Lifestyles of the Young and Renting

That’s right, I am now a legitimate contributor to the field of psychology: my poster presentation titled "Marital and Parenting Satisfaction: Comparison Between Community Sample and Families of Children with Special Needs" just got accepted to the biennial conference of the Society for Research in Child Development in Boston. This baby was born out of my own paper cuts and eye strain, so it’s good to know it wasn’t all for naught. If you remember my lament on our previous blog over creating "Table 1" and the ensuing drama when Matt tapped me on the shoulder with a bag of raw chicken when I was trying to finish the formatting, "Table 1" held the data for this very presentation that has now been accepted.

 Luckily, for all the flying I will do over Christmas and hopefully for interviews in January, I should have enough frequent flyer miles to take a layover in Moscow on my way to Boston in March…

-l

Following Tyler’s lead, I’ve changed my mind and will name my first born Chester (male or female).

Viking’s Chester Tayler scores on 95yd run - longest offensive play in Vikings history 

To view video, you’ll need either:

Real Alternative (personally prefer this one)
or
RealPlayer

It is officially out of my hands. Today, I mailed off the last of my internship applications. Statistics say that, with my nine applications, I have only a 64% chance of matching with a site. Such drama.

And yet, I am strangely unemotional about the whole thing. Last year, I had a girlfriend that went through this process and she made quite the event of celebrating each ‘milestone’ as she went along, which had much to do with local happy hours. I, on the other hand, couldn’t quite put my finger on one particular moment that was worthy of a glass of wine…was it the time I figured out which internships to apply to? The moment I finalized my vita? The day I wrote my last essay? Granted, I did feel that getting these beasts in the mail warranted opening a bottle of cabernet (manilla envelopes needing $4 in postage each)…but it was Saturday night dinner with friends, and that probably would have happened anyway.

The next ‘milestone’ will be in mid-December, when hopefully most of those nine sites decide they would like to interview me, and call me to let me know. Now, do I celebrate with every phone call I get? Only if I get called by all of them? I suppose I would certainly need a happy hour if I didn’t called by any, but I already have an interview arranged with a site in Duluth, MN as part of my travels home for Christmas, so at least that won’t happen.

So there’s the calling for interviews. And then there’s the actual interviews, mostly in January. And then I send in my list of top choices on February 7th. On Februrary 23rd, ‘they’ tell me whether anyone I picked, picked me as well. There is a 36% chance that no one will pick me, but unfortunately there are rarely ‘happy hours’ on the weekends. On February 26th, I find out who actually did pick me, and at that point, I will be going to happy hour no matter what.

And from that point, Matt and I will attempt to put our life in order for the next year…are we moving states or moving streets? Do we stay in this apartment for a position starting in July, or move to Portland for one starting in September? And who gets to fly back for their 10-year reunion? If we’re moving to Minnesota, we’ll already be there.

So yes…lots of potential drama, and yet I, a characteristically anxious "need to know" type, is unmoved by the whole deal. Maybe it is the sense that everything will work out fine…and if not fine, at least mediocre. All I really need to do is graduate. But in the next two months, I need to write five large papers, and I just now received my dissertation draft back from my advisor with more revisions than I was expecting…happy hour will just have to wait, there are more pressing matters at hand.

 This whole l’aissez faire thing isn’t too bad…now if only my advisor would see the light…

-l 

I’VE REACHED MY $5000 GOAL!!! Thank you so much to all who have given so generously! If you were planning on making a contribution but have not yet, please still consider making a donation. Every dollar raised will benefit the Society to help fund finding a cure.

http://www.active.com/donate/tntgla/mvogt

Do you think people drive too fast on your street? The City of Pasadena has a new plan. Prove it to them. They’ll give you the radar gun and training. Lazy or genius?

"Residents may submit a request to check out the radar gun to collect traffic speeds and identify the severity as well as the frequency of speeding problems."

More info.

-m 

My football learning curve has been somewhat long and protracted. My knowledge of the game has developed to the point that now, after five years of marriage, I can watch several games a weekend and comprehend the general sentiment of what is going on. Heck, I even cry at the end of nail-biters. This is a big change from where I began, which was often hoping that a natural disaster would occur, wiping out the electricity.

 However, this afternoon, while watching the Longhorns play Oklahoma, I realized that not only is football a bastion of American culture and comraderie, it is also a bellwether for controversial and progressive scientific advancements. As the camera panned the crowd and settled on the Texas cheerleaders, I realized with amazement that the University of Texas has exquisitely perfected human cloning: 15 young women, the same height, same color, same teeth, same eyes, same voice, performing in synchronized perfection. This is wise on Texas’ part; to subtly introduce their advancements to our culture, especially in the form of endearing cheerleaders. You will make us love your product before we shut you down for ethical violations. Who wants to begrudge the world squadrons of genetically-engineered perky perfection?

However, it does make me wonder…what other subversive activities are occuring under the auspices of college football?

-l 

It’s amazing to see where people come from to read our Blog.  Where are you from? Let us know.

Some people have asked how my fundraising is going. Well, I’m happy to report, I’m less that $900 away from my goal of $5000!!

What’s been inspiring is seeing people who I think don’t have much give so generously. Also, seeing people I’ve never met donate out of the blue - I don’t even know how they find my site!

In case you don’t know what I’m talking about, I’m raising money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and to do so, I’m running a marathon. For more info as to why, visit my webiste:

http://www.active.com/donate/tntgla/mvogt 

For more information on Team in Training (the program that’s helping me train), you can visit them here: http://www.teamintraining.org

As we mature, we more realize what we like and don’t like and tastes change.

What was once appealing feels a bit cheesy or constraining. With that in mind, we have re-located here to Blogsome. Welcome.

 -m