So I visited Chicago a few weeks ago. It was a really fun time. I especially enjoyed how the subway goes pretty much everywhere. Downtown kinda smells like poop, though. That wasn't very cool. I might consider going to Northwestern or UChicago for grad school as well, but my heart is still set on the west coast somewheres.
Someday I'm going to post a blog that has nothing to do with where I want to go to grad school, because I'm sure you're tired of hearing about it and I renewed my account because I missed blogging things. Maybe I'll start that now.
This semester is starting off way too slow. It's been two weeks without any real assignments. I'm afraid they're all going to hit me at once with a massive tidal wave of homework.
I've been doing really well about watching what I eat lately. I'd like to get down to 185lbs, which is about what I weighed when I graduated high school. It's not that I'm really obese, but when I gain weight, it goes straight to my gut. I started feeling like a pregnant woman when I got to 225lbs, which was when I decided to start doing something about it. I'm down to about 200lbs now. A few days ago I realized that none of my jeans still fit me because I've lost so much weight, so now I need to buy new ones. That's kind of exciting for me.
It's also weird (to me) that I don't wear pants in the summer. I remember when I lived in Seattle I thought that shorts were for dorks, but it's just not possible to wear pants in the summer here without having severe swamp crotch. Damn this humidity.
I have other things to talk about, but I will save them for another time. Gotta get ready for school.
Someday I'm going to post a blog that has nothing to do with where I want to go to grad school, because I'm sure you're tired of hearing about it and I renewed my account because I missed blogging things. Maybe I'll start that now.
This semester is starting off way too slow. It's been two weeks without any real assignments. I'm afraid they're all going to hit me at once with a massive tidal wave of homework.
I've been doing really well about watching what I eat lately. I'd like to get down to 185lbs, which is about what I weighed when I graduated high school. It's not that I'm really obese, but when I gain weight, it goes straight to my gut. I started feeling like a pregnant woman when I got to 225lbs, which was when I decided to start doing something about it. I'm down to about 200lbs now. A few days ago I realized that none of my jeans still fit me because I've lost so much weight, so now I need to buy new ones. That's kind of exciting for me.
It's also weird (to me) that I don't wear pants in the summer. I remember when I lived in Seattle I thought that shorts were for dorks, but it's just not possible to wear pants in the summer here without having severe swamp crotch. Damn this humidity.
I have other things to talk about, but I will save them for another time. Gotta get ready for school.
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1. The housing probably has gone up some. I think every year we were there, the rent went up some incremental amount - maybe one year it didn't? But they do take good care of the housing. While we were there they redid the brick outside, put in new windows, added new carpet in public areas, painted public areas, put in a new entryway/mailroom, updated the freight elevator, added a really gorgeous awning out front, and were in the process of fixing up the kitchens as people moved out. Plus, maintenance was pretty topnotch: they were fast and thorough. Also: all utilities were included in our rent (outside phone/internet/cable).
2. The Metra is the commuter rail - so it's like the train you would take in from the suburbs. It's around two bucks a ride. The advantage is that it's reliable (you know right when it's coming, b/c it is pretty well schedule), it's clean, and the seats are comfy. The disadvantage is that it runs about once an hour during non-rush hour times. BUT, if you plan well, it's a GREAT way to get downtown from Hyde Park. There are a few places were it links with the El, but you're right - they are basically separate systems. I would note that the Green Line stop you mention is kinda far from Hyde Park proper, and things that way do get a bit dicey. It's do-able, but you need to be more careful, especially at night. The #6 bus will be your friend if you end up there.
3. "Professional development" is a pretty awful phrase right? I will say, it's one you should inquire about *anyplace* you consider for grad school. If there's one thing I could do over, it would be having a better sense of what professional development is - and pursuing it more vigorously. Professional development, for me anyway, includes things like the availability of funds for grad students to travel regularly to conferences. Professional development also includes faculty taking the time out to really talk to you about your dissertation project in terms of both its academic and its *marketable* qualities (re: Is the thing you're doing something people are being hired to teach/research?). Professional development includes faculty co-authoring with students. It also includes faculty pushing students to take their papers to conferences, and showing them how to turn early dissertation chapters into stand-alone articles. Professional development also includes a chance to teach, and maybe some guidance in how to be a good teacher (Teaching is important even if you want to do the research university thing - there are just so few jobs at that level. But, there are good jobs at selective liberal arts schools and regional state schools - where there is more of a teaching/research balance. Having a class in the can, and a few good teaching evaluations can be key to getting on at these lower tier places.). Professional development might also include faculty presenting papers with you at conferences, or coming to see you present your work, or even introducing you around to their friends at conferences. Basically, professional development is the next step beyond learning how to do research - it's about learning how to *market* the research you've done into a set of accomplishments and skills that are actually rewarded in the field. Workshops will be a part of that - you'll learn how to craft and present work. But there's more to it than that. It's a bit amorphous. But things I would try to nail down about schools you are interested in is co-authoring and placement rate. Those are probably the biggies.
Thanks for the good wishes! I'm not really sure where I'd like to end up. I'm at a teaching school right now (how that happened is *another* story - I'm always glad to tell it, but I don't want to bore you unnecessarily). I'd like to move someplace like a selective liberal arts school, or even a regional state school. Maybe a lower ranked research school? Mostly, I want to be someplace I can write more. I don't mind teaching. I have a good time, I think I even have some potential at it. But I do a lot of it here. Plus, my wife can't find work here. So someplace a bit more urban, or near an urban place. Dream places right now include Lewis & Clark in Portland, Oregon, Wisconsin-Madison, and Maryland-College Park. But we shall see.