Leaving Town (at least for the weekend)

It's spring break this week, and I am happy to have the chance to work on all of the "other stuff" on the to do list. You know, the stuff that needs to get done, but when there is little time available, is simply not a priority. This has involved the chance to do laundry that had been piling up for couple (or several) weeks, washing the dishes that have been piling up (a task that still hasn't been completed), mopping the kitchen floor, etc.
In addition to that lovely list, I have also been able to work on several other important things-- sleeping more than 6 hours at night, working on my thesis, applying for more jobs (although this is something I do daily, now I don't feel like it's squeezed into any available 30 minutes I manage to find in my schedule), and planning our trip to Boston. As a city Cody and I are contemplating moving to, it seemed worthwhile to see what it is we are considering doing-- checking out the city as well as the chance to get away from Ithaca for awhile.
So, Friday morning we are getting up early and driving to Boston (a trip that should take a little over six hours I think). Hopefully, it should be a good weekend-- not only a time to relax, but to see if this is someplace we could spend some serious time in the future. I'm looking forward to it, partially because I've always wanted to go to Boston (neither of us have ever been there), and partially because I like the opportunity to get away.
If anyone has any suggestions on things we should/must do while gone, feel free to let us know, we are open to suggestions.
--Brianna

I Have Been Remiss...

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

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.

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.

We have been a little behind

Sorry it has been over a month since I last posted. First there were finals (which went really well), followed by a week of work and finals recovery, then a trip to MN for a week of craziness traveling to see family and friends. We returned to New York and have been trying to get everything in the apartment in order (like finally unpacking a couple of boxes that have remained shoved in a corner since we moved in), prepping for a new semester, working on thesis research, applying for jobs, etc.
The new (and last) semester starts tomorrow. I am excited about the possibilities, and a little bit nervous as well. It's all coming to a close, and there is still so much to be done. I have registered for classes, and the schedule seems like a pretty good one: Global Conflict & Terrorism, Violence Against Women, Labor Markets & Income Distribution in Developing Countries, and the last class is a debate between Financial Accounting and Managerial Finance (I plan on attending both and seeing which course seems more interesting, has a better professor, etc.). Hopefully I will know more as the week continues.
I have also been busy with my new job, which has been a new way to get connected into Cornell. I know that between work and school, this semester is going to fly by. Hopefully, it will be a good one.

A Short Revelation While I Temporarily Avoid Writing a Paper

I have a final due tomorrow. It needs to be 15-20 pages long for a class on International Institutions. I am writing it on the balancing act of the United Nations in terms of global governance and nation-state sovereignty, with a focus on the United States role in condoning torture in its national security efforts, thereby decreasing the UN's legitimacy, and calling into question the role of the UN in the future. This paper directly ties into my thesis, and I am researching this and related topics for just about every class I am taking this semester. It means that occasionally I need a break, as focusing too much on this issue and all of the related topics, as well as all the factors that need to be considered in this type of a decision-making process make my head hurt.
So, on to the revelation. I am traditionally someone who doesn't speak out loud on topics that they know little about. In classes, I usually speak only when I am relatively sure of what I think, that it makes sense, and that it is the "right" answer. I don't like to make controversial comments and make people angry. During my years at Bethel as an undergrad, I was definitely more liberal than many of my peers, but made sure not to offend anyone with statements on my views on many things-- I spoke more centrally and moderately than I do at Cornell. While at Bethel, if anyone called into question what I was saying, I assumed that I was wrong (particularly if it was a professor), and moved on.
However, I am in a very different setting right now. While still fairly liberal, I would be considered much more moderate than at least several of the professors I interact with on a daily basis. I am more inclined to speak in class (partially because with several classes with less than 10 students that are purely discussion based, speaking in class is a necessity) now, and as such, recently came to a surprising conclusion. It may sound ridiculous, in the fact that for many people, what I am saying shouldn't be shocking. But, I experienced a revelation a couple of weeks ago that was a bit odd. I came to the conclusion that I am not wrong. I have several professors who have vehemently disagreed with me on class discussions. I think this is partially due to the fact that I am less inclined to view things from a purely idealistic perspective, and instead try to account for all of the aspects that influence a decision, particularly when looking at large scale issues. I had one professor tell me I was being too negative when I was discussing why the US would be uninclined to give up veto power in the UN security council. I wasn't trying to say I think it never should, just that there are a number of reasons why the US would rather not.
She utterly disagreed with me-- but I knew I was right. It was an odd feeling to say the least. There have been other similar circumstances over the past several weeks with different professors, but it was an interesting experience to be one semester away from graduating from grad school, and know that there may be people who are better educated than I am, who are older and more experienced than I am-- but that doesn't make them always right-- even in the topics which they are teaching me about.
So, as I sit here writing a paper for one of these professors, I am attempting to state what I think clearly, but at the same time, avoid angering my professor as they grade my paper. I would prefer not to tick someone off as they are giving me a grade that significantly impacts how I will do in their course. It will probably be a late night-- but tomorrow (at some point) the class will have been completed, and I can move on. Well, to the next final-- which is a project due on Monday. To be followed by a paper due on Wednesday. Followed by a paper due on Thursday. Followed by an exam on Friday. And then the semester is complete. Hooray!

Papers, Projects, and Tests Galore

All of my finals are due in the next two-three weeks. I have a stats project (of approximately 20 pages) looking at the power of the United States as compared to other UN security council members based off of their respective GDP's, and military spending, a paper on the United States role in the UN after condoning torture in the War on Terror for International Institutions (worth 55% of my grade, of approximately 20 pages), an economics exam, a paper on the role of immigrants filling lower level hospital positions the way kids coming off of farms had historically in Minneapolis (by looking at how unions organize these groups as well) for Labor and Global Cities (once again, around 20 pages), and a paper looking at how the Geneva Conventions were sidestepped and the effort to extend Presidential powers in condoning torture for Intergovernmental Systems. All of this is due in a one week stretch of time (from the 5th to the 12th of December).
It's times like this that deciding to go to graduate school seems completely insane on the one hand, but I get the opportunity to study subjects that I find fascinating-- and I learn a ton by forcing myself to put all of this information together in a comprehensible kind of way. Plus, it will be helpful for my thesis (well, for the most part), so its kind of like getting two things done at once. It feels insane right now, but I know when the semester is over, I will only have one semester left-- and then I get to graduate. And that will be a good thing.