My Life as a Ph.D. Comic

Hi all! It has been so fun to read your stories and hear what is going on in your lives.

My life has really not changed much at all in the last two years. I am now in my third year at UCR and have completed the requirements for my M.S. degree since I finished my coursework in March. I will be officially ABD when I take my Oral Qualifying Exam sometime this year. These days I am primarily working on a research project for my dissertation. There is nothing glamorous about it though as I spend most of my time troubleshooting and haven’t actually collected meaningful data since last November. During the regular school year and summer session, I’m also a teaching assistant for General Chemistry (the part of grad school I actually like).

I am attending the same two Bible study groups that I have been involved with since I moved to Riverside. One of them is through Intervarsity Christian Fellowship with other UCR grad students. The other one is through the church I attend. Most of the other people in that group are young, married couples and I have become especially good friends with one of the couples, Torrey chums from a few years ahead of us.

I visit my family regularly since I live close by. My sister is a sophomore at Biola (when did we all get so old?), my brother just started his first year as a physics grad student at UCI (poor guy), my dad is still teaching at FCC (he's been there about 30 years), and my mom is now the secretary in the science department at Biola working with Peggy (Susan has become exclusively Dr. Stangl's assistant). Brett and I are still dating and he is in his second year at Pepperdine Law. While we're both busy with school, we still try to see each other a couple times a month at least.

I do not have a lot of adventures to share. I was a bridesmaid in a friend’s wedding and planned her bachelorette party (nothing too crazy, I promise), my family went for two short vacations to San Diego, I have sadly had to attend a few funerals of loved ones, and it seems like everyone I know is either getting married or having babies. My newest extracurricular activity (all sarcasm intended) is that I am in physical therapy for a second round trying to deal with my shoulder injury from archery. The good news is that it seems much more successful this time. The bad news, my shoulder hurts.

The main important thing I do want to share with you all is that this year is a crossroads for me. When I originally applied to UCR, I fully intended to take a terminal Master’s degree and find a teaching job. As I prepare for the Oral Qualifying Exam and take all the necessary steps to continue the Ph.D. route, I am simultaneously reapplying to graduate programs in Education, looking for a job, and wondering what direction to take. While I am unsure right now as to where I will end up, I have no doubt that coming to UCR in the first place was the right path, as difficult as it has been. When you think of me please pray for clarity and that I will come to know where the Lord is leading me, even if where he's leading me is to stay where I am.

I often think of all of you and reflect on our time in Torrey together. While not every day at Biola was a picnic and there were days we got sick of each other, kind of like siblings do, I miss being there and I miss all of you.

Take Care Chums,

Lydia

P.S. I'm reading The Hobbit with Brett in preparation for December! Very excited about the movie!

Life in the Northwest

Ah, Rachael, I am so glad you started a chain of posts again, and so glad that so many of us are jumping back on.  I have missed all of you so much and it is so good to hear from you a little, to have just a bit of a clue what is going on with each of you.

So... what's going on with me?

Well, I'm still working.  I'm not as happy at my job as I was.  Doesn't mean I'm unhappy, though - just that this isn't turning into my dream job.  There's a lot of pressure to work faster and better and harder than I can work... and I routinely feel inadequate... and often I feel bored.  The Real World doesn't give me time to be gloriously impractical and think about tangents... it forces me to think about, well, rather repetitive tasks and problems.

But it has its moments, it really does.  Ask me about gray code sometime.  Okay, you'd better not - happy babbling Melanie probably will continue long after you're sick of the topic.  ;)

Meanwhile, I'm still enjoying English country dance class.  I'm drinking up Once Upon a Time and The Lizzie Bennet Diaries.  :)  Twice a week I visit the homes of two families I became friends with at church and help their kids with math and eat dinner with them and play games and hang out and talk and generally enjoy myself.  I *love* that.  And the gaps fill up unbelievably quickly.  Reading and singing and jogging and writing and hiking and playing games with friends and errands and so much more...

