A Week in the Life of a PhD Student
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March 7, 2010 at 12:07 pm
Last weekend Will and I had the opportunity to Skype with David. One part of our conversation transpired like this:
David: So Brittany, are you taking any classes this semester, or are you done with classes?
Brittany: I’m done with classes, but I’m a teaching assistant.
David: How many classes are you a TA for?
Brittany: Only one. Are you wondering what I do with my time?
David: uh yeah.
I have conversations like this all the time. It is strange to tell people that it has taken me over six months to write the 40 page proposal for my dissertation. Or, that it will take me two more years to actually write the dissertation. These conversations can be frustrating because I feel like I work hard and typically “work” 40 hours a week. I reason that if Will is working 40 hours a week and supporting me as I attend school, I owe it to him to do the same.
Don’t misunderstand me–I’m not offended by David’s question. Before I entered my doctoral program, I didn’t know about the daily routine of an academic. I have realized that most people don’t (even my husband will probably be enlightened by this post), so I am taking the opportunity to describe my typical week (last week).
On Monday, around 8:30am, I began my day (as I do everyday) by writing a daily schedule. I have to create my own structure, so I break up the day into one to two hour blocks. After finishing my bag of cereal and diet mountain dew, I start “work” around 9:00am. The first item on the agenda for Monday was to carefully read and offer comments on a paper for which I am a co-author. Next, I spent time reviewing a prospectus draft for a graduate student friend (graduate students do a lot of this for each other). After all this reading, it was time for lunch! After a pita and brownie from the co-op, I worked on revising a paper that I just took to a conference, and later in the afternoon, I continued with the review of my friend’s prospectus. Toward the end of the day (4:45pm), I headed to the gym for a group fitness class. Working out has been crucial to breaking up my days and managing stress during my graduate education.
On Tuesdays and Thursdays, the class for which I am a TA meets. This means that I began my day by finishing up the grading for the students’ first assignment of the semester. I also read the material that is assigned for the students, so I can assist them when they have questions and do a better job with grading. The class meets at 11am, so I usually attend the class and take notes for the same reason. After class, I hold office hours, where the students usually come with questions or complaints. Every other Tuesday, I meet with my dissertation writing group for lunch. This week was not one of those weeks, so I worked on my prospectus paper and then met with a member of my dissertation committee to discuss the latest draft of my prospectus. Again, I end my day with going to the rec center for some Pilates.
Wednesdays are a little different because I tend to stay at home. Because I am the spouse with the flexible schedule, this means Wednesdays typically involve errand running. I began this day writing up the prospectus comments for my friend, ran my series of errands, and cleaned the bathroom. The afternoon included time set aside for working on my prospectus and returning to the conference paper revisions.
Thursdays look a lot like Tuesday in repeat.
On Friday, I started the day by reading over some revisions on another paper for which I am a co-author. I worked on the prospectus for a couple of hours, then met with a student, and finally met with the co-author for the paper just mentioned and submitted it to a journal to undergo the review process (this does not happen in a typical week!). I left campus around 2:00pm on Friday to come home and run and relax. I typically do little on a Friday afternoon. I’m pretty useless. I justify it in that I will usually do a few hours of work over the weekend.
That was incredibly detailed (maybe more that you wanted to know). I keep busy, but I don’t mean to suggest that being a graduate student isn’t awesome in many ways. It is. The flexible schedule rocks. But, it’s still a job.
The Longest Winter
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February 25, 2010 at 12:55 pm
I have been challenged to write a litte ditty that has a positive spin.
Try to write something that is not frowning with dissent, grumbling and grousing per the usual.
Well, that’s not exactly what was said but more or less, that was the point. When you feel somewhat strongly about something, I feel like it is our natural compulsion to go negative. If anything, it helps to drive whatever point you are touting home (or at least, that’s what the politicos do, right?).
As a preface, I have always envisioned living in great northern/midwestern cities like New York, Chicago, and Seattle. I have a very small capacity for thinking forward but I think this is something I have always itched for. Maybe, more or less, I was looking to live in a burgeoning metropolis. Well, heck, with D.C., we did get a mouthful of that experience (we’re looking to fill our plates with some more District nourishment this summer — second helpings).
The first two winters in D.C., in all honesty, were nothing (the years ’07/’08 and ’08/’09). We had the occasional snow, never enough to cancel our daily posts, but enough to satiate any kid coming from Pint-Size, Georgia who had ever only really experienced an inch here and there (skiing trips and Colorado treks aside). Not to mention, a full-scale winter in Georgia means you can’t traipse around outside in your bare feet on New Year’s Day.
In case you didn’t hear, we have had a flake or two fall the past few months. If you haven’t heard, well, you can read our somewhat chronicled impressions in the archives.
I think we are close to getting a warm snap in the coming month (I mean, we are pushing low 40s this week). Not to mention, I even saw a robin the other day — Although, I have been seeing the little red-breasts in our yard since early December. After taking a few steps back, I can now candidly write a little bit of my impressions of what happens when you move a panda back to China.
Most people, including popular and local media outlets have referred to the past snow event as “Snowpocalypse“. I like to think of it as, a blog commenter put it, “Tai Shan’s Last Dump“. Or maybe “Tai Shan’s Revenge”, perhaps.
So, what follows this moderate prologue are some random subtopical winter impressions (the longest winter, or at least the longest feeling of winter I can recall).
