Having just looked back over the last 6+ months, I realize that I haven't remotely pulled my weight on a blog of my own creation. To be honest, I can't remember the last time I added my own thoughts here. So, here is my last six months in a nutshell. I made coffee, spent lots of quality time with Bri, went to MN for Christmas, and started attending a new church. All the rest is kinda details that aren't too important.
As Bri has pointed out lately, our time here in Ithaca is drawing quickly to a close. It is pretty amazing that we have been here for over a year and a half. As much as Ithaca has driven me nuts, I have come to love it in its own odd and quirky way. I doubt I will ever live any place like it again in my life. It has been an incredibly growing and challenging experience to live and work here. I have met some incredible people at work who have become friends more than customers.
Looking ahead, there is once again a tremendous amount of uncertainty. We are once again contemplating moving to a city that neither Bri nor I have ever been to. The possibility of moving to Boston originally came up as an opportunity for me to go to Seminary at Gordon Conwell, but has grown into a solid opportunity for Brianna. It now looks like Seminary will go on the back-burner for a couple years or until I find some kind of generous patronage.
I once again find myself job searching, which is one of my least favorite things to do. Thus far, it hasn't been terribly stressful, but some of that is due to it being a very general search right now. It is odd looking for work when you don't know what city you will be living in! I am currently abusing every connection I have in the church, mainly my new in-laws! So far, they have been very gracious and hopefully I will come away with some good ideas.
Bri and I have begun attending the United Church of Christ, Congregationalist church in the last few months. It has been a pretty big switch for us, but it has really been a blessing. The sermons remind me at times of House of Mercy, but aimed at a slightly older generation. We are definitely an oddity in the church as most members are over the age of 50. That being said, there are some really cool things going on in the church, plus, it is really interesting to be around a large number of Cornell professors and retired big wigs. They have a lot of interesting advice and stories to tell.
I make no promises that I will be better about posting, but I will do what I can.
Peace
-Cody
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Experiencing a bit of Panic
I have been working on putting my thesis together and making the changes and additions necessary to have some form of a rough draft soon. It has become apparent that all of the work I put in last semester to making everything relate to my thesis has paid off. While the thesis isn't completed, there is a significant portion that has been taken care of. Which made the email I received this afternoon slightly panic-inducing.
To back-track, preparations for graduation have begun, and I have been handing in various forms over the past several weeks to make sure that I have everything taken care of to graduate in May. Everything is in order and taken care of-- I have fulfilled all of the classes, the forms are in, etc. The one catch in the system is related to my thesis advisor, who is unfortunately in ill-health. I have asked numerous times in the department office about whether I would need to find a new thesis advisor (this towards the beginning of the semester, mid-late January, and each time was reassured that my advisor would be in soon. I have emailed with him, and he has always sounded positive, saying he would be in soon. However, today when replying to an email sent out today, double checking various forms that we have handed in, I listed my thesis advisor, and received a response 10 minutes later. Unfortunately, it was explaining that my advisor is ill, and wondering about how far along I am in my thesis. I opened the email about an hour later (about an hour ago), and have been in a state of semi-panic ever since. I am set to graduate on May 24th. I would very much prefer that my graduation isn't delayed, or having to start all over at this point. I responded to the email explaining that I have over 60 pages of my thesis compiled, and am still putting more together. But, given that the office has closed, I don't expect to hear back until tomorrow. I have a feeling it is going to be a long night-- filled with me worrying.
I keep thinking of a conversation I had with my thesis advisor this past fall, where I asked him to advise me. He told me that he was more than willing to advise me, but wanted to double check that he would be the best person to advise me on my particular topic. We talked through other faculty in the department, and both agreed that he is clearly the best person to advise me in the department. We also talked through faculty members in other departments-- all of whom I met with this past fall to discuss my thesis and get additional ideas for research. Even in conversations with them, it was clear that he was the best person to help me. Which is making this more difficult. I can think of one person who could be a potential alternative, but he has no free time, as the chair of the department he works for, and President of at least one national academic organization. This is going to be complicated-- I hope it ends well.