My brother and nephew (not his son) just moved from Portland to Beaverton - from 40 minutes away from my apartment to just about 10 minutes away.  They are between me and my other brother and his wife, who just a couple months back moved from an hour and a half away to fifteen minutes away.  :)  I'm liking this consolidation.  Back in LA, my sister is just about to have a baby... and up here, my brother's wife is just entering her second trimester.  :D

My mom's dementia is getting worse; she has started to forget my siblings' names and is no longer very able to carry on a conversation.  So sometimes I just kind of think about that and start to cry.  :(

My cousin Keith, who I think a couple of you know - he was Torrey class of '04, I believe - just published a book this week, Sola Scriptura.  It's a Socratic dialogue about theology with Dr. Reynolds as a character.  I bought it for my Kindle, read it, and loved it.  It reminded me I've been meaning to investigate Eastern Orthodox theology more thoroughly.  I read another book he recommended, Becoming Orthodox, and immediately felt that I really needed to see about visiting church with one of my friends up here who is in the process of "converting" to Orthodoxy.  I did that yesterday and enjoyed it immensely, though I really need to find a better word than "enjoyed," because that makes it sound like a consumer good, and I have rarely experienced anything less like a consumer good.  Anyway, my thoughts for the next while will probably be rather heavily consumed with Orthodoxy.  Good theology is important and I want to "follow the logos wherever it leads" - and wherever I end up, I think I will come out the better for the exploration.  And yes, I think God wants me to investigate this, too.  Don't worry, I won't do anything hasty.  :)

I'm rather seriously considering heading back into academia and aiming to teach or some such down the line... but I just don't know, and it is the nature of such things that when you make a decision it's a long time before you can act on it.  By rights I should be doing applications now if I want to go to grad school next year.  Oy.

I do feel at home in Oregon now, though I miss you all ferociously and if we were together again I would feel ten times more at home.  And I really want to show you guys off to my friends up here.  In a great many cases, you would really like each other.  So the moral of the story is, you should move to the Portland area! ;)  I've got room in my apartment... 

I'm planning on being in LA for the week of Thanksgiving and Christmas.  It makes me sad how many of you that doesn't mean I will get to see... but Lydia and Rachael and Ellene, I really really want to see you.

It's hard to summarize... life.  But this was my best attempt for the moment.

Love to you all,

Melanie

From the East Side

Thanks Melanie for helping me (Shaya) figure out this site. This is my first official blog post ever. Really, ever. Right now I'm sitting at my desk in my office at the Strong Memorial Hospital's OBGYN Women's Health Practice in Rochester, NY, trying to determine how concerned I should be about the "Frankenstorm," Hurricane Sandy mixed with who knows who else, which is slamming the coast right now and supposed to hit us too. I just got an e-mail from the Hopsital's Public Relations office saying that they never close even in severe weather, so all staff are to report in, even if "the location is inaccessible." So maybe I should buy a jet ski in case the bus system shuts down (oh, life without a car).

Why am I working in a medical office with a Master of Music degree, you may ask? Well, that's a good question. A year ago I wouldn't have imagined just staying in Rochester much less becoming a research coordinator who works primarily with pregnant women. Through a long process and series of events, I felt the Lord leading me to stay here for a while longer. One reason is that it would be the first time in my life I'd be out of school and it's a good time to "detox." Secondly, I've moved all over the country in short intervals of time and am ready to belong somewhere for once in quite a while. Other reasons involve ministries and friends I want to invest more time into, vocal damage I discovered last spring that would make my life hell should I have chosen to do an opera young artists program this year (singing every day for 6+ hours in 5-7 productions and having to deal with other singers nonstop)...no thank you. Actually, opera is not the only path I could take with my degree. It's the most obvious one and it is really fun, but I'm actually not sure now that it's what I really want. Don't get me wrong--I do want to sing still--but I'm open to other directions my singing can take. I enjoy teaching, so I'm hoping to do more of that, and then who knows what else will come up.

As for working in the medical field suddenly, I was unemployed from May until August, spending most of the summer trying not to just sit at home and collecting whatever odd jobs I could find. Midway through that period, I ran into two acquaintances, Bill and Becca, (who are becoming friends of mine) that I actually met because of Dr. Reynolds. They are a married couple who met at Biola and both are Torrey alumni. He's here now getting his PhD in philosophy and ethics and she works at the hospital in research. Dr Reynolds told me about them at graduation, and I found them on facebook shortly after I moved here. We only met up once but became at least FB friends. Then I ran into them while helping a friend move from the same apt building they live in, and we started catching up. Of course my unemployment came up and Becca said there was an opening in her dept that she thought I'd be perfect for and that I should send her my resume. It was a "Clinical Research Coordinator" (fancy title!) position in the OBGYN office, whose job is to recruit women in the practice for various OB or GYN related studies. Anyway, I got an interview and it was the best interview of my life--I'd never felt so comfortable, and oddly I felt I could do this work, even though I have no medical background. Turns out they mostly wanted a people person, which was not a problem for me. So now I'm here, full time with weekends off plus benefits and vacation, and of course saving up like mad for my very imminent loan repayments.

