Transitions to Adulthood: Names

So, I've noticed, when you graduate from college, people begin to treat you differently. The Real World really is, apparently, fundamentally different from everything that has been experienced previously. Adulthood is like this elite club and a Bachelor's is the entry fee.

The result is a lot of mental transitioning. Especially, I'm noticing, with names.

And I don't really know what to do.

People who four months ago would have signed an email "Dr. Doe" are now signing off with "John" or simply "J." Imperious professors around campus now talk to me like we're besties.

And I really don't know what to call them.

So I ask you.

If an "adult" signs an email "John" do I call them that from there on? Or stick to "Dr. Doe?" I don't want to look like a kid calling everyone "Dr./Mr./Ms. Lastname" all the time, but first names seem so personal.

Help?

Shelf Organization

So, since I am embroiled in a comment war here, I will ask all of you your opinion.



Do these look like the shelves of someone who actually reads and appreciates the books they own? Or some superficial dandy who went "Ooh, pretty colors!"?

Maybe I'm biased--or OCD--but I keep all of my books organized by topic and/or author. All the cookbooks are together, the Tolstoy is together, all the spirituality/religious books are together, and all of the Star Wars books are arranged chronologically.

They aren't all spread out because some publisher decided The Hobbit should be green and Fellowship of the Ring should be blue.

How are your shelves organized?

Studying Abroad

I stumbled across an absolutely amazing MA program this morning that has had me daydreaming all day.

The International Institute for Social Studies in The Hague.

The MA program is in International Development and offers a concentration on Children and Youth.

In The Hague.

A couple of the faculty have interests that line up with mine, so I think I'll email them and see what they say, then go from there. It would be an amazing opportunity, though. I could get my MA there then come back over here for a PhD.

See? Lots of daydreaming. Sigh.

(The only downside I can think of is keeping my favorite team in the 2010 World Cup under wraps.)

When in Rome

... shoot off emails to Roman professors trying to set up a meeting and see if a program is worth adding to your list.

This applies when in Atlanta, as well.

The way I figure it, if I'm sitting here in the Conference Center on the Emory campus with a few breaks in my training, I may as well see if I can set something up with the Anth Department, right?

Even if it doesn't help, I don't imagine it could hurt.

Woohoo!

When one door closes, a flight takes off ...

So today is technically my last day of work at TUCI. I say technically because, due to some complications, the paper I've been working on isn't done and I'll still be around until it's finished. But this is the last day I get paid for.

Tomorrow I leave for orientation in Atlanta for my VISTA position. A little nervous about that. I don't expect the work to be exceptionally hard (maybe time-consuming) but the boss seems to be a bit of an absent-minded professor. Turn-around on emails is usually a week or two (if ever) and I think he assumes I know a lot of stuff I don't. I kinda get that drowning feeling when I talk to him.

Yikes.

I'm excited to see Atlanta, though. I haven't been through there in aaages and, while I'll be going to all sorts of meetings, etc., it's going to be the closest thing to a vacation I'll get this summer.

It's also getting closer and closer to grad school deadlines which means I'll be working on those at the same time I'm figuring the new job out.

Right now, I think I'm ready to get settled into the new job and get some stability in my life. This up-in-the-air stuff stresses me out. Considering yoga classes.

hygge

I have just discovered this word/concept and fallen completely, madly in love with it.

First things first. It's a Danish word of Norwegian origin. On both counts I can lay ethnic claim (unlike some of my other favorite words/concepts which tend to be Eastern or Mediterranean).

Second, it has no direct English translation. This makes it all the more endearing.

But what does it meeean?

According to Wikipedia, it is most frequently translated "coziness" or "tranquility." But neither of these does the term justice. So you have to resort to scenes to convey the message.

Imagine a table laden with food and drink surrounded by family and close friends. By twinkling candlelight, they lean in close, laughing together and just enjoying the company. They are completely immersed in the joy of that particular moment without concern for anything else.

That's hygge.

It reminds me of both the general concepts of Zen and the Italian ideal of il dolce far niente, "the sweetness of doing nothing." Except, unlike those two, I have a claim on this.

And I'm kinda excited about it.

Blame the Yankees

As a good Southerner, I've been doing this for quite some time. For just about everything.

However, it was only within the last week that I began to put the pieces of an argument together. A surprisingly good argument. For why the Yankees really are to blame for everything.

