Writing a Term Paper

This term I am in a seminar with an unusual twist. We are using about half the class time for a sort of writing workshop. Each week we turn in a bit of our term paper and get feedback. I should be very excited about this because I have been in grad school a very long time and have rarely gotten any feedback on my writing. The professor for this seminar is a very well know, senior scholar in our discipline so it’s exciting to get help from him. His logic is that normally we would all write our term papers during the final week or two of the quarter anyway, so we might as well just spend some time each week on our writing and get some actual feedback so that the final paper might be publishable. He also laid out which sections we were to turn in each week: abstract, outline, introduction, literature review, and so on.

This all sounds great so far, except I’m finding in practice it’s not. Here’s the thing, that’s not how I write my term papers. It’s true that I don’t get started on the actual writing of the paper until the end of the quarter, but I spend my spare moments all quarter researching, finding “data”, and reading through articles to build my literature review. By the end of the quarter I usually have a good idea of how my paper will be structured. Sometimes I write it from the beginning straight through, but often I start writing and then discover that the point I’m making needs to be moved later. My original intro is usually crap because I have to write some overly general rubbish in order to get to the heart of my argument. I don’t write a complete outline first, although I do write down some sections headings and points I need to make. So getting feedback on pieces of my paper before I have finished doing the research I need to come to a conclusion and make a solid argument is somewhat pointless. It’s also somewhat embarrassing because  it makes me look like I don’t know how to make an argument.

I’m only writing this now because I don’t know how to proceed with the next section of my paper which I’m suppose to be turning in today. My paper is tangentially related to my dissertation, but is something that I haven’t researched at all before this quarter. This specific topic hasn’t been written about much in the academic literature. Historical information about rural parts of this country is not easily available outside of local historical societies, and the one I need happens to be closed for remodeling until next spring. Arg!

Life Update

It’s now Week 5. Yay, the quarter is half over. I’m super overloaded taking two seminars and finishing up second year Spanish. When I start to feel depressed and overwhelmed I tell myself this is the last quarter I will have a full load like this. Spring quarter I will be teaching a large entry level class and taking one seminar. (That will most likely be an overwhelming amount of work, but I’m trying to convince myself the opposite.) During the summer I will be taking third year Spanish and then take my qualifying exams next Fall! I keep telling myself that I’m making progress because sometimes it seems my writing and thinking is getting more confused rather than less.

Beorn’s health is improving. The Embrel seems to be having some positive effect on his RA.

In other news a friend visited last weekend. She and I went out Saturday night to a concert/dance with some great live music. Since I hardly ever go out or dress up, I decided to paint my nails.  Unfortunately I forgot the depths of my clumsiness. After getting through one hand, I got distracted and suddenly I had spilled the nail polish all over the table, the floor, and the cat. Poor BOK was very upset. We tried to wash him off, but of course it wouldn’t come off with soap and water. Then I decided that the only thing to do was to shave off the affected hair. Beorn held BOK and I used to clippers on him. He wasn’t happy, but he didn’t try to bite us. When I got down to the skin I discovered that some of the polish had gotten onto his skin. I got worried that he might get sick from licking his skin, but it was Saturday night, so I decided to call the animal hospital to see what the vet would say. I think the vet tech was a bit amused, but she asked the vet for me and then reassured me that the cat would be fine, but might have some skin irritation.

That’s all the excitement I have to report for now.

Food Stamps for Students Update

Around a year ago, I posted wondering whether or not I should apply to food stamps.  Beorn has been unable to work since he graduated last spring. Even before that we were barely getting by between my TA salary, Beorn’s part-time work in a student tech support position and our student loan money.

I wasn’t sure if we would qualify or not since we were both students.  It took me a long time to actually get up the courage to apply, but Beorn is now a food stamp recipient. At least here in Purple State, in order to qualify for food stamps as a student you have to be working at least 20 hours a week.  Since officially my TA position is a .40, I don’t qualify. I don’t really know what would happen if I was working more than 20 hours a week, but then my income would “count.” But that means Beorn qualifies because he didn’t have any income. I don’t understand it, but the nice social worker seemed very sure about it.

Since Beorn had no income when we applied he got the full $200 award, which is a big help for our food budget. I spend an inordinate amount of time thinking about food and trying to eat healthy on a budget. Lately we have been eating healthy, but not staying on budget. We spend a lot of our income on food. I’m going to post again soon about some of the changes I have been making in my eating habits, but that’s a long story.

