Summatime

This summer is shaping up to be absolutely incredible. I'm sitting here daydreaming about it hard, and I absolutely should be writing more of my results section for my thesis (I have my goal for today, and I won't have any problem hitting it for today). Here's what's on my mind:

-The girl <3
-Going to Galveston, IN this weekend for Ronnie's wedding and reception
-Then coming home for my graduation ceremony and celebratory dinner with the fam + <3 :)
-Ft. Wayne next weekend to see JOSH, possibly go see a band live, meet parents ;), hang out with the girl's fam, go to a baseball game, have some delicious coneys, and other shenanigans
-Michael's bachelor party and then WEDDING in Nashville, TN!
-My brother's 21st bday!
-COTTAGE weekends, as much as possible
-Movies on the lawn at the IMA
-Indians games
-Gearing up to teach organizational communication & speech in the fall
-Planning wonderful things together with her
-Mug N' Bun, Summer runs, tennis, soccer
-and hopefully generating some $$$ here and there!

I absolutely cannot wait. Life is so beautiful right now! :D

Hey Juliet :D

LMNT - Hey Juliet



Hey Juliet
I think you're fine
You really blow my mind
Maybe someday you and me can run away.
I just want you to know,
I wanna be your Romeo.
Hey Juliet
Hey Juliet
H-h-h-hey Juliet

Perspective

Did you ever...

...just get the feeling that you could be a completely different person if you had made a different choice in a given situation? Perhaps chose a different path, chose not to make a decision? It's such a unique sensation, to see versions of yourself. I see them in different people at different points in their respective lives - some from high school, some from undergrad, some from grad; but I see the multiplicity of choice unfolding before me like so many dominoes awaiting their fate. I wonder some days what this multiplicity means; and yet I am completely enthralled with my current path. I would choose no other, nor have I, and that concerns me. If I am completely content on my path, then why haven't the others seemed to fade or degrade to me?

Don't get me wrong, I am EXTREMELY thankful for the road that I've walked on thus far, and I can only hope that road continues to amaze, impress, challenge and inspire me. But it's as if I can't shut off the view of other roads and paths, even the undesirable ones; they pop-up randomly and without notice, but there are distinct in their view of what I could have become. Perhaps they serve as markers, no different than road signs along a winding path, encouraging me to continue on the journey. I must admit, with each view, I don't feel envy, jealousy, or longing; I feel comfort, and gratitude, and release. Maybe TinyBuddha is helping me out after all :D

There's always gonna be another mountain,
I'm always gonna wanna make it move //
Always gonna be an uphill battle
Sometimes I'm gonna have to lose //
Ain't about how fast I get there,
Ain't about what's waitin' on the other side...
It's the climb
-A certain artist ;)

Recentness

I am currently directly in the midst of authoring a rather wonderful thesis if I do say so myself, but unfortunately that happens to be sapping most of my creativity :( In that vein however I thought I would drop a quick update on things that are going on:

-Graduation is in 3 weeks, roughly. In that time frame, goal is to complete the thesis and defend, then worry about binding and publication. But hustlin' hustlin' hustlin' :)



-My cousin is moving out in 3 weeks. So weird to see him go, but pretty pumped for his new life - he's going to love it :D New roommates coming and going all Summer...excited to be living with my brother, and a fraternity brother.

-I'm finally healed from various ailments. I had the broken collarbone, and it'll be 7 weeks on Wednesday. No pain whatsoever, but my sources tell me 8 weeks to complete (relative) heal, then 1 year out it'll be 100% bone formed. It's so nice to be typing and not worrying about where my posture is :) On the dental front, my wisdom tooth extraction was just cleared a few days ago. No infection and a complete heal over with new, healthy gum tissue. I am excited to be back at full strength before beginning running seriously again.

