Everything is going well. My dissertation study had a brief piece on
the news in Sacramento, so we have had a little boost in our recruiting
success. It was actually really cool--a reporter saw the description on
the web site and decided it was sufficiently interesting for a news
piece. She interviewed my advisor and a mother-daughter dyad that had
been in the study. The mother and daughter also came in and we
simulated part of the experiment on camera. I know that my research is
worthwhile and interesting, but I admit it was nice to have outside
validation. And, of course, I'm not complaining about the publicity!
Another little bit of media coolness... one of my articles is listed as
a resource on the Planned Parenthood website. Go to this
page and search for Schraedley. Neat, huh? Everything is going well
at PARC too. My first conference publication there has been accepted (I
use "My" loosely--I am one author of many). And what is really cool
about it is that Jenea and I are actually co-authors. In other news, I
leave soon to go home for the holidays. I'll be visiting John's family
in Florida and then travelling up to New Jersey. I've been baking up a
storm, which is not so good for my weight loss program, but makes the
house smell really nice. And Rob is coming out to visit in January, so
I'll get a good family fix then too. The next time they see me after
that I may have my PhD. Stop laughing, it could happen! :P I just
realized that I hadn't told you that Lori did indeed have her sweet baby
boy. Paul Patrick Brooks, Jr. was born on October 5, 2000 at 8:58pm.
He was (and is) a whopping big child. 9 lbs, 12 oz at birth. Better
her than me! I can't wait to see them both! Well,
that's all for now. Hope to see some of you soon!
Quick update: It looks like they will let us stay if we pay the new
rent they wanted to charge. It's not on paper yet, but what a relief.
The rent they're asking is still less than what we would have to pay to
get a comparable place elsewhere, so it's the best thing to do, even now
that we know they are slimy snakes. I never thought I'd be so happy to
have my rent raised $700/month! But we don't have to move again. Yay :)
...and then the other shoe fell. Remember that last update when I was
all annoyingly happy? Well, I am in the process of moving in. This
Saturday I was planning to move the last of my stuff. Then last night
we find a note on our door saying that we have to be out in a month.
John was on a month-to-month lease, so technically they can do that, but
he's been there for 10 years. We just never imagined that they would
boot us so suddenly without any warning at all. Well, this is the Bay
Area where landlords can do whatever they damn well please. We called
and it turns out they want to boot us so they can charge more for the
place per month. Illegal, we think. But we are actually willing to pay
the higher price. So what to do now? We're not sure, but stay
tuned.
In other news, Lori is due this week. Yay for a new baby soon!
As many of you know, I will be officially moving in the next couple of
weeks. After spending more and more time with my honey, we're making it
official and I am moving in. I'm definitely ready to have all my
"stuff" around me again, and to feel like I can call one place home.
Being with John feels like home to me. We've gotten great news
recently--John did get the radiology position (YAY YAY YAY!), so he'll
be full-fledged faculty pretty soon, with all the rights and priveleges
thereof (including amazing benefits towards the possible purchase of a
house--something I never thought would be possible in the Bay Area). I
also recently started Weight Watchers. It's going well so far. The
first few days were hellish and I felt constantly panicky--like I was
starving to death. But now I've adjusted, and I've been losing a couple
of pounds per week. I feel really good... who knew? I still crave Jack
in the Crack Ultimate Cheeseburgers, but hopefully that will go away
soon. Things are really, really going well. I'm happy enough to be able
to stand being on a diet, so that's pretty happy. :) My dissertation is
still god-awful slow, but I'm working on it as fast as I can, and I've
cut my Stanford time to half-time, which ironically helps me to use my
time more efficiently. Things are really good. About friggin time,
doncha think? :)
Whew what a summer! I can't believe it's over. From graduation until
mid-July, I planned like a banshee for Bec's wedding. It went off
beautifully! The waterfall ceremony was one of the most lovely weddings
I have seen. Unfortunately poor Bec was quite sick the next morning for
the "big" ceremony, but she managed to pull it together enough to have
another beautiful wedding the next day. Never mind that she was
unzipped during dinner and slightly green throughout :) :) I came back
to crazy work and planning for Burning Man. It was loads of fun, as
usual, but the weather was kind of extreme. 70-90 mph gusts of wind on
a dusty desert is not for everyone. For the first time I was ready to
come home (to a clean bed with no dust). Click here for silly pictures from Burning Man. Eric is bundled
off to college (Rutgers, of course) and is taking to it as well as we
all knew he would. Mom and Dad are still getting used to their empty
nest, but I know they'll love it. They've had kids in that house for a
long long time... John finished his job talk and should be hearing from
Stanford Radiology soon. Our fingers are crossed and the Dom is
chilling! :) All is well!
