things

• Obviously my blogging has slowed down quite a bit. I miss it. It seems I'm either wrapped up in it all the time, or am just not that interested. I wish there was a balance in there, but I'm afraid there isn't. More use creates more interest, etc. etc.
• My first semester is under way. The class I'm teaching is going well, especially with my nerves of steal, er spaghetti. I have a 35 page paper this semester for a history class. I'm probably going to write on the history of adult attachment theory. Some other people in the class told me I'm like the teacher's favorite or something, because I ACTUALLY have an interest in philosophy and history before Psych came along. Thanks to my father and Will Durant for that interest. :) The prof. is also a self-described "gay ex-con" which of course got a few laughs in the class. He wears sneakers, hiking socks, worn chinos and striped button up shirts. And some sweet glasses. He's been with his partner for 23 years or something. A true threat to my marriage... sorry, I just couldn't resist that one. Please continue...
• Teaching the sunbeams (3-4 year-old kids) with Nat. Kind of a break from the freshmen, but it seems to fill me with equal parts dread and whimsy. Hopefully less dread in the future.
• The reason for said lack of blogging is a deal Nat and I struck last month. I don't use the internets at home for anything fun, and in exchange I get something that I have wanted for a while - a personal trainer (well, 16 sessions for the school year). I get to work on my health and stress relief, and she doesn't have to worry whether I'm writing a paper or writing a blog. So far it has worked great. Which is all the more puzzling why I ran into a shrink online recently who claimed that "compromise" was one of the leading causes of marital problems. Unfortunately he didn't have anything to back that up, other than he swore there was a ton of research on it.
• Trying to get a part-time job with LDS Family Services doing therapy, but there is a hiring freeze at the moment. Hopefully soon it is lifted. Pay your tithing people! ;)
• West. Wing. Love. It. How did I miss this show before? Sam Seaborn is my hero. Total mancrush going on there... which is a miracle really considering I couldn't stand Rob Lowe in Wayne's World.
  

sugar overdose on father's day

Speaker in church said that God didn't use words like awesome or cool. What a bunchofhooey. If I ever get to create a world, on the 7th day I'm totally saying, "dudes, I am stoked for this world!"

The women folk made crepes for lunch. Ice-cream in my last one, which was good, but I dumped too much powdered sugar on top, and risked falling into a sugar coma.

Steak for dinner. Cookies. Potatoes. More cookies. Head hurting.

Cupcakes, with of all things cookie dough in the center. Must. Stop.

Worked the Guitar Hero drums for the first time. Pretended that people were watching me, and were impressed. Thought about my narcicism.

Read some books with LG.

Yes, I watched this show

I'm not a HUGE fan of reality TV, but this dance (of a couple working through a fight before going to bed) was AMAZING. I might use it in a class sometime. The video, that is. Not me dancing.

at home today

• My car is at the shop, so LG and I dropped Mom off at work "teach the kids" as LG calls it.
• Went to Target to pick up the new DMB album, and to the park to play on the toys and the swings. LG also really likes to see "doggies" and say "Hi Doggie! How are you?" about 10 times to each dog. Hopefully he doesn't approach any mean dogs anytime soon...
• He had fruit snacks (previously they were froonacks--he's growing!), which he insists on eating on the couch.
• Spun himself in circles until he fell over. Repeated 8-10 times.
• Went to neighbor's house to play with some other kids. Borrowed a bear.
• Ate PBJs, and hotdogs. Definitely a Y chromosome lunch. Got jam all over ourselves.
• Currently, it's naptime. Songs are coming from the crib. Probably ABBA.

No no no no no no no no!!!!!

He may be my favorite actor, but this is just too funny.

Done for now!

Click on the photos for a much bigger size.

The little family

Department Chair & Advisor

Signing the lease tomorrow...

It will look something like this, anyway.

3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms upstairs, 1/2 bath downstairs. 1 car garage, and laundry closet downstairs.

The Internet is My Coffee

After a few frustrating discussions (read: one-sided arguments) online recently, a friend of mine asked me why I even bother, if they are so frustrating. Why not just drop it? I thought he had a good point. So I started to wonder... why do I get into these things? It's certainly not pleasurable... then another friend said, "Adam, these conversations are your coffee." After a second of thought, I completely agreed. It's not about pleasure, but about stimulation. When I am intrigued, frustrated, excited, or etc. with controversial conversations, I am awake.

Also, being awake is a good thing when one is trying to finish up a degree.

Doctoral Program Application Update

I will be speaking with a prof. at Indiana a week from Tuesday to discuss the option of moving to Indiana and working for a year (maybe 18 months) prior to enrollment in order to gain instate tuition rates. It would save us 30k + interest.

I have also spoken with BYU and Arkansas in the last few weeks, and they still have not received a decision from the applicants (those who are ahead of me) they offered admission to. I will know for sure where I will be by April 15th. Any of the 3 schools are at this point still a possibility. However, Indiana seems the most likely. It could come down to the wire!

Wherever we go, we will most likely be moving in July.

3/30 Update - Arkansas is now out of the running... so it's down to 2.

4/7 Update - There is a "possibility" of an assistant instructor position in the fall at IU. If I got it, it would pay something like 2/3 to all of my tuition, for the first year... keep your fingers crossed!