I started reading Gone with the Wind the summer after my senior year of high school when I was stuck inside with mono. I got about halfway through before I got better and too busy to ever finish it. It sat on my bookshelf until I picked it back up a week or so ago. I figured starting the summer before college and finishing it the summer after had a nice symmetry to it.

Reading, a line struck me:

"The old days had gone but these people would go their ways as if the old days still existed, charming, leisurely, determined not to rush and scramble for pennies as the Yankees did, determined to part with none of the old ways."

Determined not to rush and scramble for pennies as the Yankees did.

This reminded me of something I knew. Merchants--precursors to today's CEOs and brokers--were once looked down upon. The idea of scrambing for pennies was completely abhorent and shameful. Scarlett was especially horrified that "Frank had the gumption to start a store."

What a completely foreign notion in today's culture of rush-rush-rush, me-me-me, money-money-money at all costs. The same merchants and Scrooges who selfishly think of nothing but money have gone from despised and untrusted to the top of the social pyramid. In fact, they've become the ideal and "corporate citizens" can get away with just about anything.

Imagine, once upon a time, there was a world where people thought there was something more important than the unconstrained pursuit of wealth. Education, culture, and refinement were the ideal. And there was that weird honor thing.

Not to say that world was perfect, of course. There were (obviously) problems. Some of them quite big. You know, like that slavery ordeal.

But, to me, the idea that money wasn't the ultimate goal of existence is one of the most regrettable things to have gone with the wind.

And I'm gonna blame the Yankees for the current state of affairs.

Images of Authority

It should be obvious by now that my self-regulatory abilities at work are next to nothing. Give me a computer and a rolling deadline and I can procrastinate like no one's business.

I read a thing recently (don't remember where) saying there is statistically-supported evidence that hanging a picture of an authority figure over your desk increases your focus and productivity.

So, I started thinking ... whose mug would I want staring down at me, guilting me into working hard?

Honestly, I have no idea. Most of my fictional heros are outlaws (Han Solo, Jack Sparrow) and the real ones are predominantly revolutionary figures (Che, Sultan-Galiev). None of those really make me want to sit down and churn out a paper for The Man.

Jesus, maybe? Or does He still fall into the "revolutionary characters" category?

I really don't know.

Who would you pick?

Gender Roles

Okay, I know this is a topic that may ruffle some feathers, but I want to get a sense of what people think on this topic. And, considering (to my knowledge) my readers are universally female, I want your thoughts and opinions on gender roles.

However, before you give me yours you have to read mine. Mwahaha.

I know I might be in the minority on this, but I like to think there's a difference between people's genitalia and their brains.

My brain decides what bands I like to listen to, what books I want to read, and what activities I would like to participate in. Not the bodypart south of the border. Consequently, the idea that guys should only do certain things while girls should do others--moreover, that each sex was meant to perform certain tasks--is completely foreign to me.

This is probably reinforced by what I've studied in my international studies/anthropology courses and witnessed firsthand in my travels. Ideas of what is masculine or feminine vary widely from place to place and culture to culture. There are no universals.

I like to cook and bake. This is not because I'm "feminine" but because I'm hungry and it provides me with a creative outlet that has a practical end. I enjoy crocheting. Once again, it is creative and ultimately practical, while also being relaxing. The same is true of gardening, art, or writing.

I also enjoyed the time I got to spend building decks with my dad and I can scream at a soccer game on television with the best of 'em.

So, to me, it seems more important that my interests are, you know, interesting than that they are "masculine." I like things that are expressive, creative, and have a practical end.

My brain decides what I do.

It seems to me that the cultural ideas of the ultimate masculine or feminine are wholy impractical and don't exist in the real world. Would you want to be friends with our society's incarnation of the uber-man or superwoman? Yeah, thought not.

Everyone exists in the middle between these two extremes, so it seems ridiculous (to me) to even have these ideas. Let kids do what they want or what they are good at without attaching a list of arbitrary expectations to their behavior.

Now, in the home, I understand that there needs to be a division of labor between the two people. But shouldn't they decide who does what based on their interests/personal goals and needs? My mom stayed home to raise John and me. I'm glad she did. But I know other families where the dad stayed home and everything worked out fine.

What matters most is that things get done and that children are taken care of, not the person performing the tasks. My thoughts, anyway.

Yours?