Things I wish I'd known

Time to answer my own question:

1) I wish I'd known that there is a surplus of PhDs in this country and that so many are wandering around without jobs.

2) I wish I'd known how much it costs to pay for an independent medical insurance plan.

3) I wish I'd known that most people (even W&L grads, despite what our alumni magazine would have you believe) have at least one (if not many) jobs that they don't really like, if not actually despise.

4) I wish I'd known that your parents become people who need your help.

I'm sure there are more, but my mind is not working this morning. More thinking is in order. It sounds like I'm grumbling a lot. I promise I'm not really that pissed off about my life; I'm just quite reflective these days. I guess I should also note that it's not that I didn't know these things. It's more that I just never thought about them when I was graduating from college.

Anyway, I'm off to do some grading, drink some coffee and make a big, fat omelette for breakfast... Have a great day!

Jobs

I, too, have thought about law school, but then I remember that the only kind of law I would like to perform would be law that would not make any money. That, in itself, doesn't bother me, but I render myself queasy at the thought that I would go into large amounts of debt from which I would never emerge! Plus, I was recently listening to some good ol' John Grisham on a book on tape (I commute a lot these days, but that's another story), and he referred to law school as the babysitter for middle class twenty-somethings. Kinda a cruel thing to say, but I see his point: too many people (apparently) go to law school because they are not quite sure what else to do. Still, the thought continues to traverse my mind... (btw: Amy--I am totally intrigued by your new job! You must have bizarre stories to tell...)

As for Keri's comment to my post--glad to know I am not the only one out there with job identity issues. My story is a bit different, but we have the same concerns. Currently, I am moving out of adjuncting teaching, which has been interesting. People not in academia always appear quite impressed that I teach at UCONN. They clearly think I am a professor (even when I try to clarify things) and that I do well for myself. What's funny is that, while many people I meet (usually Elliot's parents' friends; I don't really know people my own age anymore) seem to look at me with respect, I know that within academia I am the very lowest on the totem pole. As an adjunct, universities specifically limit how much you can teach so that they do not have to give you medical benefits or a pension plan. Although I have not had this happen to me, I have read about a plethora of cases where adjuncts lack offices, photocopying allotments, and can have their courses yanked with days of the start a semester, leaving them with no income at a moment's notice. Furthermore, within academia, faculty often look at adjuncts as the one's who "couldn't hack it," and thus deserving of their position. My point is not to rant about the situation (although I can do that forever), but to note the bizarre conflict in my situation: some seem impressed by me, but I am anything but impressed. Hence, I am getting out, which means now people who were once impressed now seem disappointed since I'll no longer be "a professor," although I never was one to begin with!!

Enough about me!

Amy, what other bizarre jobs have you had?

Keri, at what point are you in you teaching career (are you certified? Master's in something? Currently with a job?)? Forgive me for being so clueless!

Alice, when do you go back to work??

On Monday I started my sixth job in 2 1/2 years. (I swear I'm not as unstable as my resume suggests!) And, talk about not doing what you'd thought you'd be doing when you got out of college: I'm writing for a marketing department for a standardized test company. (Go ahead, throw tomatoes at me.)
 
I think about going to law school every now and again, more so on those days when I really hate my job or am unemployed, both of which happen in equal doses and with alarming frequency. I figure that if I hate what I'm doing, at least I'll a) be using my brain more and b) getting paid to do it. Then I'm politely reminded that I married the Navy, and that I'll never be in a place long enough to go to school for 3 years,  have a stable job where I can work my way up, or be at "home." I can't complain (well, I can complain about anything...). The bills get paid, I'm taken care of, and life is good.
 
~A
(Kane) Trask, not Frazier

Pissed

I just tried to post, and my computer kicked me off the internet. I can't wait to get a non-dial up connection. I'll have to rewrite the whole thing! I'll have to do it later when I calm down!

Posing a question

Okay, I'm having one of these "arg" days related to my insecurity about my accomplishments (or lack thereof) since graduating from college. My mom just ran into the mother of a pair of brothers with whom I attended middle school. (My mom is in the "abs" class with this woman at "Curves"). "So-and-so is a doctor, and his brother is a lawyer," my mom says. And this bothers me! Why? Lord knows, since, when I was graduating from college, I was not the slightest bit bothered by the idea that I was embarking on a career path that would not lead to the proverbial fame and fortune. In fact, ever since I was about six, I have wanted to follow career avenues that would ultimately leave me in destitution relative to other college grads. But since returning home to CT and interrupting my graduate career, I find that I am constantly comparing myself to people with "prestigious" careers. This makes no sense since I respect so much my friends who have taken the not-so-financially-rewarded-roads, but when it comes to me, I just get grumpy.

