Historic Science Hall - where I spend most of my time... 

Abe in front of Bascom Hall, at the crest of Bascom Hill 

The Old Red Gym framed by flowers 

A few shots of the MAD in the springtime... 

Addicted again

As you can all probably deduce, I'm a big fan of my new digital camera. I love it! Got lots of good pictures today.

I've officially decided to pursue the 'worst case scenario' option, as I discussed it with our extremely resourceful Grad administrator, Char Burke, and Dr. Wong, the effervescent professor who's on my committee. She told me that she was in a similar situation when she did her master's due to the expiration date of her Visa, so that she could empathize and sympathize. So I'm glad to know that I'm not the only one who's been stuck like this. But I think this plan will work. I just emailed Dr. Kaiser, and hopefully his reply is favorable. I already feel like a five ton weight is lifted from my shoulders. This doesn't mean it's margaritaville from here on out - I have three term papers, three presentations, student loans to sort out, and oh yeah - I'm moving out of my apartment and to Thailand in less than a month. But it still feels good to know that I'll at least be able to sleep before May 13.

Other than that, I hope to get some work done this weekend - 0ne of those term papers is due next week. Hail progress!

Just a little nervous from The Fall (II)

What's new today? Seems ol' Tom DeLay, demagog extraordinaire, is in big trouble! The Radcons are beginning to falter a bit it seems - the appointment of thuggish Bolton is held up, Shrub's plan for Social Security reform (er, deform) is going over like a turd in a punchbowl, and now thug DeLay is being investigated on ethics charges. Hope it's the start of a new trend...

I'm beginning to rethink my Thetis plans a bit. The 'worst-case scenario' which I spoke of a day or two ago is becomming more appealing. I plan to run it by Char Burke, our highly resourceful and effective grad student administrator, as well as Dr. Madeleiene Wong, one of my committee members, tomorrow. Hopefully I can run it by Dr. Leila Harris, another one of my committee members as well, if I can get a hold of her. There are ways around every little bit of administrative law, and if I can find a way to do this whole process properly and hopefully not have to pay for it, I'll be quite pleased.

In other news, I was supposed to do Beer and Loafing tomorrow, but due to going home this past week and more pressing things (i.e. Ms. Thetis,) I'm not going to, and quite possibly will not be able to present and all. This is a big disappointment, but as Vonnegut would say, so it goes.

God help us all...

hydrant being tested on the corner of Morrison and Rodgers, about 11 pm tonight... 

Me at Camp Randall, shaking my keys during the kickoff follwing a Badger touchdown. Back in the long hair/sideburn days of this past fall. Ahhh... Simpler times... 

Just a little nervous from The Fall...

Due to the recent train wreck in Osaka, Japan, I'm rethinking describing my thesis defense as a 'train wreck.' Seems a bit disrespectful and reductive in such a light. So I'm thinking debacle? Disaster? A Hindenburg? Custer's Last Stand? If anyone has any ideas, feel free to suggest...
Combating feelings of deflation and lethargy at the moment. Gonna go to bed early tonight, and then wake up early tomorrow and hit it hard and hope that energy returns to me.
The first day back wasn't so bad, but I feel rather nervous and inadequate in and around Science Hall these days. I know I shouldn't, as this thing isn't really my fault, but I feel the same way nonetheless...
Had my last real class with R.D. Sack today, that enemy of all things postmodern, as he discussed the concepts of 'nature' and 'wilderness.' I'm gonna miss it, but I know I'll always remember and think of RD Sack whenever I take a big bite of a large burrito.
Gotta hit the rack. Hail progress!

Debauchery at the end of our dock 

India's ill-tempered cat, Rebound. 

This is our house, as viewed from the dock in the back yard. You can see my wonderful roommate, India, grilling in the foreground. 