As someone who is now on food stamps, I have to say that I’m a little bit puzzled by all the folks who try the eating on a food stamps budget. Everyone seems to choose the average amount that a family on food stamps receives monthly and then try to stay within that budget. The thing is that the government is assuming that people are going to spend some of the rest of their income on food. It’s true that some families may try to eat just using their food stamps since they have to pay their other bills, but it seems like an arbitrary exercise. I guess I have trouble imagining that so many folks have never had to eat on a small budget.

One thing we have been doing to economize this last year is eating more and more beans. In fact, we bought two huge bags of locally grown organic dried beans for $.75/lb last September. I think they were 25 lbs each (garbanzos and pintos) and we are still working our way through them. This year the local bean farmers had a crop failure, so I guess if we were truly relying on local farms it would be a lucky thing that we had extra stores. Every week I try to cook up a big pot of beans and then come up with creative ways to eat them throughout the week. This week I discovered a easy and tasty way to spice up pinto beans without adding extra sugar or fats (remember, we are trying to eat healthy.)

Cheap and Delicious Pinto Beans

• 2 cups dried pinto beans
• salt
• 1/2 tsp. smoked paprika
• 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp. onion powder

Wash the beans and carefully check for stones and bits of dirt. (Our beans came to us very dirty.) Cover beans with plenty of clean water and bring to a boil. Turn off heat and let sit for an hour. (This jumpstarts the cooking process.) Heat beans on medium heat until very soft. (Undercooked beans are not fun to digest.) You may have to add more water to keep them covered, but in the end you should end up with not much excess “broth”. Add salt and spices to taste.

Note: Smoky paprika is the tastiest stuff ever! The brand we bought, “La Dalia” from Spain, was pretty expensive at $5 for 70 grams, but it lasts us a long time. I find that regular paprika is pretty tasteless. I would estimate that the amount in this recipe can’t cost more than $.25 and it turns the beans into something fabulous.

Addictive Computer Games

I don’t play many video games. We don’t have a console and I don’t have much time, but sometimes I get into a gaming mode, especially when I need some brainless zoning. One of the best games I have played in the last six months is called Plants Vs. Zombies by PopCap Games. (I have also beaten all the levels of Zuma, I’m embarrassed to say.) Take a look at this very silly fan made video I found on Wonderland:

Another very addictive game is World of Goo. Here is a little trailer:

I have also been wasting time playing Sims3 and Civ4 Beyond the Sword. These games are very appealing when you feel your life is a little out of control, because you can micro-manage everything. Luckily after a while I get bored with them and want to return to real life.

Beorn has been playing Lord of the Rings Online a lot, but I can’t seem to get into it. We played it a bit when it first came out and then when back to World of Warcraft because we had friends there. Now he has returned to LOTRO, but I get frustrated because I know the WOW commands better. I get confused and spend a lot of time trying to figure out which buttons to push and how to get from one town to another.

I consider computer games a good sort of therapy for my summer burnout. My other hobbies are all productive in one way or another – cooking, sewing, crafting. When I’m very burnt out I lose my ability to be creative and when I try to do creative stuff I just get frustrated by my failures. Computer games are more stimulating than watching TV, but don’t require any real effort.

I should spend more time getting outside, but I don’t have anyone here to hike or bike with, so I have been reticent. Beorn and I have been working on eating healthy  and becoming more active (more on that later). The fall term will be starting next week, so my gaming days will be over.

Things to Do on Your Summer Staycation When You are Poor

Staycations seem to have become popular these days, but of course I’m just happy to have any time off, whether or not I get to do anything special. When I was a kid we always went camping or to a camping near the beach. (A friend of the family owned the cabin.) I never thought of those times as vacations exactly. I was a kid. Many kids at my school went to Europe or a tropical island for vacations.

My summer school is finally over. Thank the deities! I passed my Spanish class and now have six weeks or so to get some research done and relax a bit before the fall term starts. Living as we have been for the last year, with Beorn not working, makes taking any time off very challenging. Summers have been the worst for us in the last few years because we haven’t gotten financial aid. This year, even with some summer financial aid and two paychecks for summer teaching, not getting money in August will be challenging.

I enjoy having free time to putter around the house and “get things done.” (Ever seen the TV series Dead Like Me? In one episode a character reveals that she records herself doing stuff around the house and broadcasts it on the web. The show is called “Getting Things Done with Delores Herbig.”) There are a number of things I need to catch up on around here. Here is my list of things to do when you have time off, but no money to speak of.