Other than that, I'm now attending a Messianic synagogue (Jews and Gentiles who practice Christianity in a Jewish way...like Sam Rood or Karen Myers), where I teach a Davidic dance class for both adults and kids, work with preschoolers, host and co-organize after-service events, help maintain a community garden, and am going to learn to cantor (gonna learn some Hebrew for that!) :) Outside of that, I'm part of a wonderful Bible study which contains most of who I consider to be my closest friends here. I'm also trying to go swing dancing more often and am hoping to learn knitting eventually. I'm really enjoying life and God has given me some wonderful ministry opportunities at work and elsewhere, plus he's been revealing a lot of things to me lately that he wants to work on in me, which is humbling but so good.

So that's some of what I've been doing lately. It's great to see what's going on in all of your lives. I miss you all and wish I could come out and visit again. Maybe in another year if some of you are still around?

God bless! 

Hello From Canyon Country!

Hi Guys!

First of all, thank you, Sarah for helping me be able to write this post! And thank you, Rachael for starting up the blogs again! As of right now, I finished my post bacc program at Cal State LA. I finished with a 3.8, so I accomplished my goal of raising my science GPA! I am taking the next few months off from school and work to study for my MCAT. I will be taking it April 27th. So please pray that I get a high enough score this time to be competitive for med school. I would need a score in the upper twenties or low 30s to be competitive. 

I also have awesome news, guys! I did a public health internship this summer and the directors of my program selected me to represent our LA site in Washington, D.C. for a conference! It is such a huge honor! I will be going Dec 2-4. Has anyone been to Maryland in the winter? Do you need snowshoes?

Anyway, I just started a young people home group and we each have to talk for 15 min about 3 places, 3 events and 3 people who have played a huge role in my life. I will be talking about Biola as one of the 3 important places and I am going to talk about my Francis group as one of the 3 people!! Sure you are all not one person, but you all influenced me for the better, so I'm gonna talk about it! In the words of Sarah, "Because I can."

I am also the new Children's Church Worship Team Coordinator. I select the songs, schedule people, and come up with the hand motions for the songs. I know is sounds super cheesy, but kids love the hand motions! I feel so free doing worship with the kids. I love to see them get excited about worship and have them jump around and just be happy to be with Jesus. :) Yes, they do get it from me because I jump around and spin on stage. It is so fun guys, you have to try this worship style at some point. You truly feel so free!! I am also one of the worship singers in the main service. I really love that too. :)

Awww I miss you all so much! Especially all of you in other states! :( But hopefully we will all see each other soon! Keep these blogs up, guys, I love reading them and seeing how you're all doing! 

~Ellene

I'm Not Dead (Yet)

Sooo….um, yeah, Rachael is totally right.  It has been way too long since anyone posted, and waaaaaaay too long since I last posted.  Like a year and half.  Oops.  It has been a busy year and a half.  Here are some highlights: I got and raised a kitten who is now quite a lovely, albeit rather annoying at times, cat.  My counseling courses are coming along, but sloooowly.  I got to visit CA a couple of times, went to Idaho to visit Megan (got to see Owl City in concert), went to NY for a cousin’s wedding (got to visit my grandma for the first time since her Alzheimer’s got really bad), and my sister’s in Houston (She had another boy, and is now pregnant with her sixth kiddo).  I said goodbye to a couple of friends and gained some new friends here.  I learned that haircuts are like Russian Roulette, only with your dignity at stake rather than your life.  I discovered that guppies are evil and multiply really fast if you keep them from eating their young.  I locked myself out of the house a time or two (not so much on the fun side).  I learned that I hate APA formatting and that APA citations are useless.  I got asked out by a creepy old guy who mentioned his grandkids in the same conversation (run away!!!).  I had the privilege of providing end of life care to two of my clients.  I finally got a diagnosis for my chronic pain: Fibromyalgia (fortunately it seems to be pretty mild).  I got a car (a pretty, bright red 1999 Pontiac Grand Am GT coupe).  I started mentoring a couple of girls, and am volunteering at a local youthgroup (mayhap there is hope for me to learn how to interact with teens yet).

