Data cleaning…

suuuuuuuuuuuuuucks.  It suuuuuuuuucks.

Summer (un)fun

And yet again I am sitting in my office doing work on a weekend day .  And worse, it’s summer and nice out.  Sadly, I don’t foresee next summer being any better as I’ll be restlessly studying for my comps.  Oh the joy. 

 

And why did this blog turn into PhD-bitching? Oh, because it consumes my life.  Makes sense. 

Arduous Research Process

This paragraph from an article on the chronicle.com pretty much sums it up.

 Jeff the economist spends a lot of time manipulating data, telling his computer to look at certain variables, and then at others. You can go down a lot of false trails that way, he says. You can spend all day in front of a screen (or two) and have nothing to say about what you’ve seen. You’re just inching closer, trying to get an idea to take root, trying to find the pearl in an ocean full of clams.

Unhealthiness

Grad school has to be one of the unhealthiest things I’ve done in life, and I can’t get over the irony.  My field is health education and behavioral sciences (i.e. studying how to get people to practice healthy behaviors), yet I consistently fail to practice them myself.  As I’m typing this, there’s a half drunken Coke on my desk, BBQ chips on the table behind me, and my running shoes are neatly tucked away in the back of my closet.  Over the last two years, I’ve gained almost 25 pounds (~11kg) and am the heaviest I’ve ever been (for the first time in my life – to my knowledge – my BMI is in the overweight category, though barely).  And it’s not just me.  My classmates who are ahead of me (i.e. working on their dissertation) say they finally have the time to fit exercise into their schedules, while my trailing classmates (i.e. started the program after me) complain that they no longer have time to exercise, eat healthy, relax, etc.  And that’s only the physical aspect of health.  This weekend, I hit up a few bars with a college friend, which was the first time since February I spent any sort of time with my friends (other than an occasional night with classmates, but I’m not sure that counts because the topic invariably turns to public health, school, academia, or research).  Grad school has been quite an isolating experience socially.  Oddly enough, I can’t remember it being like this when I was getting my master’s degree.  Oh and then there are things like buying a house or apartment (everyone seems to be doing it and I’m sick of paying rent), having kids (I want them but I don’t think it’s doable while I’m still in grad school, yet if I don’t I’ll be “older” – i.e. mid-30s – when I start), and general financial concerns I worry about (funding isn’t that great and I’m gettting married in August). 

 

Still, I would do it againt.

 

 

 

I should be…

preparing my lecture for tonight.  Otherwise I might fail these fine bright minds who, at least partly, rely on me for knowledge.  But instead I’m reading strangers’ blogs. 

Another Weekend

Another weekend spent in my office working on class projects.  I’m gonna start referring to this 10*10 ft space as my work apartment.  I spend more time here than I do at home, and more time with my computer than I do with my fiance.  That’s probably not healthy.