Things I Learned in Grad School...

That have NOTHING to do with Theatre!

(too important of a lesson to be numbered)

I have been in class for about a week now and I  am actually starting to get into the swing of things. I know who the department allies are and I know that the coffee they sell in the union is cheaper and way faster than the Starbucks- 20 yards away- and doesn't taste that bad... So where we go...

1. The dishwasher escapades... When I moved in to this apartment- it was not working at all. Super duper not working- it sounded like it was working- but nothing came out clean. So I spoke to the right people and a week later- BHAM new dishwasher. Loaded it full of dishes ran it and then um... it didn't clean them. I'll end this story very quickly- add soap. Duh.
   
2. Warm shoes are really important. As are coats. Both of which I bought this week.
   
   
3. That sometimes women can just be horribly mean. Like middle school. Passive aggressiveness stings.
   
   
4. Bill paying is just annoying. Yes, yes, the money spent part is annoying, but what I mean is the how you never get paid when its time to pay them and then they all show up at different times and have different means of payment and who actually has stamps. Blech.
   
   
5. I cannot go to bed before 11pm.
   
   
6. I need to thank God for things before I even see what he's got planned. Or else I'm not going to make it through this.
   
   
7. Video Chatting is great. But its not as good as actually getting to sit next to someone.
   
   
8. Wii Fits work better taken out of the box.
   
   
9. College is a really good weightloss program. You remember all of that complaining I did about how Chase was loosing weight so much faster than I was? Well shoot, I just needed to start reading every play ever written and walking up to my fourth floor office with 50 pounds of books is helping me catch up to him!
   
   
10. That being said- I like Tim Hortons' doughnuts, Ruben sandwiches from Call of the Canyon, pasta with mozerella and balsamic vinegar, BLIZZARDS, and Sonic-- in general.
    
    
11. Plane tickets are so stinking expensive.
    
    
12. You are never too young to start anti-aging treatments.
    
13. Honey mustard is good on practically everything.
    
14. I really miss my Mom and Dad.
    

And... Quincy is awesome [FYI He's in the PhD program and told me that he reads my blog- makes him awesome aside from the fact that he and many others of the department have been so stinking welcoming.]

So thats just the beginning. I'm pretty homesick- not actually for Jacksonville, but for my family and normalcy. These things seem really silly and aren't actually things I didn't know before arriving in BG. But they are slowly bubbling to the surface again. Anyone else having to re-learn things?  Anyone else feeling a little dumb because you are having to be reminded of things you've already lived through and mastered... like dishwashers and bill paying... and being away from your mom and dad?

Week Two

So today I start week two of Graduate School. I am feeling more confident. Knock on Wood.  I hope I don't regret typing that. I have a better idea of what is coming at me and what is expected. I have more grounded expectations.  I think that its going to make the biggest difference- knowing what to expect. That is the part that scared me the most last week.

Now.  It is Monday.

I made a new schedule thing-y. It really helps me organize past my just my average agenda. It helps me figure out when I will actually do things... not just the day they are due. Seems so stinking simple. But I really love it. I love organization. To avoid homework I clean. Yes, Mom. I clean.


I will spend this morning getting some last minute homework done and then head to school around 2:00p. I will be at school until 9pm. Just a little easy paper to write 1-2 pages. The reading was a lot more intense. A whole book and four articles. [side note- this coffee I just made for myself is amazing] Ashley really helped me this week trudge my way though  Ancient Greek Plays. I have a joke that I have cultivated since coming to BGSU- If it didn't happen in America I don't care. I mean its not entirely true- it just means my basis of knowledge is American Theatre. Oh and thanks to Theatre History III- the Ism's of the 20th century. Theatre Nerd.

This week I am planning to start researching to write a proposal for a paper for MATC- the Mid American Theatre Conference. I have next Monday off- so it is going to be entirely devoted to MATC. It was such a wonderful experience this year. I won't get a lot of CV opportunities, but I really would like to at least try.

Yesterday in church the [amazing] pastor suggested that so often we keep asking and keep asking... and think God isn't answering. And yet, our faith can be demonstrated by praising him for what is yet to come. So. Thats really me, thats really where I am right now, that will be my attitude for this week. Thankful for what is to come because I really feel that God has placed me here in BG.



I'll keep reminding myself that God has it figured out- even if I am totally clueless. Hopefully I won't have the same breakdown as I did last week.  My poor parents and Chaser- a crying girl on video chat. I'm not homesick- I am MomDadChasesick. Just wish I had my awesome support system around. Like to give me hugs or sit next to me on the couch or at a coffee shop.  So if you're the praying type- say some prayers that I will keep a positive attitude this week- and if you aren't the praying type... well.... pray anyway. :-)

Chase comes to visit [for his BIRTHDAY] in 16 days! Hurray!

Now don't get me Wrong...

...as you saw two posts ago I am very glad to be here in Bowling Green. I really like the town and the school. But whew the school part is difficult!

I never thought graduate school would be easy. I say that first. I never thought that It would be a breeze, I never thought I would be a professional at this, and I never thought that I would just swoop in and impress everyone.

AND (not but...)