-Haven't even begun to think about relocating to ABQ yet. That time will come soon enough (and potentially a 21+ hour drive out west, rar), but instead I'm focusing on Summer: income, cottage shenanigans, running obsessively, thunder storms, top down wind, no class worries, and just being excited about life in general. Here's to one hell of a future Summer :D

-Recent songs: Shawty Lo feat. Wale & Twista - Pocahontas, Young Jeezy ft. Lil Wayne - Ballin', Adele - Rolling in the Deep, Travie McCoy - Need You (listening to currently), Jacob Latimore - Like 'Em All (feat. Diggy Simmons), Game ft. Lil Wayne - Su Woo, Kelly Rowland ft. Lil Wayne - Motivation, Shakira feat. Kid Cudi - Did it Again, Wynter Gordon - Dirty Talk (+laidback luke mix), LMFAO - Party Rock Anthem, 2AM Club - Nobody's in Love



-I visited Boston, MA and Fitchburg, MA (Fitchburg State University) for a weekend conference on The Coordinated Management of Meaning (CMM) Theory. I went with John and Natasha, and had an absolute blast. We did the Freedom Trail, caught a Sunday afternoon game at Fenway (Sox vs. Jays), saw Quincy/North/South Markets, explored the Prudential Center, and I had an awesome night out with new friends in Fitchburg. Great people, great city, and a great/useful theory. Pics below :)



Sox game @ Fenway!!


Sometimes you want to go, where everybody
knows your name :)


Boston public burial ground, downtown


The Freedom Trail :)


Boston Public Library


North Market

Paper titles through the years

I recently volunteered to be a reviewer for the Communication as Social Construction division of NCA (National Communication Association). I logged-in for the first time yesterday and was presented with a few papers and abstracts with varying tittles. This stuck in my mind, and as I was driving around earlier this week I happened upon a curious thought: what would some of my paper titles (that I now lovingly type and review) have been in my younger years?

PAPER TITLES:
-Bike-riding and masculinity: gendered construction of danger
-Love as we know it: group theory, definition, and implications
-The price of intelligence: social costs and benefits of being the 'smart' kid
-Race and grade schools, or why recess is inevitably grouped accordingly
-No, I don't want to go on family vacation: adolescent development of the self and other
-Hip-hop and rap music in the 1990's: not understanding the lyrics but loving the beat
-I'd rather run - The social meaning of running athletics in post-secondary education
-Half-life or double-life? Computer gaming as an outlet
-The technical community: learning social and practical language
-Boys don't cry (unless they get kicked): youth soccer and parent coaching norms
-Growing up Indiana: cultural sensitivity awareness
-Valentine's day episodes and their cultural rammifications

:D

The University post

I will be attending The University of New Mexico this fall.

Wow, it looks crazy even to write it =) But that doesn't make it any less true. I am excited, nervous, ecstatic, thrilled, honored, privileged, anxious, and many more adjectives that escape my vernacular right now. I formally accepted their offer not too long ago, agreeing to pursue my Ph.D. in Intercultural Communication at their campus, and also accepting an offer to teach two classes per semester. I won't go into the financial details (you can ask me if you'd like ;), but suffice to say it is a full-ride for a number of years and I couldn't be more happy to receive it. I also just completed my housing application to live in the graduate-only area (depends on demand, but I'm hopeful) and my email is completely set-up.
It was a long process to get to this point, filled with a lot of ups and downs; I was outright denied from an institution, I was accepted at another, and a third I am still waiting to hear from, although I have obviously decided to cast my lot with UNM (I applied to 4 in total). I also considered Michigan State University, University of Massachusetts at Amherst, Washington State University, and Pennsylvania State University, but chose not to apply to any of those.

There were many issues to consider, and I definitely had help from faculty here at IUPUI in ultimately choosing UNM. I'm confident that I made the right choice based on fit, experience, and ultimate benefit to me as a scholar and practitioner. Nonetheless, I still get a lot of amusement from the following:

Dear college,

I have received your rejection letter by mistake, and I will be attending your school in the fall, as planned.

Sincerely, suck on that.

I received this courtesy of Dear Blank Please Blank, an absolutely hilarious site that has short letters to and from interesting parties. Check it out if you haven't already :) In all seriousness, I am very pleased with my new University. I am going to a school that has major FOOTBALL!! and basketball, campus traditions, thousands of students, on-campus housing, an excellent health insurance plan, a large department with many opportunities to meet students, a family member who lives in the same city (very excited for that), and much more to offer. It's an entirely new adventure in a different part of the country that I cannot wait to do :)

I end with this, my newfound school mascot: The LOBO (wolf)