...one of these. Seriously. That is all.

July 10th, 2009, was a very important day for me. It was on a Friday afternoon that I made the trip to the University of Redlands for an orientation meeting for the incoming doctoral students in the School of Education.

On July 10th, 2012,  I was in Redlands again, presenting with my classmates at the Summer Institute on Leadership in Educational Justice with the letters Ed.D. after my name. Yes, that's right. Exactly three years to the day.
And there you have it. Bookends on a three-year window. It's amazing, really.

I am around a lot of people who don't think that it's all that amazing, but I know how amazing it is. I finished a doctorate in less than three years. In that three years I've read thousands of pages, written (at least) hundreds of pages, and slept for fewer hours than I am used to. I've fallen in love and have been heartbroken more than once. I've seen families expand through birth and marriage. I've been to many--too many--funerals. I love my best friend--my beloved Milo. And now I have a Barney.

It was a rough week, so instead of celebrating the milestone, I was arguing with my collaborators, suffering from insomnia, and dealing with a car emergency. But, now that I have a chance to breathe, I have to say, yay, me!

I saw this sign on the wall of one of the buildings in the Dr. Sun Yat Sen Classical Chinese Garden in Vancouver. Since the picture's not that great, here's what it says...

The Four-Way Test of the things we think, say or do

1. Is it the TRUTH?

2. Is it FAIR to all concerned?

3. Will it build GOODWILL and better FRIENDSHIPS?

4. Will it be BENEFICIAL to all concerned?

I think this is a great list. I try to ask myself these questions when making a decision, although I don't necessarily do it systematically. Maybe I should try to keep these questions in my head?


I recall a conversation with a colleague last fall when he was having some issues with his students, his colleagues, his classmates, and his teachers. I basically asked him these questions. He was very concerned with answering #1, but he tended to ignore #3 and #4. And the saddest part was that he did not understand why they were important.

I wonder what would happen if more people asked these questions. But since I can't change the world, maybe I should start with myself.

I've been doing a lot of research lately. Yes, again. I'm trying to clean up my dissertation so that it incorporates the concerns that my committee expressed. Dr. Mitchell is really a stickler for making sure things are all in order, which makes for excellence but also creates a lot of work. So I am doing a lot of work. LOL

And July is a busy month for me, research-wise. We are presenting at the Institute for Social Justice conference next week. By "we," I mean me, Rebeccah, and Jean. Now Dr. Mitchell is helping us (a lot!), so he is a part of this, too. We are going to try to turn this paper into our AERA paper. The proposal is due in 3 weeks, so we need to get going pretty quickly.

I've been writing and writing and writing for the last week, and for two days in a row, I met with Dr. Mitchell to discuss my dissertation and the conference paper. I should have known that this would suck up my entire days, but I had faith that it would only suck up a few hours each day. Boy, was I wrong.

It was exhausting. I am so tired...zzz

OK, so now that I have a new goal, I need to find a new way to organize. I've had a pretty good system for the past 3 years, and I've done relatively well. But some things have dropped through the cracks. So I think that I need a new way to organize things so that fewer things get ignored. I'm not quite sure what it's going to be yet. Any suggestions?

I've been wandering around aimlessly for the past month or so. Not that I haven't had anything to do; I've had plenty to do. I have to finish editing my dissertation. I have some papers to write for various things. I have lesson plans to update. I have a house to clean. I have books to read. I have movies and TV shows to watch. I have scrapbooking, genealogy, and numerous hobbies to get back into.

So, it's not that I have nothing to *do*. It's more that I have nothing to *look forward to*. I had a long-term goal for a very long time, and now that I've reached it, I keep thinking, "Now what?"

I've written about this before, so I won't belabor the issue.

And I've also written about some goals that I have, but none of them seemed to be enough. I am looking for something *more*.

So I've decided to concentrate on one goal. It is a long-term goal, has many components, and will not be easy to accomplish. I want to adopt a child.