4/10 Update - I have been offered a teaching assistant position at Indiana. I will find out more on Monday regarding the details. It includes a stipend, but the tuition assistance is yet to be determined. More to come!

4/13 Update - I have been offered admission at BYU. I have also found out the details of the $ at Indiana. They will pay for 20 credits per year, + the teaching job will pay 14,000. BYU's financial package will probably cover tuition, but not much more.

4/14 Update - At Indiana I would probably have 10 credits per year on top of the 20 they pay for, so that would be about 9k. That leaves about 5k per year. They would also give me health insurance (not the whole family though).

I'm really good at wasting money on nothing in particular.

Dang it. Dang it. Dang it.

I decided to drive four hours to fly out of a different airport, thinking it would be cheaper. Then a friend of mine got a ticket for only $50 more from the airport 10 minutes away.

I paid for parking in advance, $40 for 4 days. But apparently I parked in the wrong place, so in addition to the $40 I paid upfront, I had to pay $106 for the four days.

My plane got in later than I thought, and I had to get a hotel room for the night before driving home. That was $126.

In total, when I was expecting to save money, I paid about $250 more and came home 12 hours later. How lame is that?

Oh please oh please oh please don't let this be too much of a marital issue. :)

No More Bible!

This post is a continuation from the thread on Prop. 8, which became a discussion on the Biblical interpretation and Christianity, among other things.

A few questions:

• What kind of role does the Bible play in your life?
• Do you view the Bible to be infallible? If so, do you believe the words or the message to be infallible?
• With so many people (even in the same religion or faith group) disagreeing on interpretation of verses in the Bible, is an objective and "true" interpretation possible? How would you propose it? Where do you get your interpretation from?

Well, here it is folks. Almost.

I'm in at Indiana University, in Bloomington, for Counseling Psychology. The program there is 5 years, but with my MA I could probably do it in 4. I could also do a minor in sexuality via the Kinsey Institute, and even take one elective in Japanese. 

Bloomington seems like a really nice area as well. I'm currently also on the waitlist at Arkansas and BYU. The plan now is to wait and see for the next little while. I have to decide for sure by April 15th, but it may happen sooner. The other 7 programs were all rejections. :)

IndU on a snowy day

What's up with the bad weather following me? Apparently Bloomington, Indiana never gets more than an inch of snow... but the day before I get in it dumps a few feet.... go figure!

UARK on an icy day

2nd interview was today. Actually it was more like a series of 5 conversations, which was pretty low-key. The prof was nice, and from talking to some other students, sounds great to work with. The down side is due to my low GRE writing score, I am not eligible for the 30k stipend, despite having my GPA and GRE scores WAY WAY above the cutoff. Apparently the Dean thinks the writing scores are important, UNLIKE ANY ADVICE I HAD PREVIOUSLY BEEN GIVEN (which basically was, the writing score doesn't matter much). So let that be a lesson to us all: When WallyWorld is involved, you never know what you're gonna get.

Oh yeah, and there is a huge ice storm. Really. It rains ice here. We're getting an inch tonight, and I had to change a flight. In the first photo (the second is the psych/landscape architecture building--really, they combine the two in the same building), the truck is driving in the grooves because he can't control himself otherwise. People here don't know what they're doing with the slippery roads. On the way home people were sliding all over the place. I even nearly slammed into the side of a semi. Hah, maybe I'm not much of a driver either.

Oh yeah, number 2: Hertz wants to charge me $100 to knock a day off my car rental reservation. Wow.

UCSB on a rainy day

Had my first interview today, at UC Santa Barbara. It was 30 minutes with 2 profs asking me fairly predictable questions, which I responded to with alternating witty, and unwitting answers, with a few points where I had no idea what I was saying. Hopefully it came off well. They did like my TMNT-themed personal statement though. 

The prof I want to work with there was avuncular and laid-back. Finances seem a little iffy, but I talked to a current student who had a pretty good set-up. Apartments are pricey, and there are no 3 bedroom apts. in the MUCH cheaper family housing, and in-unit washer/dryers are almost unheard of.

3 more interviews to go on this trip.

Also, spent some time with an old friend (and her husband) whom I had not seen in 5+ years.

5 courses... not

Tonight after day 2 of the training I signed up for a so-called "5-course meal" and book signing. First course: salad and a roll. Second course: a stuffed pepper. Third course: Chocolate Mouse... apparently I missed something because I thought the pepper was the appetizer, and was expecting a steak or something. In fact, the three green beans and two tablespoons of mashed potatoes were a course as well, as was the non-Mormon coffee... and the dinner was $40. Deceived!

arrived in San Diego

After a very nice break in Utah with mine and Nat's families, I came to San Diego today for a 4-day training from Monday to Thursday. It's kinda lonely (the other people who were originally planning to go have all backed out... dang economy!). The hotel I'm at is somewhat north of the city so I don't really have access to anything other than Office Depot, Jack In The Box, and a giant golf course, which I'm sure is nice. On the plus side, it was 50+ degrees today, which is almost hot in comparison with the rest of the winter!

moving personal stuff here

I am moving my personal stuff and life updates (i.e. things that don't apply to a general audience) here. More forthcoming in the near future. :)