This is intense. C.W. always said I wouldn't have time to hate the cold weather because I would be so busy. That it wouldn't matter that there is "nothing to do" in BG because I would be living with my nose in a book. I kinda thought she was teasing.... Nope. I have been at school since 9:00 this morning and got home right at 6 pm. Thats like a real job or something.

So much of what we do is reading. Lots and Lots of reading. I am discovering some habits I have that I need to correct to be successful...

1. I am an excessive note taker. I over underline and excessively highlight. That kinda defeats the purpose and not to mention... TAKES FOREVER. I have developed a new method...  I'll update you in a week or two to see if it works.
   
2. I have to print everything. I cannnnnnnot read a digital article. Cannot do it. For the Life of me. Or the life of the trees. I am guessing that I will go through 4 reams of paper and maybe 23 black ink cartridges- give or take five.
   
3. My original habit of going to bed at ten pm that I developed this summer... uh yeah. Not going to work in graduate school. Not going to work at all. At that time of night either
1. My TV shows are on
2. I have about 14 more articles to read
3. I have consumed too much coffee to be able to even remotely think about sleeping.
   
4. I have no shoes that are practical for not living in warm weather. Maybe none is an exaggeration-- maybe I have one or two... I really want these...Aren't they cute?
   
5. I thought that I worked best while listening to music. WRONG. I have to not listen to music and actually focus on what I am reading. Which also means I cannot watch Bridezilla while working. This might be the worst part about graduate school...

Well I survived the first week- I have all day off tomorrow. I am going to read and do dishes... my dishwasher isn't currently working. And then read some more. And write a paper. Haha. But I really like my fellow MA's and lots of the PhD students are amazingly awesome. And the faculty has been super gracious and it is cool how successful they are in their respective areas of expertise.

Oh and Chase comes to visit in 20 days! Wonderful! He's a great one!

Things that make Bowling Green great!

1. My Shoe Rack- its so nice to have them all so organized and easily accessible! 
2. How fluffy my new couch is, even if it isn't red.
3. My new Agenda- it has lots of space and lines and its sooo perfect.
4. The fact that when I plugged my cable in to the wall I get over 70 channels including BRAVO...Surprise!
5. That the green and yellow actually work in my kitchen. 
6. I can see my church from my house- and the pastor is wonderful.
7. I can walk to Grounds For Thought and it makes me happy to be there.
8. There is an awesome sandwich place called Call of the Canyonwith in walking distance from my house- there is this one that has coleslaw... whew!
9. My internet connection is really fast.
10. They have a Kroger with a really ritzy cheese selection.
11. Ohio isn't hot like North Carolina.
12. I can walk to school, its just a little bit further than UNCG's walk- when I cut through two church parking lots that is!
13. I could pay someone 75 cents a pound to do my laundry if I just get too lazy.
14. By transferring my prescriptions to Rite-Aid, I'll get a 50 dollar gift card!
15. Ashley. She's pretty great.
16. How close my apartment is to all of the illustrious night life.
17. The wild number of books I have had to (loved) buying over the last few days!
18. The Black Swamp Art Festival that is happening next month just a block from my house and how Erin, Ashley, and I remade the poster.
19. The labels I made for my binders-thanks the S. D. G. for teaching me about how to download super duper cool fonts!
20. My office- its very quiet and has air conditioning (the other grads tell me that this is a big deal).
21. The other grads in general are really wonderful, helpful, entertaining, and supportive!
22. The professors are really supportive of my research ideas.
23. The library has a really big collection of Mormon books (for my thesis).
24. I AM going to graduate in one year. Even if It kills all of my brain cells.
25. When my sink was being weird they came that very day and fixed it.

that is just 25. there are more.

Don't worry I'm not going to make a list of things I don't like.

Because frankly that does no good and is a total downer. 

And no one likes an emo theatre kid blog.

or  Bowling Green. 

Orientation Day One!

I finalllly have a class schedule. And it is going to wear me out!

See Below.

And then I have to do 20 hours of Box office work a week!

But I so badly cannot wait to get started. I am going to get textbooks over the next couple of days and just finish getting settled. As I hope you saw in the photos- my apartment is pretty much all set. Nothing super major left to organize. So as I sit here watching Real Housewives of NJ and eating oatmeal. I'm exhausted. We had to go to these seminars today- the two I was assigned to were 

• Research Methodolgy- the proper ways to go about TESTING ON HUMANS AND ANIMALS
• uhhh how does that apply to me?
• How to be a Research Assistant
• I'm not a research assistant. I'm an admin assistant because I work in the Box Office. Yeah.

So that was that. It was really fun to meet lots of people and see the campus. The weather here is super great super duper great. But there is still snow to come...

Tomorrow is more workshops and stuff like that. I am going to go to Bible Study at church. And then I might have lunch with a lady from church that I just thought was super cool on Wednesday. This church isn't full of lots of young people- but I like that there is some wisdom with in the congregation. And shoot- the pastor came up and introduced himself to me-- that DOES NOT happen in most churches!

So I am still happy. I cannot wait for Chaser and Logan and Erin to get here on Friday... hope the NATIONAL TRACTOR PULL that will be going on simultaneously! Wish us luck.