I graduated today! M.S. in Statistics of all things. A very strange
ceremony for humanities/social sciences me. Anyway, click here for photos from my graduation.
For those of you keeping track, I am not in fact getting my PhD this
week. I am putting it off another year. But I will be participating in
Stanford's graduation ceremony this Sunday. I am, after much hard work,
finally getting my Master's in Statistics. I took my (better be last
ever) final exam on Monday and that's all folks. Now I can focus on my
dissertation and my new job--I go through them fast these days. I start
tomorrow at a new job in the User Interface Research group at Xerox PARC
(Palo Alto Research Center). I will be a peon there, but it is great
experience in applied research on web usability and user interfaces that
I can really put to use in this part of the country. Plus, as you can
imagine, much better money than the VA. John's visit with the family
went well. I think everyone (even Dad) liked him. Our fun state park
visit intended to keep us from just sitting awkwardly in the living room
turned into a silly day of kayaking, canoeing, and fishing in the rain,
but we all had a really good time. Other news... hmmm... anyone who
knows Randy and Barb from my Clearview days, they just had a baby girl
named Julie. Gaby and Jim bought a house. All my old buds are turning
into grown-ups before my very eyes. I, in contrast, will probably avoid
the 10th year high school reunion because of my never-ending kid status.
Most likely to succeed, but still a single student renting an apartment
after all these years... I'll go to the 25th :) Well, that's all for
now. *hugs* to all...
Well, the shower went off without any major hitches. Too many neurotic
women working together, but all that neuroticism turned into excellent
planning. The food was fantastic, the "recipe for marriage" game was
great (I highly recommend it to anyone planning a shower--it was a big
success). I think Bec had a really good time, and she looked stunning,
as Bec always does. Crazy though it seems, I'll be flying home again
for Memorial Day weekend so the boy can meet the fam. It's crazy, but I
know they'll like him and then everyone can rest easier and stop
worrying about it (OK, so I can rest easier and stop worrying about it).
The slipcovers are still not made, but John and I successfully hung
wallpaper. Talk about a mess... but it looks great. Story of my life
right now, messy but great!
OK, OK, so I am no better at updating this than I was at updating my
interests. I accept any and all reprimands :) I have been quite busy
lately. I started a new part-time job at the VA (Dept. of Veteran's
Affairs for the acronym challenged) doing research design
evaluation and statistical consulting for a meta-analysis project of
alcohol treatment outcome research. (whew, a mouthful) I am happily
ensconced in a wonderful relationship. I petitioned to graduate in
Statistics (but the Psych graduation is still a ways off). Currently I
am trying to formulate plans for next year, which is always stressful.
I have a lot of big decisions in my near future! In other news, the
wedding planning is progressing nicely and none of the women in my
family have killed or even maimed any of the others--much better than I
expected. For those of you who know Lori, she is expecting a small
sweetie that I will get to see at Christmastime. Yesterday I made a
skirt, but I am still struggling with slipcovers, which are harder than
I thought they'd be. Hmmmm... what else? Well, that's all I can think
of for now, and I need to run. See some of you at the shower, others at
the wedding, and others hopefully soon! Bye!
Well, Y2K has come and gone and I don't have
a mysterious million dollars in my bank account and I still have to go
to work instead of staying home and eating stockpiled Reese's
peanut-butter cups... Oh well *sigh*... Anyway, I spent the holidays
with my family at a fabulous getaway vacation in sunny, you guessed it,
New Jersey!!! Seriously, it was butt cold there, but lots of fun. My
sis and I found another bridesmaid's dress and I am even more excited
about this one. It's not one I could cut down and wear again, but it is
cool and I could wear it again (more importantly, WOULD wear it again)
if I have some formal event to go to. Un-bloody-likely as a grad
student, but it should fit for a while and is a classic style. My mom
finished her last class for her Associate's degree, so there will be
another graduation this summer!! (Yay Mom!!) I made a great haul for
Christmas, including a sewing machine, so I am rapidly turning into a
domestic, crafty type... Jenea and I did some parallel crafting last
night. She's been making these cool little journalling books and she
showed me how to make rubber stamps. Also, I promised Bec to make all
of her invitations, so I'll be doing lots of "shit-pasting" (Saskia's
word for it) over the next few months. Anyway, lots more crazy news,
but I am going to stop here so I have something to say if I ever
actually talk to any of you people! *Hugs* to everyone... Take care!
December 13, 2000
October 5, 2000
October 4, 2000
September 28, 2000
September 6, 2000
June 11, 2000
June 7, 2000
May 10, 2000
April 6, 2000
January 7, 1900
1999 entries