Both Ends are’a Burnin’….

 Going Mental  No Responses »
Apr 292015
 

burning-the-candle-at-both-endsI am exhausted…that’s truly an understatement. I thought I was doing okay in balancing my life out, but it seems that isn’t the case. It is affecting just about all parts of my life, which is not great, though I think work benefits the most. So, this picture nicely illustrates how I’m doing…balancing it all somehow on a very unstable point…It is best that I find a way to do better before it all falls to pieces….

One problem is that I am keeping myself WAY too busy. I realize this and shall adjust my schedule accordingly.

Another problem is that I do not have a ‘decompression chamber’ in my house where I can hide and re-energize my introverted sensibilities. Therefore, all my tension is building up as my energy drains with no way of getting it back.

So….I am hoping to find a better way and path. I am generally happy, but I know this calm that I pretend to have will not last given my tendencies and I can feel the downward trend coming up. If I fall, I might fall hard this time around, so it is time to be proactive and take care of myself first. This is not all that easy to do, but I need to…I feel detached from myself, my creativity, my core….

This weekend, M is away (:(), but it is a good chance for me to try to rejuvenate and rest. I’m not sure how well that will go given that I have plans throughout the weekend, but I will do my best!! πŸ˜€

In the meantime, I am going to try to be more consistent with writing at least on this blog, if not on my TUA site….. It will all come back in time, but time…yes, time…. πŸ˜›

More to come, eventually,

~T

Settling Down…

 Going Mental  No Responses »
Apr 262015
 

I am working on my routine and life away from being ‘a PhD student’. It’s progressing well overall, though I still have a few loose ends to tie up with withdrawing from the university and putting together what I need to do to get an article (or two) or book chapter out of what I have.

Work is keeping me very busy and this week is going to be a bit stressful as we progress with my first ‘teaching’ gig to fellow faculty members on how to become better teachers! My skills are going to be put to the test and I’m gonna have to ‘put my money where my mouth is’, so-to-speak. (What funny idioms we have in English!)

Still, life is good and I’ve managed to actually tackle things on my to-do list with joy. Yay me!

I also plan to be on here a bit more regularly along with some other possible writing ventures…. πŸ˜€

More to come soon,

~T

 Posted by at 21:12

Fork in the Road

 Going Mental  No Responses »
Apr 192015
 

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So, my second to lastΒ post had me all optimistic about finding a way to make my dissertation happen. Then, spring break came and went.

During spring break, I determined that I would go to a coach and figure out how to get my motivation going to finish the degree. So, this weekend, I went to see Lisa Laws, as she came highly recommended and I wanted to go to someone I didn’t know in the coaching circle.

Within about five minutes into our session, she helped me to determine the reality is that I do not actually want to complete the degree at all and I’ve just been looking for a way to justify not doing it.

Therefore, despite all the very excellent and reasonable reasons to finish the degree, I have determined to step away from the degree as it is for now. I am leaving the door open to the fact that I may someday decide to do the PhD in full down the road, but for now I plan to find a way to publish what I have already researched and done, then move on with my life. Should I find that I do want to have a Dr in front of my name, then I can always go back and either build upon what I have already done or start something else.

What I really needed to make this decision was a way of not looking at the past six years and thousands of dollars as a complete waste. However, what I have already done can be published. It can even be put into a proper book, if that’s what I wanted. Still, in the world of academia, getting published and presenting is just about as important as having a doctorate. Therefore, I believe I can publish a great deal from what I already have without the pressure of it being ‘good enough’ or having to meet someone else’s demands….

So…with that load off my shoulders and away from my brain I am thrilled! It just might be the third best choice I have ever made in my life! πŸ˜€

Of course, some people may think I have made the wrong choice or that I’ll regret it; however, they are not me and I’m quite comfortable with: Β my decision, who I am and where I plan to go with my life. πŸ˜€

Now, I can happily do my blogs, write for my own pleasure and take full joy in the activities that I am doing without the weight in the back of my mind of thinking I should be holed up doing something I do not want or feel the need to do right now! Yay for me!!! πŸ˜€

-T

 Posted by at 21:33  Tagged with:

Spring Break 2015

 General, Going Mental, Meanderings Abroad  No Responses »
Apr 122015
 

My parents have hit the full retirement life and spent the last four months in their ‘winter’ home in Lake Havasu City, Arizona. So, I decided to go for a visit during my spring break this year to see what the fuss is all about.

Well, let me tell you – it was excellent and I definitely see why they chose to live there. There’s tons to do and the weather is fantastic. Besides that, it’s absolutely beautiful with the colors of the mountains, canyons and water all mixed in with desert blends and blue skies. It was a really nice 10-days, even if the 28-hour trip from Abu Dhabi to Dubai to Atlanta to Las Vegas to Lake Havasu was a bit exhausting. πŸ˜›

Here are the pics from the holidays!

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