Aftermath

Back in the M.A.D. after four days of reflection and funeral attending back in Dakota. My brother, my cousins, my cousin's husband, and I bore up the pall at my aunt Arlys' funeral on Monday. It was a sad funeral, coupled with a sense of relief knowing that Arlys is no longer suffering after 20 years of struggling with Multiple Sclerosis.
It was a good thing for me to get out of the MAD for a few days to reflect on what I'm doing and where I'm going, in the wake of last Friday's train wreck of a thesis defense. My advisor will not likely give me a favorable letter of recommendation for PhD work should I turn in what was suggested to me by the committee. However, do I want to do a PhD? Do I want to study all of these pedantic theories that have at best abstract application to what really happens? I realize that my advisor is more of a theory lover than most, but would this all be worth it when all I really want to do is to teach? And even if I don't want to do these things at the moment, it would be nice to still have the option at least. So should my advisor's schedule be an excuse that keeps me from going to a PhD program in the future? I don't like that one bit. I know that they (my commitee) doing their best, but this just seems dangerous...
In better news, I received a digital camera (thanks ma and pa, Dan and Carol!) and some accessories as an early grad gift. This will substatially enhance this blog, as you can see already with the picture of the house.
God help us all...

Train Wreck

T-day has come and it has gone, and the result is not a positive one. In fact, while's it's not a worst-case scenario, it's pretty close to it. Were it not for the tightness of the schedule, I wouldn't have been allowed to defend today, I've been told. I need to basically strip it down and then build it up again. I need to have an outline in to my advisor by Wednesday, and will have to send drafts via email and have a passable thesis in before I leave on 15 May.
While all is not lost and this load of more work is not too big of a deal, I'm guessing that it'd be really tough to get any sort of a favorable recommendation from my advisor for any PhD program now. This creates the larger question of 'what am I going to do with my $80,000 in debt life?' I feel like I'm going down the wrong path, as if I've squandered two years of heavy work. I dunno - perhaps a few days back in ND to reflect on it all will be a good thing...

The Eve of the Slaughter

As I've learned from Dr. Kaiser (who, by the way, said that the thesis is going to need 'major revisions,') that I don't need to have my revisions in by the time he leaves next week. This means that I'm headed back to Dakota for my Aunt Arlys' funeral. Fly out on Saturday to Fargo, back in on Tuesday. I'm happy about this, and I know my family is as well. But it's a bit more stress in an already stressful schedule.
And, of course, tomorrow is T Day. I'm nervous, perhaps more than I should be, but with the comment listed above by Dr. K, it seems that there's good reason for nerves. I do believe that the only things I would be more nervous for would be a trial or some sort of Congressional hearing. I've become increasingly religious, going out to my back yard and standing on the end of our dock and praying.
Tomorrow is the day of days. Two years of often trying work, $70,000 + of student loans, countless sleepless nights and insomnia fits, who knows how many points higher of blood pressure, and it all comes down to this. I gave up a good girlfriend, a decent paying job in an interesting place. Was this all worth it? Tomorrow will hold the answer. God help me...

Arlys - RIP

I've received the sad yet relieving news that my Aunt Arlys passed away this afternoon. I say relieving in that she has been suffering from Multiple Sclerosis for the past 20 years or so and has been on a gradual decline, wheelchair-bound for the past ten years or so, and her condition has been really bad, with recurrant infections and possibly a stroke in the past three months. That suffering is over, which is a blessing.
As the funeral is Monday, there's no problem with the defense of Thetis. However, as my advisor, Dr. Kaiser, is leaving the country next week, it could have implications on my revisions, which he would have to sign off on before I can deposit Thetis and call it a day. We'll see what happens...
In other news, I'm dissappointed that the Catholics chose not only a European Pope when there were so many other good candidates, but a reactionary one. A very reactionary one. But he's pretty old, so likely won't last long.
Hail progress!

Rubicon in the rear view

This morning, despite the best efforts of the malfunctioning printer and an inadequate paper supply, the die was cast, the Rubicon was crossed - the defense draft of Thetis, my thesis, was deposited in the mailboxes of Drs. Kaiser, Wong and Harris, the members of my committee. It feels good to be at this point, but yet I have a hunch the battle isn't over. Stay tuned...