To back-track, preparations for graduation have begun, and I have been handing in various forms over the past several weeks to make sure that I have everything taken care of to graduate in May. Everything is in order and taken care of-- I have fulfilled all of the classes, the forms are in, etc. The one catch in the system is related to my thesis advisor, who is unfortunately in ill-health. I have asked numerous times in the department office about whether I would need to find a new thesis advisor (this towards the beginning of the semester, mid-late January, and each time was reassured that my advisor would be in soon. I have emailed with him, and he has always sounded positive, saying he would be in soon. However, today when replying to an email sent out today, double checking various forms that we have handed in, I listed my thesis advisor, and received a response 10 minutes later. Unfortunately, it was explaining that my advisor is ill, and wondering about how far along I am in my thesis. I opened the email about an hour later (about an hour ago), and have been in a state of semi-panic ever since. I am set to graduate on May 24th. I would very much prefer that my graduation isn't delayed, or having to start all over at this point. I responded to the email explaining that I have over 60 pages of my thesis compiled, and am still putting more together. But, given that the office has closed, I don't expect to hear back until tomorrow. I have a feeling it is going to be a long night-- filled with me worrying.
I keep thinking of a conversation I had with my thesis advisor this past fall, where I asked him to advise me. He told me that he was more than willing to advise me, but wanted to double check that he would be the best person to advise me on my particular topic. We talked through other faculty in the department, and both agreed that he is clearly the best person to advise me in the department. We also talked through faculty members in other departments-- all of whom I met with this past fall to discuss my thesis and get additional ideas for research. Even in conversations with them, it was clear that he was the best person to help me. Which is making this more difficult. I can think of one person who could be a potential alternative, but he has no free time, as the chair of the department he works for, and President of at least one national academic organization. This is going to be complicated-- I hope it ends well.
Sunday, February 1, 2009
I think it's crazy...
that it's February. I have three full months of class left, and then just a couple weeks in May for finals and graduation. I am continually applying for jobs, but don't have a lot in terms of leads yet. We are looking a bit of everywhere, although returning to Minneapolis is a possibility. With the job market being what it is right now, nothing is certain until I have a solid job offer.
It's a little different graduating from grad school than it is finishing at Bethel three years ago. I feel like I have put in a lot of solid work during my time at Cornell, but the pressure is on to make it mean something. Three years ago, I was unmarried, had no student loans, and a job that could continue on after graduation, even if it wasn't ideal. I could move in with my parents if the housing situation didn't work out. It's a lot more complicated now. It's a good complicated, but more difficult to navigate. Occasionally, I wonder what the heck I am supposed to be doing. I want a career that means something, and I know my degree is a step in the right direction towards achieving that career, but I am not seeing exactly what the next step is on the path that is my life. I like knowing what comes next, and I feel like part of being a responsible adult and good wife is planning for the future. But, as much as I would like, I cannot control the future. This is difficult most days, and impossible others.
There are no easy answers, and that is life. But sometimes it makes me mad. Particularly when I have weeks like this one-- where I fell on the ice walking on a path on campus, landed on my elbow, and ended up spending several hours at the doctors office on campus getting x-rays, etc. I ended up in a sling for the week, on painkillers. I am stubborn, and don't like admitting that I need help-- which meant that it took convincing from several people before I went to the campus health center, in spite of the intense pain I was experiencing. But, I don't have time to deal with the setbacks of getting injured. I realize that this is probably a clear signal that I need to be patient (not just about the injury, but with the next few months), but I am not sure what the best way is to do that. There is always so much to do. Hopefully I can figure it out soon.
It's a little different graduating from grad school than it is finishing at Bethel three years ago. I feel like I have put in a lot of solid work during my time at Cornell, but the pressure is on to make it mean something. Three years ago, I was unmarried, had no student loans, and a job that could continue on after graduation, even if it wasn't ideal. I could move in with my parents if the housing situation didn't work out. It's a lot more complicated now. It's a good complicated, but more difficult to navigate. Occasionally, I wonder what the heck I am supposed to be doing. I want a career that means something, and I know my degree is a step in the right direction towards achieving that career, but I am not seeing exactly what the next step is on the path that is my life. I like knowing what comes next, and I feel like part of being a responsible adult and good wife is planning for the future. But, as much as I would like, I cannot control the future. This is difficult most days, and impossible others.
There are no easy answers, and that is life. But sometimes it makes me mad. Particularly when I have weeks like this one-- where I fell on the ice walking on a path on campus, landed on my elbow, and ended up spending several hours at the doctors office on campus getting x-rays, etc. I ended up in a sling for the week, on painkillers. I am stubborn, and don't like admitting that I need help-- which meant that it took convincing from several people before I went to the campus health center, in spite of the intense pain I was experiencing. But, I don't have time to deal with the setbacks of getting injured. I realize that this is probably a clear signal that I need to be patient (not just about the injury, but with the next few months), but I am not sure what the best way is to do that. There is always so much to do. Hopefully I can figure it out soon.
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