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Shoveling
I have never had to shovel snow in my life. Ever. I probably have gone six rounds with the snow and shovel and let me tell you friends, it’s a forthright task. Meaning, even though it would take me around an hour to unearth our car, parking spot, walkway, and porch, I felt a sense of a job well done every time I finished. I keep coming up with the phrase “good, honest work” although that does not really sound applicable (I think it’s because I had this song stuck in my head every time I went out).. Maybe it is, maybe it isn’t. Maybe it was from the effects of slowly becoming one with the couch resulting in the need for movement and activity that rendered the chore euphoric. Whatever the case, shoveling, even with an improper tool (we didn’t have a bona fide snow shovel) wasn’t that bad.
The Listserv
When we were in the butt of Shaw, I was on the Mount Vernon Square, Ward 2, MPD Third District listservs. Now that we’re in Greenbelt (for the time being), it made sense to get on board with theirs. I mean, listservs are a wealth of information and really tighten that community feeling (somewhat). I have never come across such a collection of whining, moaning, self-righteous people. I hardly read the listserv these days but this past blizzard provided for some humorous reading fodder.
Cabin Fever
It’s all fun and games until it becomes a reality. Especially when there is no electricity for a good 12 hours.
Running
While not entirely impossible, I realize a little warmer weather does wonders for my ability to get more oxygen in my lungs. It doesn’t help that I’m trying to train for my longest race to date (The Cherry Blossom 10 Miler). When I have been running, I’m less concerned with the icy ground underfoot and nonexistent sidewalk and more with the wind, heavy air, and the crazies on the road (whose space I’m invading). Good thing I kept that heinous lime green kickball t-shirt.
Driving
Speaking of those crazies on the road … First, let me point out, more or less admit, I am an incensed driver. I even thought about starting a new blog chronicling the chowderheaded cretins I come across … every day. It just seems that the ineptitude on the road gets cranked up a few hundred notches when there’s inclement weather (you also see the way too circumspect operator who is just as dangerous). In a city that doesn’t have too many four-wheel drive vehicles (much less trucks for that matter) and tire chains, I think we are all a little ill-equipped to be on the roads. Take it from a family who stupidly inched their way to the local Papa John’s Superbowl Sunday. Oh wait, that was us.
The biting weather has really taken its toll on our car, not just our mental capacity. Our car is a family relic. It’s 10 years old and recently eclipsed the 100,000 mile mark. It was raised by our aunt, guided in its middle years by brother David, and now, it is us who are steering it through the nursing home halls (okay, it’s not that grizzled). I have had to learn the hard way (namely, towing the car to the wrong service station) that sometimes our car needs a little gas to get it going when you turn it over (it tends to drop fuel). Not to mention, thanks to more than frigid conditions, we suffered the need to replace the front windshield (the second window that has needed to be replaced since our tenure of ownership began). Who can I send the bill to for all of this?
Baseboard Heaters
For housing built as a part of the New Deal, well, they don’t quite get the job done.
A Newly Found Appreciation
I used to razz Brittany for having an obvious disdain for the winter season. Well, I can now say I have a greater esteem for all seasons that don’t rhyme with “mentor”. Spring and its green finery can not get here soon enough. Fall is still my favorite but I think Summer just dug its way out of last place.
New Shoes
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February 14, 2010 at 8:48 pm
It’s difficult to find two words that bring me greater joy than new shoes. It doesn’t even matter what kind of shoes. When I get a new pair, I must wear them ASAP. I love the look and the smell of new shoes. I love the way they make me feel. I love the way they almost always fit (as opposed to clothing). I can hardly stop looking at my new shoes when I wear them for the first time.
This is the tale of two new pair of shoes that couldn’t be more different. Both pair of shoes were birthday presents in a sense. The one pair was a birthday present from Will, and the other was sort of an annual gift to myself.
The Gray Suede Pumps
I laid my eyes on these shoes while browsing the Urban Outfitters website and mentioned that I liked them very much. However, this isn’t a shoe that I would normally buy for myself. Not really practical enough. However, my attentive husband (who has no problem with purchasing shoes for style rather than practicality) was listening to me and ordered them for my birthday present. At least they are a practical color, which hasn’t always been the case (see patent leather banana-yellow heels).
As new shoes go, these are stylish, elegant, and fit into one of my new goals. I’ve been trying to dress more professionally this semester when I attend the class where I serve as a T.A. It’s a respect thing. The pumps should go well with dress pants, skirts, and dresses. The only problem is that I haven’t been able to wear them yet! The piles of snow and days of melting snow equal a recipe for disaster for all-suede-like shoes. I guess I’ll have to wait until things dry out.
The Nike Running Sneakers
The rule of thumb for running shoes is that they only last (stay in good support condition) for 500 miles. Last year Will bought me some “running” shoes, which are really “cross-training” shoes for my birthday. They have served me well this past year, but I think they have given me their 500 miles. We finally made it over to the Potomac River Running store last night to test out their running shoe technology. I wanted a shoe that would give me the support I needed and that would protect me from injury—and we’d heard good things about PR.
So, I stood on this little machine that measured the pressure in my feet, and I ran on the treadmill so the sales guy could look at the particulars of my gait. He told me a bunch of stuff about how I run nearly neutrally and have a slight arch. He could have been telling me a bunch of bull, and I wouldn’t have known it. He brought out a few pairs that fit my foot type, and all were nice selections. I chose the Nike shoes because of the wide toe and the feather-light feel.
Unlike the suede pumps, I debuted the running shoes this afternoon. And, I ran faster than normal. Not sure if that should be attributed to the shoes or because I have just missed running and was raring to go.
***For those who don’t share a passion for shoes, I apologize for going on for quite a while about something a bit silly.