This is something I've wanted to do ever since I can remember. I have wanted to do this much more than I have wanted to get married or have "my own" (read: natural) children or even get a doctorate. So now I'm going to plan for it.

Now, this is going to take a lot more than just *wanting* to adopt. In fact, several of my other goals will have to be put into place before I can accomplish this.

First, I need to be financially stable. This means that I need to have a good job and reduce a great deal of my debt. This is going to take some time and energy, I know, but it will be great for me in many ways.

Second, I need a better place to live. Either I need to get my house all fixed up or I need to move. I would like to do both, just in case. But at any rate, I need a much better place to live. And I'll be happier once both happen.

Third, I need to be healthier. Since going on the insulin, I have learned how to control my blood sugar. I'm a lot healthier than I was a year ago, and I'm getting the care that I need. But I need to lose weight and still be even more healthy. So that means I need to start exercising. A LOT. And eating better. I know I can do it; I just need a better plan, I think.

So that's it. The Goal. This may take 3 years. Or more. But at least now I have a goal.

It's finals week! This means that in less than a week I will be free for three whole weeks! Yay! I am almost caught up with my grading, so that means I will also be able to go through this week with little grading to do except for the finals exams. I am looking forward to the time off, especially from the commute...and the grading of papers.

The goal is to find a new work situation before the end of the three weeks. I don't know that it can happen, but it would be nice, wouldn't it?

So...prayers requested... :)

Was going to write more, but I realized that what I was going to write about is still too painful.

So...prayers requested for that, too...

So, it's been almost 2 weeks since my graduation. The parties are over. The congratulations have stopped coming. I've stopped grinning like a Cheshire cat. And now...the let-down.

It's not that I'm not still happy about the celebrations and the well-wishes. It's just that...well...now what?

I have the same job (which, by the way, was quite sucky yesterday). I have the same relationships (or lack thereof). My best friend has basically disappeared for the next two months. I just feel...I dunno...lonely and let-down.

I really have nothing to look forward to. Looking forward is what has always carried me through. Without that...*sigh*

So...*sigh*

I just thought of the following things to add to my previous list.

(3.5) English handbells. I want a set of 2-1/2 or 3 octaves, along with tables, foams, cases with wheels. I can take it from there. All of this costs $5000 to $6000. That's all. :)

(5.5) My own bakery and/or bakery business. I think I'd be good at it. I think I'd enjoy it. I think it would be cool. Yeah?



OK, that's all for now. Insert these into the previous list at the appropriate places.

Graduation was 8 days ago, and people continue to ask me "what's next?" As if this is just a means to an end and not something that I want to revel in for a while. Nevertheless, I do have to think about my future, and so I have compiled a list of goals, mostly long-term, for my life...

(1) A new job. I like my job. It is interesting and fun. But the drive is annoying, there is really no chance of doing anything other than what I do, and being a math teacher in an art school means I will never been anyone's mentor. I want to be a mentor to teachers and an advisor to education policy-makers. Is that so much to ask? I think I deserve to have something good happen to me finally.

(2) No more debt. This is going to take a while, I know. I am still trying to dig out from the failed business venture. But if (1) works, then (2) will come slowly.

(3) A clean house. This is a huge project and has been a long time coming. Every time I feel like I'm making a dent in things, it just gets worse. I need to get this house cleaned up and fixed up. (And then I can throw a huge party!)

(4) My own house. OK, this is going to take a long time. Either (1) has to be spectacular, or I have to win the lottery. But I want a house. A really awesome house. :)

(5) Adoption. With a house and a job, I can finally achieve my dream of adoption. Enough said.

(6) Marriage. I know that you are wondering why this is at the end of my list. It just is.

I also have some short-term goals. Publication, Summer Institute, AERA, a book. Another party. Maybe a vacation. An actual date.

So I'm asking for your prayers. Because these are not things that I take lightly. Thanks in advance.

