Here I am!

So here I am at the end of April and I have not been updating this blog on a regular basis at all!  :<

I know that writing here is a positive step in writing my dissertation.  Just writing a few words a day helps me get into that all-important writing "groove."

So what is going on in my life at this very moment?!  Last week, I participated in the first virtual seminar for the Dartmouth Seminar that I will be attending in NH from July 30-August 10.  As usual, I left the experience feeling like a total dork, thinking that my research is nothing compared to the other people involved in the seminar.  I just don't think I am very good at explaining -- on the spot -- what it is that I am trying to do with my dissertation research (and maybe this is because I am a terrible public speaker and I am not 100% sure of what I am trying to do anyway).

Other than the Dartmouth stuff, my head is also focused on the last two weeks of the Spring 2012 semester here at SWIC.  This week, in fact, is the last full week of the semester and I have a "to do" list that is a mile long!

Running wise I am struggling (just did another 5K yesterday) but right now my head needs to be wrapped around dissertation "stuff" -- not running.  I do have a few races coming up but I promised myself that I would limit myself to just a few events and, instead, concentrate on writing.

And with those words, I need to hop off this blog and start doing some work.  I will be back soon!

Do you all remember me?!

How in the world did it get to April 12th already?!?!

So first -- yes, indeed, I am alive.

Second, I am still trying to catch up from all the fun of helping to organize the 4C's Conference in March (4C's - Conference on College Composition and Communication, the professional organization for college writing teachers!). The conference was held just a block or two from our place downtown and I was pretty busy as part of the local committee (but don't get me wrong -- it was a great opportunity to help an organization that has helped me so much!).

Right now, I have about 5-6 weeks until the end of the semester so I am super busy on the teacher front. And, on top of that, I have little jobs to complete for the 2012 Dartmouth Summer Seminar for Composition Research (to be held in Hanover, NH, from July 30-August 10). This seminar will help me -- I think! -- in getting this dissertation done and completed by the end of this year. I am struggling the most with my theoretical framework and methodology and it looks like the seminar will offer a lot of help and direction (from famous folks in the field). The only negative (sort of) is that there are tons of readings and virtual meetings that take place before we even step foot in Dartmouth.

And one more "new" scheduling issue -- physical therapy. I finally had an MRI done on my back and we discovered four issues -- arthritis, bursitis in my left hip, muscle strain, and a bulging disc. Fun, eh? I just started going to PT two times a week and the therapist said that some of this was bound to happen at some point because (according to their tests) I have a weak back and core. So now I get to spend my mornings and evening doing about a million exercises (some of them rather hard) trying to get my lower back and hip back on friendly terms with me.

Sometimes I shy away from this blog because I think I am failing at completing my dissertation and I am just afraid to admit this. But you know what? I need to be more constant here -- writing something in this blog often bleeds over to me writing something dissertation-related.

Except at this moment -- now I have to go teach a few classes! :D