one.o.eight

May 07, 2008

Spring Finality - Part 2

Like an overcooked microwave burrito... *DING* I'm done. Not enough energy left for a 'woo' or even a 'hoo'. I'm going to bed.

Posted by Tacitus at 11:36 AM | Comments (0)

May 03, 2008

Spring Finality - Part 1

Totally blew my philosophy final. Lowered my grade by a whole letter. I'm sure of it. So much for my near-stellar GPA.

Posted by Tacitus at 03:44 AM | Comments (0)

April 26, 2008

No Time for Love, Dr. Jones!

3 lab reports, 2 term projects, and 2 final exams to go!
Come May 6th I'm free... or dead... or both.

...then Summer semester begins. -_-

And somewhere in here I should see the new Indy movie: Indiana Jones and the... Really Long, Stupid, Unmemorable Title I Can't Remember Except That It's Really Long and Stupid and Unmemorable (just like The Phantom Menace). :P Although the title is "pulpy" I'll give it that. :D

Posted by Tacitus at 05:14 PM | Comments (0)

February 27, 2008

?

This is what I do all day... and all night.

Posted by Tacitus at 06:29 PM | Comments (0)

January 21, 2008

Assisted Living

So in the Fall of last year--yeah it's already "last year"--I ditched my career of twelve years to go back to school full-time to earn a masters in something so totally cool that it surely will offer me a glut of new and improved opportunities when I get done--that's my fervent hope--if I can manage to not slip back into obscurity--I'm a total fucking wallflower business-wise.

My energy comes in cycles. When I'm up, I'm up. When I'm down, I vanish. Even when I'm up, I'm just doing an awesome job as a team member, propping someone else (deserving or otherwise) up into the limelight of recognition. With luck (it's happened more than once) they get swooped up onto a higher path to success while I, you guessed it, vanish. It's even questionable whether or not I was ever actually seen in the first place. Despite my best efforts, I am a master of obfuscation.

So here I am: unemployed and going to school full-time and with a family to feed. You know, typical American dream stuff. :P On top of that I'm paying out of state tuition rates which amount to about US$10K per semester! Talk about negative income! So I saddled myself with more of the "D" word: debt, student loans out my-- You get the picture. Loans offset the cost of paying for school, while my savings races toward $0 at unprecedented speed; budgeting be damned. Sooo glad we ditched the NJ house; heaping loss or no. I paid for Spring semester the same way: loans. Then a happy thing happened. I got an assistantship!

What is an assistantship you might ask? It's a position with an academic department at a university for graduate students. At least that's my understanding. In my case it's a research position. Or as my sister so cooly called it: a "working scholarship". Fuck yeah! I've got a scholarship! That sounds so much better than on-campus-department job, because it is! But the coolest thing about this is my tuition costs are reduced to US$25 for the semester! I'm thinking, "Fantastic!" at this point, but wait there's more. I draw pay too! All right, not a lot. But if you count the tuition waiver as income--and I'm sure Uncle Sugar sure as hell will--it's a nice chunk of change especially for the area.

My only concern now is if I can do the job being asked of me. I've yet to fail in this capacity, but there's always a first time. :P So I'll do my best, and I'm sure things will be all rosy soon enough; one way or another.

Woot.

Posted by Tacitus at 12:04 AM | Comments (5)

December 15, 2007

Final Final!

Finals week is at last over! I can breathe a sigh of relief. Wish I felt better about the way each exam went. It's quite possible that I earned myself a lower grade in every one of my classes over these past five days. But nothing can be done for it now. All that remains is to wait and see. I'm holding myself to a 4.0 measure. I'll see how close I came by next Tuesday. *fingers crossed* Until then sleep is calling... z.z

Posted by Tacitus at 01:38 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

September 30, 2007

First of Three Trials

Survived my first round of midterms. There will be another set at the end of October, and then finals in December. Celebrated with pizza. Woot.

Posted by Tacitus at 03:54 PM | Comments (0)

August 10, 2007

Yup

As I suspected, my job ends next Friday. My request to work part time and out of my home office was flatly denied, and I was further asked to resign. How dare I try to better myself through education! Bastards.

On the bright side, we have a place to live; three miles from campus. From home owner to apartment renter... woo...hoo... :\ (At least until the NJ house sells. Anyone looking to buy near the Jersey Shore? I've got a lovely 4 BR 2.5 bath colonial up for grabs.)

Posted by Tacitus at 12:22 AM | Comments (0)

August 06, 2007

Bedlam

Okay, here's the deal. I was on vacation in the lovely Pacific Northwest, when I receive word that I've been accepted to grad school. I cut my planned two week trip short by almost one week, and race home to pack up my life and move to Georgia (the US state, not the country). Orientation is one week from today! My job is in limbo, but it basically looks like it will be non-existent after the 17th. I have no housing, no financial aid, no employment lined up for when I get there. You're probably thinking, "WTF?!" Yeah, well, I didn't exactly expect to be accepted, but there it is. I'm moving to Georgia for two years to get a masters degree. Go me.

Yes, I have pics from the Washington trip, and, yes, I have stories to tell, but, no, I'm not posting them now. I have waaay too much to do before next week. I'll post them later.

Wish me luck. I'm diving in headfirst, and I'm not quite sure if the water is deep enough to break my fall without breaking me. Hell, I'm not even sure if I remember how to swim. :P

Cheers.

Posted by Tacitus at 03:54 PM | Comments (4)

June 26, 2007

Ducks In A Row

My grad school ducks are almost in their little row. Move it, maggots! Friday is the deadline! You! Back in line! Where's Mallard?! Mallard, front and center! No! Wait! Back in line!

"Quack."

Who said that?! All right, I want a perfect row before Friday or it's into the pot with the lot of you! No fowl ups, you hear me?

"But we are fowl."

Who said that?! So we have a comedian in the ranks. Who wants to spend some time marching up and down the square?!

No one? Good. Off with you then.

No! Wait! Back in line! Form one row. That's a good lot.

Yes, I'm losing it. @_@

Posted by Tacitus at 05:42 PM | Comments (0)

June 17, 2007

Things In Motion

We're moving. Well, we're planning on moving. Right now, we're going through the motions of prepping our house for sale: inviting Realtors to conduct market analyses, clearing out the clutter (selling off what's worth selling, then junking the rest), fixing up the insides (patching, painting, replacing blinds, etc.), and beautifying the outside (re-landscaping, planting). We've given ourselves 4 weeks to make the house ready. We're going to try eBay, and if we can't move our things quickly enough, we'll call in a trading assistant. We're ripping out all of the ugly, boring plantings (and there are plenty!) and replacing them with lovelier things. Pics soon maybe.

Ah, but where are we moving, you ask? For the longest time, Washington state has been our goal, and it still is. But we're taking a detour. Our destination is now Georgia... and grad school. More on that too if I manage to get my ducks in a row in time for the application deadline.

Posted by Tacitus at 07:34 PM | Comments (2)