This morning I had to wake up *very* early to go to U of R. I haven't had an early Saturday morning class in almost a year, so it was like old times. It was even more like old times when I had to go to the same classroom that I spent so many Saturday mornings and Thursday nights in. I presented on the paper we wrote for AERA, which was actually pretty fun.

I showed "I'm Just a Bill," so that the class had a good background to what I was going to talk about, and then I gave my presentation. It was my AERA presentation, but I didn't rush through it, because I had the time. I made sure that I was clear on some points, since they are supposed to be learning about policy and may not have been familiar with the topic.

After I spoke, I asked them for questions. They did not have very many. Instead, they got stuck on what our cohort asked about..."How long did your dissertation take to write?" This launched Dr. M into this long explanation of how to pick ones chair and the rest of ones committee. After that, he had to give them some things to discuss in order to get them thinking. It took them a while, but they finally got into the discussion. It was hard for them to discuss at first, but once they brought it out of the theoretical into the practical, they could talk. Rebeccah had come to hear me present, and she was able to answer some questions about community college and higher ed. So that was really helpful.

Overall, it was a good time. Their cohort seems really nice and knowledgeable. One of them even has a newcomer program at his school. We are going to have to interview him or at least get an in for an interview with someone at his school (once we are going to write the book).

It also made me think that I would really enjoy teaching at the university level. And teaching teachers, not necessarily teaching math. When is life finally going to give me a break and make it happen???

OK, it's time to find a job!!!

Ideally, I would like one of these types of jobs...

(1) A job in higher education, as some sort of teacher/researcher/professor in a school/department of education. I love teaching. I love researching. And I love mentoring up and coming teachers. I would love to have a job in which I do all of these.

(2) A job consulting on and learning about education policy. I am loving education policy now, and I'd love to get more into it. I think that I know enough about research and policy to do some advising, but, of course, I can always learn more. So a job in which I could learn and use my expertise would be ideal.

If anyone has any ideas for me, please let me know...

:)

When sister #2 got her doctorate, she had a lovely party and then a week later had a huge wedding. The wedding was the night before my finals week started. (I think I actually failed the test I had the next day, but, because I was among the department favorites and had been doing well up until that point, I still ended the course with an A.)

When sister #1 got her doctorate, my whole family went to Boston for her graduation. Then my parents and she and I took a month-long European vacation. (Not that I'm complaining, or anything. It was a great trip.)

Now I'm getting my doctorate. Sister #1 says she can't come, because (and, yes, I'm paraphrasing here), the last day of 3rd grade is more important than my graduation. Sister #2 can come, but is choosing not to, because "Liza's wedding is going to be more fun" than my graduation.

Just saying. Times have changed...

Sunday morning I awoke bright and early to return to the Convention Centre and learn something new! The walk was easy, because the local newspaper was holding a "Sun Run," and there were no cars for most of my walk. I knew that both Drs. Mitchell and Lalas were presenting at 8:00am, but I actually wanted to attend a session on immigrant education. Go figure. While waiting for my session, I ran into Dr. Lalas and his student April (who, I suppose, is Dr. somebody, too). April didn't know me at all, though I've seen her around. She incorrectly assumed that because I'm working with Dr. Mitchell, I was doing a statistical study. Honestly, one would think that someone who has a degree in Leadership for Educational Justice would be better about not labeling students, but, sadly, maybe she did not learn that central lesson. The session I attended was interesting and informative. It was not as policy-oriented as I would have liked, but I did learn some things and was able to take some notes on a few things.

I had texted Matt earlier to see what he was doing, but he'd had a long night and was sleeping in. After the session, I went down to the exhibits and walked around a bit. It was mostly books and software. I have no need for any of that software right now, and I didn't want to bring any books home in my suitcase. So although it was interesting, I did not really feel sad when Matt finally showed up to the exhibit hall.

We decided to have lunch in the food court. Matt had Subway (yes, again), and I had a taco salad/tostada thingy. I hesitated to have something even pretend Mexican in Canada, but it wasn't bad. Typical food court food. We had lunch and then I went to see Dr. Mitchell's presentation. Matt went to another presentation with Dr. Thorson.

