but I'll shoot for a more reasonable re-newed deadline of Wednesday morning. Mary Ann--Good luck with your list! CarolR--How'd the mid-term go? How's everything else? Barb

Hi Barb! Want some curl to go along with the auburn? I have extra... The midterm went. The prof had an answer sheet for us when we left, and I immediately saw some really dumb mistakes. Thank heavens for partial credit, which will help, but I was feeling so ticked off at myself that Jeannie, my 9-year-old, took me out for ice cream to make me feel better. It worked, sort of. I find that whenever I have a test or some big deadline looming, family responsibilities seem to increase exponentially and I always end up feeling less prepared and more hassled than usual. I try to compensate by studying/working way in advance, but that doesn't always work. I could have used another couple of hours of study for that test, but I am not sure it would have made a difference because of the types of mistakes I made. Dumb ones, where I KNEW better and the info didn't travel from the brain to the hand! Oh well. On to the next big thing, working on the diss proposal. Your website is really nice - loved the kitty pictures and I agree that fire was way too close. I'll take our occasional big snowstorms anyday. Good luck on the chapter revision! Carol

Hi everyone: I am having difficulties in finding subjects for my research and it looks like I will not be able to meet my deadline date of Nov. 15, 1999. I only have 3 subjects and I need a total of 24. We have just "survived" Hurricane Irene and the flooding is awful. We had only a few hours of advance warning. I am having problems contacting many of the people I am depending on to find subjects for me because they are not going to work. It's a tricky situation. The same thing happened to me when I was doing my master's thesis, hurricane Andrew hit and many people were without homes and the rehab center I was doing my research at had to close down. Anyway, my pact for this week is to test 10 more subjects, hopefully I can do more. Jo Ann

Good luck, Jo Ann! I know how hard it is to get subjects; hope you are successful!