1. Work on your vegetable garden. This week my mom visited and helped me get caught up on weeding me vegetable garden. I have a yardshare garden of about 600 sq ft that has been terribly neglected. When I got the space it was terribly overrun with bindweed.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/folkbird/ / CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

Isn’t it cute? Any yet it’s evil. I can’t believe how much bindweed I have pulled this year and it is still winning!

2. Do some “spring” cleaning. I’m also spending time going through all the boxes in our closets. I gathered some old clothes to give to Good Will. Later in the week I will probably spend an afternoon at a few thrift stores looking for some clothing for the fall. My sewing machine and serger also haven’t gotten any use this year. The serger I bought for $5 at a garage sale last fall and I’m eager to try out sewing with it. I have a large tub full of various fabrics so I have lots of free material to experiment with.

3. Cook for the freezer or preserve some summer fruits and vegetables. Most likely, I will do some major cooking for the freezer. Having some already prepared food in the freezer makes it easier to avoid being tempted to buy food out when I’m tired or busy. We have also been freezing fresh fruits. While my mom was here we visited a pick-your-own blueberry farm and brought home several pounds of blueberries. I also froze quite a few strawberries and cherries while they were in season and so cheap.

4. Go to the library. When I was a kid we went to the public library a lot. As a grad student I don’t have much time for leisure reading, but I’m taking advantage now.

5. Play on your computer. Lots of people who are truly poor don’t have computers, which is another reason to go to the library, but I need a computer for work, so that’s a lot of recreation available to me. I can even catch up on my blog reading!

6. Go to a park. My mom and I visited the local arboretum and went for a little hike. Beorn’s mom went fishing at the county park while she was here.

7. Go swimming. Beorn and I have been swimming at the pool here at our complex, but there are lots of public pools and even rivers around here. I prefer to swim in natural water. It’s more interesting and there’s less chlorine. If you live near an ocean, even better. Swimming is the best exercise for people with rheumatoid arthritis because there is no stress on the joints.

8. Go to a museum or a concert. Most university towns have some sort of museums and concert series. As a grad student I get free entry into the museum and can get inexpensive concert tickets. Most museums have a free day at least once a month.

Now all of you academics will probably be wondering why I’m not spending all this time working on my research. But I will be spending a significant amount of time on it and I don’t think it’s healthy to drive yourself work once you have reached a certain point of exhaustion. In order to have good ideas I need time to refresh my brain.

Anyone else have ideas about what to do with “time off” when you don’t have a lot of money?

Summer School

This summer, for the first time since I started grad school, in fact, for the first time ever, I’m “doing” summer school. This has kept me very busy! My department here at Crunchy U. offers summer classes, so for the first time I got the chance to teach my own class. Unfortunately it was the class from hell. I don’t want to tell the entire story, but there were a bunch of students in the class who weren’t ready for that class and my TA was no help. I think I worked 60-80 hours a week for the 4 weeks. On the up side, colleges and universities everywhere need people to teach this particular class and since it’s technology related, there are a limited number of people willing and able to teach it, so it will be good for my CV.

As soon as that was over, I started a Spanish class. I’m required to have two years of a language for my PhD. Unforunately, it’s been more than 10 years since I took any language classes, so those classes don’t count. Because I have limited time (I’m hoping to graduate before I’m 40) I decided to hop right in to second year Spanish. Since I had been teaching during the first four weeks of the summer, I had to start with the second quarter of second year Spanish. Make sense? Needless to say, there are huge gaps in my memory. My pronunciation is terrible now. I think it’s my age. Also, I can’t spell, even in Spanish! My previous college courses in Spanish were focused on speaking, now I’m expected to write, and I’m discovering a little of what it’s like to be illiterate. I have been making progress over the last three week though. Next week is the end of the class, so I will finally have some time off, and a chance to do a little more of my research.

Last week I took a couple of days off and travelled to my research site to do a couple of interviews. I need to get at least 15 or so interviews done by the end of September when school starts, so that I have some priliminary results to work with over the next year. I feel luck about the topic I’m working on and the location. Friends at Crunchy U. know people in the area, so I have been able to find places to stay and make connections locally.

The point of telling you all about my summer is to say that I’m burnt out! I need at least two weeks of lazing around doing nothing before I will be motivated to do anything again. I know many academics seem to be able to work long hours day after day, without a break, but I have become overly grumpy. Overwork is not good.

Now I’m getting off the computer and going to make some gazpacho and pizza. On Saturdays we have friends over for dinner and games.

Is this blog dead?