The session was interesting. It was about segregation. Dr. Mitchell's research was interesting and, I think, useful. About the time that he finished presenting, Matt and Dr. Thorson showed up and sat in front of me. Dr. Thorson didn't like the idea that the woman was presenting (that Rodriguez v. San Antonio was a race issue and should have been argued as such), and he said it was "stupid."

After the session, we talked with Dr. Mitchell and his dad, as well as with some of the other people a little. Dr. Mitchell was talking with his parents about dinner, so I was going to leave, but he told me to wait. While I was waiting, I had a chance to talk with Dr. Mitchell's mom. She looked at my nametag and said, "Oh, you're from the University. Are you a student?" Dr. Mitchell stopped in the middle of his conversation with his dad to say, "Oh, she's not just a student." Her eyes grew wide, and she said, "Oh, you're *the one*." I didn't even know how to answer that. I just kind-of laughed. She said, "My husband says you did a great job the other day." I thanked her, and she introduced herself to me as "The *second* Dr. Mitchell. *He's* the first one," she said, pointing to her husband. "I'm the second, and *he's* the third," indicating my advisor. I laughed again.

Dr. Mitchell (the third one) wanted to talk to me about submitting our research for an article. We made an appointment to meet the next morning, and I went off to find another session. I wasn't really into the roundtables, so I checked out the posters and then decided to go back to my hotel. I stopped by Staples and the drugstore and picked up a few supplies on the way back, and then I took a LONG nap. I woke up only to go to McDonalds and pick up dinner. Then I stayed in for the rest of the night, watching TV, hanging out online, and doing some research on education policy journals. It was a good day, but I was tired!

More adventures ahead. Stay tuned...

Just before 5am on Saturday morning, I was awakened to the sound of a bell, something like the sound that the elevator makes when it arrives at your floor. I got up, trying to figure out if my fancy hotel room had a doorbell. Then I wondered if maybe the sound was the fire alarm. I looked out in the hall and didn't see anyone outside. I went back inside to see if the noise would stop, but it didn't. So I opened the door again. This time another person was in the hall. "Are we supposed to go outside?" I asked. "I think so," she said, pointing to the stairwell. I went back into my room and grabbed my purse. Then I went back inside to put pants on. LOL

I joined the crowd making its way down the stairs. Since I was on the 5th floor (of many more), I considered myself (relatively) lucky. Nevertheless, I got dizzy before I made it to the ground floor, more from looking down for far too long and spiraling 'round and 'round than from the length of the walk. We finally made it to the ground floor, where we saw a fire truck and ambulance outside and the rest of the hotel guests. There did not appear to be any fire or any other sort of emergency, so most of us hung out in the lobby or in the lounge/bar area to wait for further instructions. Unfortunately, the hotel staff did a lousy job of telling us what was going on, which was a little annoying. More annoying was the attitude of my fellow guests, especially the American ones, who were very vocal about how things "should be" and what other people "should be" doing. After listening to one particularly opinionated and loud woman for a few minutes, I could stand it no longer and went in search of the restroom.

When I returned to the lobby, people were lined up for the elevator. I stood in line and listened to an amusing story told by the young woman in front of me. As we were riding up in the elevator, a man's voice said, "I hope everyone is done with their presentations." I laughed, partly because it was funny and partly because I WAS DONE!!!

I went back to my room and climbed into bed, but, unfortunately, I was unable to sleep. The whole ordeal had taken less than an hour, but I could not get back to sleep. I played with my computer for a while and watched some bad hotel TV. I finally got up for my day of sightseeing!

After making a sandwich for breakfast and another for lunch, I went downstairs to buy a ticket for the sightseeing trolley. I caught the trolley at the Hyatt hotel, and I was on my way. Sadly, Matt was still working on his presentation, so I had to do my sightseeing alone, but I was determined to go. The trolley made its way through the city, with the driver's running monologue about what we were looking at.

