My Path2phD

The Educated and Uneducated Ramblings of a History Graduate Student

[path2phd-blog]

[path2phd-blog]

back to blogging

since I was reminded by my friend, Vivs that I had this, I figured I should continue to write in this throughout the summer.

It has been both a great and terrible start to summer. Let's start out with the negative and just get that out of the way: my dearest friend up here has left Milwaukee. I knew there would be a time where she would have to go back to Germany; however, it never seemed real or looming. Then, suddenly, she was off for a month long trip around the West Coast with her mother, and next, she was back for a few short days where I spent every moment that I had with her. I have other friends up here that I have met through the history department and the math department....actually now that I think about it...the math department friends that I were closest to were the other German students....hard weekend for me. I already feel  very lonely up here. I find myself crying on the bus to school from school and staring at pictures and just being lonely. I was less hysterical the night that she left than I thought I would be...however, that is probably because I was a complete wreck 2 nights before she left. I will miss the other Germans as well, but I do not want to dwell on this any longer. I will continue to write about this later, but I should discuss my Spanish class and other things.

I started at Spanish class at the community college which has definitely been an interesting experience thus far. We are covering a lot of information, and I can definitely tell that the rest of the class is struggling. I try to not respond as often now so as to not make myself seem like a suck up...but sometimes I can't help it as I want to further my education. Either way, it is proving to be a great way to spend the summer...though...I do wish I could sleep more.

I can't help but come back to Annika because it was so lovely to spend so much time with her this weekend that now I am very lonely. I need to start getting back to working on my history (my master's thesis that is). I feel I need to come back at it and get some clearer vision as to what I am trying to do. Because I have not done any reading for the past few weeks, it will be nice to come back to the project with fresh eyes. However, right now my eyes feel tired, my mind is static, and my fingers are sore. I am grieving the loss of a dear friend and do not anticipate thinking clearly at least until the end of the week. I am in a haze of sad. Writing this has made me realize this. I am hurting. I need to snap out of this. I will snap out of this.

[path2phd-blog]

Dinner at the Smith/Guilbault House! Pretzel-crusted, honey-mustard chicken, with blanched green beans seasoned with oregano, and garlic/broccoli mashed potatoes! 

[path2phd-blog]

Microsoft Word for Historians

I wish they had Mircosoft Word for Historians where it wouldn't tell me that all of the words I was spelling wrong are wrong; where it would recognize the spelling of words from a particular century; or where it would ignore sentence fragments from journal entries written hundreds of years ago. I hate that sometimes it auto-corrects my spelling when I am spelling quotes. The. Worst. I just want to be accurate! 

[path2phd-blog]

Oranges and Today

I always wish that oranges would be peeled for me. My mom used to always do this for me when I got home from school.  She would peel an orange and then cut it up for me on a plate. Now, with my efforts to snack healthy and be healthy overall, I have to peel my own oranges. This stops my whole flow of work and is frustrating because I am terrible at peeling oranges. However, healthy breakfast and snacks will justify Ian's pizza night tonight. I have cut down to going every other/every two weeks because I know it is not good for me. However, with my reasonable purchase of only one slice, I know it is not too bad. Plus, it is a good homework break for me. This day of theory is making my brain hurt excessively.  

[path2phd-blog]

[path2phd-blog]

Why is race only for white people?

I am reading a new race theorist who talks about how race became an issue with the rise of modernity. talking about how authorities assuming state power and enforcing a new racial common sense and normalizing their racial views...native peoples did not have state power..they did not have one leadership that would perpetuate these views...as I read this and other books on race theory I can't help but think...why is race only for white people?

[path2phd-blog]

[path2phd-blog]

Accomplishment

Today turned out to be a bit more successful than I had anticipate..but I never get done as much as I want to...I need to start having more reasonable goals. I love checking things off my list though. I graded all of my exams, finished a 2 volume set of the papers of William Henry Harrison I have been working through for a weeks, and got my teaching work done for the week. Now, going to read the short journal of a British agent before bed.

I didn't get a run in today which was disappointing, but it was so  gross out I didn't think I could get one in anyways without falling all over or getting really wet feet. I did meet my friend Annika and her boyfriend, Pascal, for frozen yogurt though. He is here for a week from Germany so it was great to meet him.

I really am enjoying my research but am scared for the next two weeks where I have to start putting this all together into an article...makes me nervous I won't have enough evidence or it wont be good enough for publication. I need to get over that and just go for it though....organizing my hundreds of pages of notes is going to be a doozy.  I still want to do a little more research this week but after the weekend it really has to stop...

Also, my collarbones hurt from hunching over books. #gradschoolprobs

[path2phd-blog]

[path2phd-blog]

Time

my number of posts it relative to the time I have to actually maintain a blog. Here is to a once a week goal of writing something. Debating a run right now. Grading papers and planned on finishing gutting this 550 page book on empires....priorities stink. I think I'll stick with the working for today so that I can do some research later and then maybe catch a show with my boyfriend. Being gone this weekend was tough. It was good but hard on the homework, the sleep, and the soul.