Survival and Graduation

After an extended hiatus from the blog, I have an important announcement to make. It doesn't feel quite right saying that I graduated (been there, done that, twice), so I'll say this instead: I SURVIVED grad school, and lived to tell the tale!!! Here is proof:

All of my biggest supporters came over to celebrate, and it was an absolutely perfect day. That time immediately following any sort of graduation is so precious, full of hope, excitement, and a sense that the world is your oyster.

My biggest supporter of all is my incredible husband, without whom I would have given up and thrown in the towel a long time ago.

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Three weeks after my "survival celebration", we went home to Montana to celebrate someone else's achievement.

My little brother, Trevor, is now a high school graduate (an honors graduate, at that, woot woot!)

With 2 out of 3 of my brothers.  Cody wasn't able to make it to Trevor's graduation because of work. **This is where we really need my mom and her expert photography skills to Photoshop him in, maybe peaking his head up in the background (because that's something he'd so do anyway).

Being back in Montana was a nice chance for Pat and I to reminisce about the memories of college, and the place where it all began, Montana State University.

So these, my friends, were the wonderful days that came and went. Days of perfect sunshine, cold drinks, and making memories of celebrating big achievements with those that mean the most to us. Pretty great way to start the summer.

I am, in fact, still alive!

Thesis deadline is a week from today, YIKES!!! One week from now, I will be ready to rejoin the land of the living. Anxiously awaiting my re-emergence into the real world. I'll keep you all posted. Thank you all for your patience and support! :)

Stay Tuned

If there are still any loyal readers out there (Mike, I know you read this, you may be the only one these days), please don't abandon me. I am a terrible blogger lately because this little thing called my thesis has completely taken over my life. I still have some pics to post from Labor Day weekend (I know it's been a month, so sue me), as well as from the Sac State-MSU football game this past weekend. I will try to make time to get to it on Sunday, so please be patient with me.

This is what's dominating my thoughts these days...

This is not just any random selection of social work books. No siree. This is what $350 in grad school books looks like. Four books, two of which are used and in fairly crappy condition. And I'm looking at spending another $200 more for books this semester that I will be ordering online. Don't even get me started on the the decrease in class offerings in combination with the increased tuition. Because those two things together equal a poorer quality of education for California college undergraduate and graduate students statewide. Today is one of those days when I'm wondering whether or not grad school was a good life choice. Feel free to attempt to convince me otherwise...

Blogging is my Therapy

Because of my chosen line of work, I'm very well aware of the fact that everyone has to have some form of release. Some people do yoga, some people drink, some people take drives. I write. I don't just write bits and pieces here and there. I vomit words onto paper (believe me, I have notebook upon notebook from my middle school and high school years in a box in the garage to prove it).

You might even say that writing is my therapy. Blogging has actually been my first experience at putting some of these words out there for others to read, analyze, scrutinize, whatever.

The fact I've been too busy even to blog speaks volumes about the current state of my mental well-being. To say that I am all out of sorts is a gross understatement.

Lately I've been feeling as if I'm going to explode because I have so many thoughts, so many words, that need to be released. So consider this blog post as my mini crisis session, to get me through the next week until I can sit down and return to my previous state of conducting weekly (and sometimes bi-weekly) "sessions" with y'all. I promise that I will be back and better than ever, after Tuesday December 15th at approximately 5:55pm (but who's keeping track???).

::6 more days, 6 more days, 6 more days::

A Castle Fit for a King & A Dream Fulfilled

Usually I would try to come up with some witty lead-in. But as I wipe the sleep from my eyes, I realize that I am just.too.tired. Please prepare yourselves for the randomness that is this blog post. Ordinarily, I would have the time to post about all of these things separately, but since my time is not my own anymore, I'm going to jumble them all into one post. Bear with me, folks.

First things first, I thought my parents might appreciate a picture of my first day of grad school.

With the first two weeks of school under my belt, I'm feeling pretty good.

We decided to head south for Labor Day Weekend. I still spent a good chunk of the weekend getting my reading done for school, but we were able to take one day to visit the Hearst Castle in San Simeon. Just to give you a brief history, during their heyday in the early 1900's, the Hearst family owned approximately one fifth of all newspapers in the United States, plus 8 radio stations, movie studios, and a magazine publishing company (which the family still owns and includes such magazines as Good Housekeeping, Town & Country, and Cosmopolitan). William Randolph Hearst inherited over 250,000 acres of land when his mother passed away, and he decided to build a 60,000+ square foot castle into the mountainside. Ever seen the movie Citizen Kane? That movie is said to portray Hearst's eccentric personality. Anyway, when he passed away in 1951, the family donated the property to the state of California. Actually, they still own the property itself, but they allow the state to use the castle as a historical monument. (Only in California can your house turn into a historical monument simply because of the fact that you inherited a large fortune that was built primarily by your predecessors. But I digress.) This place is truly something to see!

Although this looks like a church, this is actually the front entrance of the house.

Here is the view of the ocean from the house. My lens was dirty, so pardon the smudge.

Here is the dining room. Interesting story behind this: Hearst sat in the very center, with new guests sitting next to and across from him. When Hearst would extend invitations for weekend visits, guests were expected to move one chair further away each time they came. When they reached the end of the table, they had overstayed their welcome and were not invited back.

The Roman Bath House. A portion of these tiles (the yellow ones) were actually made of 24-karat gold, and this entire room is covered in tile from the bottom of the pool, to the walls, to the ceiling.

Here we are by the outdoor pool. This was my favorite part! It's hard to capture the beauty of this pool with a camera.

Ok, onto other things. Last night we attended a concert that I have been looking forward to for months! One of my favorite bands since middle school broke up a few years back and then decided to get back together and do a reunion tour. I know most of you who read this are not huge punk fans, so I'll keep it short. We got to see Taking Back Sunday, Weezer, and, ::drumroll please:: Blink-182!!! The concert lived up to all my expectations. Here's a pic of Pat & I on the lawn. (I just realized that Pat is wearing the same shirt in the Hearst Castle pics as he is in the concert picture below. He does own other shirts, I swear. He just happens to really like that one.)

Alright, I think that's it for updates. It's hard to believe that we've crammed so much into the last few weeks.

To quote one of my favorite songs, "I'm alive and well," and life is very good right now. Peace out.

Ho-ly Crap.

Well I can officially say that the duties and responsibilities of my new life as a worker/grad student/intern hit me smack dab in the face this week. Hard. Like a knock-the-wind-out-of-you and then blow-your-socks-off hard.

Each of my classes require at least 3 hours of reading each week. Multiply that by 4 classes, and that's 12 hours of reading!!!!! In fact, in the last 24 hours alone, I have read a whole book, start to finish. (It's called The Working Poor by David K. Shipler, and it's a must-read for every American who desires to more fully understand the way that the economy affects the lowest wage earners in this country.)

Although this feeling of being overwhelmed and anxiety-ridden is sure to stick around for the next two years, I truly feel blessed to be involved in such an esteemed, competitive program.

And now, dear friends and family, I must log off so that I may attend to the 300+ pages of reading that has staged a hostile takeover of my so-called "holiday weekend".

I'm a Big Girl Now

Tuition fees, paid.
Parking permit, bought.
Textbooks, purchased.
School supplies, check.

And in regards to my internship, I officially have my own caseload. Scary.

Holy cow, this is really happening!!!

T minus 2 days until my first class and my official entrance into graduate school.

::Randi grabs paper bag. Breathe in, breathe out. Repeat.::