iamericka

Highlights of 2010

I'm not a big fan New Year's Eve. The night is full of trumped up expectations of fun and celebration. I always feel like such a loser for not going out or partying it up. I guess it's just not who I am. So, I'll ring in 2011 with Ben's chicken curry and homemade ice cream while watching Gidget on DVD. Yay me!

So, let's get to the highlights of 2010:

1. Added 3 new states to my visited list: California, Oregon, and Washington that's a total of 29

2. Read 51 books: Best = Scott Pilgrim Series; Worst = Bound: A novel

3. Passed my Written Preliminary exam

4. Started teaching (Research I and MSW Field Practicum)

5. Went to four concerts (The Hold Steady in Hayward being the best)

6. Ran in four 5K races: Best time= 38:49 in the Zoo 5k

7. Ran the Water Street Mile in 11:07

8. Twins game at Target Field

9. Tent camped at Itasca State Park (likely never again in a tent)

10. MN Roller Girls!

11. Had a manuscript accepted for publication

12. Presented at two professional conferences

13. Finished all my class work

14. Organized and hosted a national roundtable

15. Discovered thanks to Jodi the awesomeness of Audible

16. Joined a co-op

Resolutions for 2011

1. Run Chisago City 15k in August

2. Read 52 books

3. Finish writing and submit all 4 papers I am working on for publication

4. Paint the kitchen and hallways

5. Work on maintaining presence--to be present in the moment and not lost in my head

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Transition from Vox

I feel better that I can make this a little more like how my vox blog looked. Maybe I'll even start writing more.

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Highlights of an eventful year that was rarely blogged about

Wow! The year is coming to a close I feel like I've accomplished so much, but then I looked at the resolutions I made last year and I only completed 2 of them. I was able to reduce a lot of clutter in the house (mostly by Kelli moving out...kidding) and also I've improved my ability to handle stress. I sucked at improving relationships with Ben, Jaycie, and Maxwell and though I read over 40 books (51 total), I didn't read Infinite Jest, Choke, The Satanic Verses, but I did make a dent in Philip Roth.

2009 Resolutions:

1. Continue to reduce the clutter--by adding bookshelves, donating stuff, and throwing crap away.
2. Improve my relationships with Ben, Jaycie, and Maxwell--by going to breakfast, lunch, dinner, or coffee/cocoa once a month to have some 1:1 time.
3. Improve my ability to handle stress--by using the centering techniques I already know and possibly learning some new ways to center myself when I am overwhelmed.
4. Read 40 books. Specifically, I want to read the following this year: Infinite Jest, Choke, The Satanic Verses, and ~~all the Philip Roth I haven't read yet.~~ the Philip Roth books Jodi recommends.

2009 Highlights (in no particular order):

1. Finished my first year in the PhD program

2. Learned to golf

3. Ran in 4- 5K races with Jaycie and Kari (two with Ben and my cousin Cathy and one with Maxwell)

4. Read 51 books (We Need to Talk About Kevin being the best and Totally Killer being the worst)

5. Taken a liking to Ben's Zen teachings. Learning about this mind-body connection even though it's still quackery to me.

6. Got to see more live music (highlight being the Jonas Brothers upgrade from last row to front row and runner up was Warp Tour with Ben, Jaycie, Maxwell, and the Wolf girls and of course, The Hold Steady which was Maxwell's first live music event).

7. Moved Kelli to South Dakota

8. Our Florida vacation (fun to meet up with Lynn and Epcot is awesome)

9. Wisconsin Dells vacation with the Smith Family (water slides rule)

10. My two awesome research assistantship positions (working on several awesome projects with two great professors).

11. Quit smoking (6 months smoke-free)

12. Watched two of my sisters graduate from St. Kate's. I'm so proud of them.

13. Jaycie and Maxwell's first live professional sporting events (Twins and Vikings)

14. Purchased new car and traded in the ol' sucky Passat

15. Taught Jaycie and Maxwell to do their own laundry

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QotD: The Worst Book Ever

What's the worst book you've ever read?

I'm still angry about it.

Totally Killer: A Novel

Greg Olear

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What I did on my summer vacation

In addition to the previously written about accomplishments this summer, here is a list of the fun things I did on my summer vacation.
•   Read 17 books
•    Trained and ran my first 5K
•   Completed golf lessons
•   Visited WI Dells
•   Bought a new car
•   Made a good dent in the cleaning and organizing of the house
•   Moved Kelli to South Dakota
•    Attended several concerts (Jonas Brothers, The Hold Steady, and Warped Tour)
•    Brought Jaycie and Maxwell to their first Twins and Vikings games

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Back to School--this time with a plan

When I finished school in May, I was going to write a post about the trials and tribulations of the Ph.D program. Obviously, I didn't do that. It’s mostly because I'm a lazy writer, but also because it's really hard to talk about it. So now summer is over and I'm preparing to head back for another academic year. I used this summer to process last year, prepare for this year, and have as much fun as possible while still working enough to supplement our fun.

I left campus in May with two basic goals. First, I needed to figure out a minor as required for my program. Then, I needed to figure out the subject/topic/issue I want to "specialize" in. I’ve struggled with the direction I want to go for sometime and trying to find some linkage between my main two interests of violence prevention and HIV/AIDS. In June, I had a flash of brilliance and decided to focus on HIV transmission through gendered violence. It's a topic that doesn't get much attention here in the US since most of our HIV cases are through men having sex with men, but internationally it's an issue and with a growing immigrant and refugee population it will likely be something we have to deal with here. So, now that I narrowed my interest down, I also was able to choose my minor. I decided on public health. I may get the full MPH but for now I’m just planning on taking the required 14 credits.

Tomorrow I start what is probably my last year of classroom work. I’m taking a total of 13 credits divided between 6 classes—2 of which are online (something I’ve never done)—this semester. In addition to my classes, I’ll be working 20 hours a week as a graduate research assistant. I’m working on a few interesting projects with two of the best professors at the University. I wasn’t sure I’d be as excited to start back this year as I have in the past. Last year was difficult, but I can honestly say that I’m excited for my classes and research projects. I just hope I can remain positive throughout the entire year.

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I haven't posted in so...

I haven't posted in so long that I actually needed Ben to help me. Anyway, in my new quest for athleticism, I've been nursing a few injuries. Instead of sympathy, I only hear "rub some dirt on it" or "you gotta play through the pain." hotrod got the same advice. I couldn't remember where it originated until Ben kindly reminded me tonight.

Master Card - Peyton Manning Commercial

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QotD: Can't Stop Listening to...

Today is Repeat Day, so we want to know: what song do you have currently have on repeat? Bonus points if you share it with us!

16 Girls Like Status

The Hold Steady

I have a problem. In one album form or another, The Hold Steady has not left my car CD players since last July. I had a brief fling with the Slumdog Millionaire soundtrack, but then it was right back to The Hold Steady. I'm not sure how to stop or if I even wat to.

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