Put up time

Today was a day full of meetings - meetings with my advisor and the various members of my committee, which went fairly well and made me feel easier about the prospect of thesis defense one week from today. However, one thing that was said made me a bit uneasy - Dr. Kaiser, my advisor, said that this thesis should be sufficient to receive the Master's degree, but a bit fuzzy to recommend me for PhD work. Since I hope to go on for PhD work eventually, this concerns me. Of course, he said that if there were more time to do more revisions on it, it would be fine. So I hope that his and my tight schedules don't sink any future plans of mine. I'm sure I'd be able to get in for PhD work somewhere, but it may be tough sans a good recommendation from him. Hmmm... Guess that means this is going to be a weekend full of typing and such. Oh well, what else is new? Time to put up.
RD Sack continued his assault on all things postmodern today when he gave his lecture for the Yi Fu Tuan Series (and Dr. Tuan, the 82 lb. yoda-like father of humanistic geography was there himself). Dr. Sack, a lover of the burritos produced by the cafeteria in the Memorial Union, stated that morality is impossible with a postmodern approach. He's probably right, as if we all viewed everything as being morally relative, then anything could be excused. However, I don't think that anyone (or at least not many people) take PoMo that far. I think that I'm a tempered post-modernist. But I don't want to get into that anymore.
The backyard was lovely tonight. And one month from today, Madison will be a memory. Mono no aware, as the Japanese philosophers would say. I enjoy the beauty of the moment, yet am a bit saddened by it, as I know I won't be in it long. And so it goes. BKK will provide plenty of intrigue I know...

Stercus vs. the proverbial fan

In the grips of yet another insomniacal/typing binge. This week, the stercus has hit the fan - received comments from my thesis advisor on what I've done thus far on that much ballyhoed document, and, as always, it appears that I'll be working on Ms. Thetis until the last possible minute - she's gonna fill the time and then some. I was a bit complacent before, thinking that I had a pretty solid document, when in fact there are some sizeable holes in it. I feel like I've been climbing a mountain for some time now, feeling good about the progress of it and thinking that I'm not too far from the summit. All of the sudden, the clouds clear and there's a lot farther to go than I had anticipated. Meanwhile, I look over my shoulder and the sun's beginning to set (i.e. I defend Thetis in 9 short days!). As Eminem once said, "you better MOVE!"

The Days of April

Ahhhh, the days of April. How grand they have been. Quick summary of the past few days - Wednesday, thanks to my cheerful roommate Keli and my professor and thesis committee member Leila Harris giving me loads of useful suggestions on Thetis (my nickname for my thesis), I feel really good about where that document is. It's pretty well cleaned up and feels just about ready to go.
Put in the dock today in our backyard, with the help of our friendly and enterprising neighbors upstairs. So the backyard is that much nicer now. We also went to see the play called "Cementville," which was really funny, and had a drink at Le Tigre lounge, a bar that is decorated completely in tiger stuff where we overheard a conversation between two middle aged women and learned about California's auto insurance laws. Interesting...
Bought my plane ticket to get me to Chicago for the flight to Bangkok as well. But this is complicated, so read carefully - I saved $30 by flying FAR (Fargo) - ORD (Ohare) - MDD (Madison) rather than flying only FAR - ORD. Same flights and everything. I don't get it. I just don't. But it works well for me, as I have a place to stay in the MAD and can easily take the VanGalder bus down there. Good times are ahead. Hail progress!

Haru has arrived...