Because I am the only one in may age group at church, I am the first person they ask when one of the younger generation needs mentoring.  Right now I am mentoring two girls, a fourteen-year-old and a sixteen-year-old.  That is a ton of fun and super challenging.  I am learning things like why you shouldn’t give an already hyper teen or preteen coffee (I swear, it was just like trying to herd a herd of cats).  I am also learning to explain the gospel in simplified terms, and that that is crazy hard given the complexity of the gospel (I am always scared I am falling off one extreme or the other into heresy). 

Well, I know there were other things I wanted to say here, but my brain has completely lost them.  I hope you all are doing well, and I miss you all.  So long for now.

~Sarah 

(also, I lost the game)

Rachael’s Rant of the Week (ok, month… ok, year… ok, it’s not even really a rant)

Hello all. This blog has been sadly neglected for the past year. And while I have been posting on mine, I haven't really been keeping up with all you Torrey Chums. I intend to remedy that. This post is one way in which that shall happen. Incidentally, if you feel like giving me a call to chat I would love to talk. I would call you guys, but my phone which lasted for 7 years went swimming in the ocean a year ago and I lost most everyone's number.

Okay, on with the show.

Tamales: Last year I went to our family’s annual tamale making day. I helped make a ton of tamales and in return I got to take some home. This year I am making my own from scratch (okay, I’m using some canned sauce too, but I am making my own sauce and supplementing with the canned stuff).   It’s just as long a process as I thought it would be, but it feels good to be productive and learning something at the same time. Maybe next year I’ll take orders and make some for friends (for a price, this is a LOT of work). The meat smells so good. I can’t wait to eat them!

Spanish: Speaking of learning. I am learning to speak. Spanish that is. I took 4 years in high school, but it didn't really stick with me. In high school it was really easy for me to use translations.com or some other site like that. I also didn't practice. It's still hard for me to practice today, but I have some people I know who speak it, so I bite the bullet and embarrass myself in front of them as often as I can. I am getting better so I guess it is worth it. It's also so worth it to go to community college just for how cheap it is per unit compared with how much Biola would charge me per unit. I wish I could patronize Biola, but I'm not made of money so I'm doing the best I can.

Jewelry: Every time I go to street fairs, or even nice shops at the mall I see jewelry that looks ugly. Or there’s something that isn't quite right about it. And of course the price is usually ridiculous. My personal aesthetic (not ascetic (a mistake I made in Don Rags once with Miss Howington and Dr. Peters both there to witness my shame)) is much more dainty and refined that what is "in" these days.

So, I decided to start my own business as a hobby. It’s pretty cool. I get supplies cheap online, but they have been of an excellent quality. Then while I’m watching movies with father I pull out my jewelry making stuff and go to town.

I haven't sold much yet, but some of the stuff has been selling so I’m not too discouraged. I did get a commission to make some bridesmaids’ necklaces for a friend’s wedding (pictured above). That was really awesome and she loved them. (p.s. shameless plug time: my site is decayintodust.etsy.com you know you wanna support me or at least tell your friends about me)

Road Trip: This summer I went on a road trip. It was a ton of fun. First stop was my friend Jonna’s in Utah. I did a lot of things there. One of which was that I was in a driving study. They put an EEG cap on my head and I look really funny :D (see above picture).

I also went on something called the "Living Room Hike". It's a two mile hike and when you get to the top the flat rocks have been arranged like chairs and a couch in a living room. And you get to look out at the whole valley of Salt Lake City. It's super awesome at sunset. But beware, it's a major couples' spot. There was a couple there when Jonna and I arrive that were having a DTR. They didn't even have the decency to talk quieter when we were there. Let me tell you, I heard things I never. NEVER. want to hear coming from the mouth of any boyfriend of mine.

Oh yeah. I went swimming (and floating) in the Great Salt Lake (aka Lake Bonneville). The water was salty and stung my eyes. But the gross part were the billions and billions of brine flies. The sand looked black. Until you walked on it and all of the black rose from the ground by an inch and flew out of your way, making a ripple of flies before you. It was cool from a "I'm parting the flies like Moses parted the Red Sea" point of view. But Moses was a lot cooler than me for sure.

On our drive around the lake we saw buffalo. Okay, they're really bison. But they were pretty cool.

Anyways, I'm sure there are other things I can write about, but I can't think of anything at the moment. Oh yeah, I bought a street bike last year and I got my learner's permit this summer. By the end of the year I will have taken the CHP course and will have gotten my full on license. 

Okay, I keep thinking of more things to write, but this is starting to get really disjointed even for me. So I'm going to end the post here. I expect ALL of you to share the awesomeness that has been your lives for the past year.

~Rach