On a related note, here is my question for my college friends. It's a bit platitudinous, but: what is the one thing you wish you had known before you graduated from college?

I've got to think about this for a while myself...

Another W&L Webpage

When I was trying to name our blog site, I tried dubyanell.blogspot.com. That name was already taken. I just now looked up that blog. It is done by some students at the W&L law school. Yes, they are very conservative. Here is the link.

I don't know how often I'll read that blog.

My Day

I didn't have quite the awful day that Alice had yesterday (see her personal blog), but it was loooong, to say the least. After a day full of errands (shopping, went with Elliot to survey a house he has been asked to paint, etc.), we went to Elliot's parents to grill shrimp and eat. They had about 10 people over.

Pretty soon before we are planning on making our exit, the weather starts to turn, so we go inside. We start hearing the rain pelt against the house and the wind acting up. I go to the window to see what's going on, and right when I lean against the wall in order to do so, this eerie blue light fills the sky, and I can feel the house buzzing. It turns out that a tree has fallen over, directly hitting one telephone/utility pole and ripping down another two as well. When the wind and rain die down, we see that live wires are all over the road and in the driveway. We aren't going anywhere! And since it is a Saturday evening, Northeast Utilities is slow in coming (according to the news this morning, they are still 2 hours from opening up the road, which is a major road in the area). Meanwhile, it is getting very dark out, which is serious in this case, since a) Elliot's parents have, of course, lost electricity; b) Elliot's parents live in a house built in 1692, which is very dark even when the electricity is working; c) there are 10 people there, tripping over one another. Finally, the utility company comes, turns off the power so we can drive over wires and escape home.

Lordy. I've had enough socializing for one weekend.

What to Blog

One fun and interesting thing to blog is the 100 Things About Me blog. I did mine in the wee hours of the day when I could not sleep.

Also, if you would like me to put links to other websites and/or other blogs on our site, I can do that too. If you know HTML and would like admin access to the blog, I can set your account to admin on this blog.

I have invited a few other people to this site. Who else would you like to invite? Email me their addresses, and I'll invite them.

Saying hello, updating, and begging for information

Okay, I have learned that I can officially make a post without making
cyberspace crash. Actually, that's not quite true, because when I
made my first post, I did crash my brand new browser (i.e.
Firefox). But all is well again.



I am terrible about using the phone and even about emailing, so I am
glad we are doing this. I love reading Alice's blog every
morning, a) because I actually know about someone's life other than my
own; and b) (a related point) although I would not wish upon anyone
some of the crap that happens in life, it is comforting to know I am
not the only one having a bad day at times!



Keri and Amy--I have little clue of what either of you are doing these days, so fill us in!



As for me, I am living in Connecticut, dealing with some family stuff,
still pretending to be grad student, although I still cannot come up
with a dissertation topic... Right now I am teaching two classes
for the University of Connecticut (go huskies!), but I am starting a
new job in the fall (more later)...



Okay, I promise to write more detailed and witty posts at a later date,
but my significant other is making rumblings downstairs, so I must go
see what the issue is...

Hello

Hey kids! Sorry it has taken me so long to join! I'm going
to post this, just to see whether I know what I am doing, but I
guarantee a longer post later...

Yay!

I'm so glad we have members on our site here! Yay!

Cory told me about the Jeopardy question last night. He was very proud of himself since he got the question right.

I am still wondering who sent us the stuffed Robert E. Lee and George Washington and the W&L bibs. I'm going to take a picture of them and post them on this site because they are pretty funny. I don't remember the bookstore carrying anything like that when we were there.

Hee hee

Yes! We also saw W&L on Jeopardy last night. We're stuck watching now until Ken loses ... it might be a while. Funny how you cheer on the underdog after a while.

Jeopardy!

Our beloved alma mater was featured tonight on Jeopardy! in the category "That's my school!" Of course, Ken, the geek that's won something like 25 games in a row, got the correct answer(question?). Damn him, but go us!

What's Going On?

Join the blog! Publish a post to keep everyone up to date on your life. Instead of email, we can keep a running commentary going on this blog. Let's try it and see how it goes.