Yeah, it's spring in Mad town. Hung out at the terrace today and watched the ice's final stand on Lake Mendota (It's been gone from Lake Monona for a few days now), the high was 77 degrees farenheit or about 24 degrees Celcius, the girls were wearing shorts, and baseball has started - the Twins are 1-1. Bought a couple of books today for my reading pleasure during the 20 hours of flight that is coming far sooner than I realize - Guns, Germs and Steel by Jared Diamond (Geographer that he is...) and some sort of novel about Mexican people crossing the border without documentation (or as the right wing media would say, illegally.) I also saw in the Cap. Times (our Madison newspaper) today that viglante groups are running their own border patrols in Arizona and really causing trouble for the real Border Patrol by setting off all of their motion sensors. Plus, they're all strappin' pistols on their sides to bust any 'terrorists' whom they encounter. Like I say about Arizona, redneck ranchers abound...

Good Food and Good conversation

Yesterday, attended a really good lecture given by William Ruddiman, an expert on Climatology at the U of Virginia. Very interesting talk, showing how human influence on global climate did NOT begin with the Industrial Revolution, which is the going belief in the field of climatology, but rather began with the Agricultural Revolution, as massive deforestation really began then. He went on to say that were it not for human influence on climate change way back then, we'd likely be at the beginning of another ice age at the moment, with glaciers covering northern Siberia, Alaska and Canada and the antarctic ice sheet extending out much further than it does now. He also made it clear that the human influence on the climate since the Industrial Revolution has skyrocketed. His book, called Plows, Plagues, and Petroleum: How Humans Took Control of the Climate comes out in August, and I'm really eager to get my hands on it once it comes out.
Someone asked him if he thought that goofballs like Tom Delay and GW Shrub (our "president",) who claim that Humans don't influence climate, would latch on to his theory, and responded that if they do, they've conceded their entire argument about humans not influencing climate, which would show indeed how feeble their analytical skills are. Which is a good point.
After the show was over, we all went to the Union and drank beer. I sat across from the table from him and had a really nice conversation with him about my academic interests, his work, and the Shenendoah Valley in Virginia, where he lives. Very nice guy - avuncular-like. The best part is that he thought I was a junior faculty, something that I've yet to be mistaken for. That was a nice boost for the ego.
Other than that, India's lab mates came over for a potluck tonight, which had some increadible food and really interesting and friendly people. We had Indian, Thai, African, and Italian food, and I think that I ate waay too much. But it was nice.
Other than that, it's gonna be two weeks of heavy typing ahead. And I'm going to Nick's class to talk about Political Geography on Monday, so that should be fun. Hail Progress!

The East is Red

What to say today - ate pizza with my good friend, K. Max Grinnell, author of the noted book Hyde Park, Illinois. Since it was at Gino's I can now say that I only have four restaurants on State Street that I haven't eaten at yet. One is Subway, but I'm not gonna worry about getting to that one. Another is Potbelly's which is a chain. Himalchuli is the one with the most priority, as it is supposedly one of the best Nepali restaurants in the USA. And the final is the Orpheum, which is supposed to be pretty good as well.
I finished the body of the thesis this morning, which is a pretty important step in things - all I have yet to do is the appendix on methods, and I've a complete first draft! So that feels good. I'm sure it won't feel too good when my advisor and committee rip it apart, but progress is being made. And the defense is only three weeks away.
RD Sack spoke about the how time influences place, and it is agreed that the question of when is a place is just as important as where is a place. And I've begun reading Yi Fu Tuan's book Cosmos and Hearth. Dr. Wong has had some back problems this week, so tuesday's class was cancelled. Hopefully, she'll be better soon.
As the Thesis will likely be demanding less of my time and other things are being settled, am beginning to think more about the move to Asia, the Far Side of the World. Had a really nice chat with Dan Doeppers the other day, who is an emeritus faculty in our department and an expert on the historical geography of the Phillipine islands. He pointed out something that I had never considered before - since I'm working for a Jesuit university, and since the Karen, one of the more prominent refugee groups from Burma in Thailand, are mostly Christian (mostly baptist, but some Catholics,) I may be on to some great contacts for future research already. This is an invigorating find indeed. Progress is on the way!