Author: cheerfulchaotic

thoughts on possible phd programs

I’ve been bugging the phdified among my friends as well as those who have attempted it or are currently attempting it. (Mostly comp sci folks, which is not what I’m going after, but I figure some lessons apply regardless)

The basic questions have been the following: “What is your advice to someone considering applying for a phd program?” and “What do you recommend for getting the most out of a PhD program?”

Yesterday, strongly recommended that I spec out and prioritize the features I wanted out of my working life “like an engineer” (I think, , please step in if I misinterpreted/misremembered) and then construct alternatives that would help me get there and then see if a phd is the right alternative for me and my goal.

I smiled and nodded and thought I’d get around to it … someday. Well, today I had a meeting where I didn’t see much benefit to paying attention and instead of rewriting mmorpg character plans (my usual pastime under those circumstances) I started jotting down those specs.

my specs

bored

So, in my performance review (gold star) my grand-supe said a) that she thinks she gets me (particularly with reference to Seattle) and b) that she thinks I’m bored.

Gold star for her.

The triathlon is in no small part about challenging myself. The spanish course I was taking (until thursday. I ought to sign up for the next installment, but they’re expensive and eat up one evening per week. They also don’t have the social element I was hoping for.) was about challenging myself. Volunteering in various capacities is about engaging myself more thoroughly in life. The worst times are when I’m doing nothing, but it’s still hard to motivate myself to do things I see as utterly pointless.

Maybe I should be responsible for creating more of my own challenges…

Saturday

Yesterday we cleaned out & defrosted the fridge. I biked down to navy pier, swam for about 3/4 of a mile with the wetsuit. I think it’s a bit too big, I can feel a little air and/or water sloshing around my shoulders while swimming. Certainly usable, but I may want to cash it in for a size smaller at some point. Sadly, the ultra-cheap (comparatively) suit I found online came in M and L, with no L/M size. (I got the large, obviously). The sun had mostly set by the time I finished swimming

Afterwards, I decided “what the heck” and finished up with a bike down to the museum of science & industry in hyde park then back home. Including both legs of my bike trip, I more than covered the biking distance of the triathlon I’ll be doing (27 v 24.5 miles). I kinda wanted to try the run at that point, but the neighbors had a (jimmy buffet themed) party going, and my gregarious roommate really wanted me to head over. Met some interesting people. If the party thrower weren’t straight or already taken, I could probably develop quite a crush on him.

That kept me up until midnight. I have a few goals for today. Some union stuff, some work stuff, some grad school application stuff. Also, board games, woohoo. =)

Home is where the heart is and my heart is in SF

Every time I come to san francisco, I realize that this is home, and I must move back. When I lived in SF, I did not fly out to Chicago 8 bajillion times a year, and I didn’t feel like I would have, if only I’d had the money.

My BGA’s been good to me. It’s the best job I’ve had so far. I think I should give up on the stupid plans that are indirect about getting what I want. I should develop a reasonable plan for escape to san francisco and say to the relevant parties “I want to stay with this BGA, but I am moving to SF with or without you.”

Now the hard part, actually finding a job.