For some reason, I haven’t felt like writing much this year. I hope this blog isn’t dead because I have enjoyed talking with various folks and reading other people’s blogs. Some academics seem to view blogs as a place were folks are just negative. I find that I’m able to write about things I wouldn’t be able to discuss elsewhere.

I think the reason I haven’t been writing is Beorn’s illness. This probably sounds very self centered, but I have found that it’s difficult to talk about the illness with folks who have never experienced a chronic illness. (Except for folks I’m very close to.) Beorn is now seriously disabled. As his wife and support person it’s difficult for me to explain the process I have been through in coming to terms with his illness and attempting to adjust.

Rheumatoid arthritis is such a strange illness, it took a long time to diagnose. For a long time, I thought Beorn was depressed and that was the source of his physical symptoms. His case is particularly severe. His rheumatologist said he had as much damage in one year as many people experience in ten years.  Being married to someone with RA has changed my life and yet, I’m not the one who is ill.

I have been very, very busy with my graduate studies. Now I’m just taking a Spanish class and getting ready to start my preliminary dissertation research, so I’m hoping to revive this blog. I still won’t write often, but hopefully I will average a post a week. As soon as I get into academic writing again, I’m sure the angst will set in.

Another quarter down…

Just drinking a glass of red wine and trying to figure out what to do with myself now that my quarter is officially over. I just spent the last five days writing two ten page papers. The good news is my writing is getting faster. The bad news is I’m not sure faster is producing better quality. Both papers focused on themes I’m developing for my dissertation, so it wasn’t like I was creating them from scratch. I had been researching them for weeks. On the other hand, getting the actual writing done was left until the last week. I hate it when I procrastinate. I need to impress my professors with my insightful writing, not turn in stuff with typos or organizational problems.

Also, teaching, what’s up with that? I’m great at helping students with their work. That’s important, I feel good about it. On the other hand I suck at recording grades. I only had 40 or so students this quarter and yet I couldn’t keep track of all their paperwork. It’s true, they turned in a lab every week, so that’s a lot of paper, but still! I can’t believe how many time students have pointed out that I haven’t managed to get their grade into blackboard. One or two mistakes, ok, but this is getting close to double digits!

This brings me to my own academic ambitions. In my heart of hearts I would love to get a job at a SLAC (small liberal arts college) and yet, the idea of a job at a research U. where I would never having to do my own grading again is appealing. I need a research assistant to help me stay organized. In this economy I will be lucky to get any job, but a girl can dream!

Years ago I made a joke to some coworkers that I needed a wife. One of them was not amused by my comment. I was just saying that my husband was crap at keeping the house organized and I’m no good at that type of thing either. I would really value having someone around who could help me stay organized. If only I could afford to pay such a person well!

Related book:

Waring, Marilyn. Counting for Nothing: What Men Value and What Women are Worth. 2nd ed. University of Toronto Press, 1999.

Waring, a MP from New Zealand, outlines how the accounting systems of nations (like GNP) systematically discount the work of women.

Best quote: “when a man marries his housekeeper the GDP goes down.”

Also, as heard on NPR:

Rent-a-Negro

Need to show off your multicultural-ness? This is the website for you! Buy the book today!

Social Theory for Scientists?

Assuming that all students should learn some science, just to become educated citizens, should scientists in training be expected to learn a little social theory?

Should they read a little Foucault? a little Haraway?

Should they learn about the history of their own disciplines? Maybe read The Structure of Scientific Revolutions?

I, like many in academia, have a love-hate relationship with social theory. If I lived in a sane world, I would probably be a marine biologist, that’s what I dreamed about as a child. But as I grew up I realized that science wasn’t enough, that science wasn’t solving the world’s problems in the way the Enlightenment promised.

Now I do my best to read some of those difficult social thinkers and writers, so that I can try to understand some of the crazy things we do to each other and the planet. Reading social theory isn’t fun. It’s work. Some of what I read is just pompous crap, created in order to position the author as cutting edge and get him published, tenured, or promoted. Yet some social theory helps me understand the world and function more effectively in it and because of that I think it is worth the work. I also don’t think scientists should allow themselves to be intimidated by the unfamiliarity of the subject, the name dropping, or the attitude of some social theorists. It pisses me off when people use social theory to dominate and silence others.

So, my friends, what do you think? What social theory (if any) is important for scientists to know? If you were creating a class for new graduate students in a science field that would introduce them to concepts in social theory and make them better scientists, what would you include?

Newsweek discusses Nationalization in a Favorable Light

History: Why Nationalization Isn’t Un-American | Newsweek.com

It’s easy to forget how quickly the discourse has changed.