I got out in Stanley Park at the Vancouver Aquarium. The aquarium is quite beautiful and has a nice collection of animals. I especially liked the marine mammals--the beluga whales, otters, sea lions, and seals. I did not care for the frogs, but I did like the jellyfish. The aquarium also has an excellent rainforest section, which was very humid and hot but very beautiful.

I decided to go to walk to the next trolley stop instead of waiting for the trolley just to get off of it almost immediately. I don't know how far I walked. More than 1/2 a mile, I think, but less than a mile, I think. Anyway, I walked to the totem poles, which were pretty cool.


I hung around there for a while and took some pictures. There weren't that many totem poles, compared to the number of them that we saw in Alaska. They were all pretty cool, though.

Then I got back on the trolley and stayed on it for quite a while. I was considering going to Granville Island, which is one of the main attractions of Vancouver, but once I learned that I would have to do a lot of walking just to get to the island from the trolley stop, I decided I wasn't up to another hike. However, I decided that I did not want to miss Chinatown. I walked around for a little while, kind-of looking for somewhere to eat. When I couldn't find somewhere very close by, I decided to go back and check out some of the gardens. First, I went to the public Chinese gardens, and then I spent a bit to go to the Sun Yat Sen Classical Chinese Garden. It is quite beautiful. I was able to take a tour and learn about the garden.

I got a good night's sleep on the VERY comfortable bed and was ready to go in the morning. I woke up and got dressed, making a few last-minute changes to my presentation, nervous about my presentation but as ready as I was going to be. My presentation was at noon, but I was so worried about everything that I made Matt go with me much earlier than that. We walked to the Convention Center, stopping to have breakfast along the way. Matt stayed at a much less fancy hotel than I did. Oh, to be young and male and fearless. LOL

This is the building in which I gave my presentation.

On the way back to my hotel, I was approached for the first time (but not the last) by one of Vancouver's very aggressive homeless people. He tried to sell me some story on how he was a teacher, how he was beaten up by the police, and how he needed to get to the airport and just needed the fare to get there. I told him no, but not after he had talked to me for too long and I had gotten a whiff of his stench. He seemed very angry when I said no.

The airplane was pretty full, but pretty much everyone was quiet and well-behaved. No crying babies or obnoxious children. I slept for part of the time, but the flight was pretty bumpy--a LOT of turbulence. I was glad that the flight only lasted 3 hours.
I arrived in Vancouver, BC, at around 12:30pm, got through customs pretty quickly, retrieved my bag, and took a cab to my hotel, the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver. It is a VERY nice hotel. Everyone here is very polite. I checked into my room and promptly took a nap. zzzzzzzz................

This is Beau, one of the hotel dogs. The other hotel dog is Mavis.

This is the front of my hotel.

You can see the hotel reflected in the glass building next door. Pretty cool, right?

Hey, I was tired...I woke up and asked the concierge for the nearest grocery store. I walked there and bought some groceries, also picking up dinner at Subway. Unfortunately, I did not have the time for a fancy dinner. Instead, I had to spend some time cleaning up my powerpoint and making a few adjustments to the paper itself. I also spent quite a bit of time on the phone with Dr. Mitchell, just making sure that we had everything all worked out.

Oh, by the way, here's a cool thing that you should know. My room had a mini-bar, but it was one of those pressure-sensitive fridges that would charge you automatically if you even moved something in the mini-bar. But I wanted to go to the grocery store and get some supplies so that I wouldn't spend a small fortune in eating out. So I called housekeeping and told them I needed somewhere to store my insulin (which was partially true--I preferred to store it in the fridge, but the type of insulin I take is good for 28 days out of the fridge). Almost immediately, someone from housekeeping arrived with a little mini-fridge for me to use. Yay! I did put my insulin in it, but I also put in my snacks. LOL
The first day of my trip went well, and I got a good night's sleep on the VERY comfortable bed. Find out about Day 2 in the next post...

Celebrate the risen Lord!

Happy Easter!!!