Insomniac's blog

Okay. Here's the final update on Sweet Nita's life. I've decided to quit the blog. Since I rarely post anymore, there is no reason to keep this up. Plus, I'm finally using Facebook through my school and Facebook has some of the same functions.

So, for the curious, this is what has been happening in my on-going saga...

1. Grad School Interview at Michigan State University...

Yep, I had a grad interview at MSU just before Thanksgiving. I met with the graduate director for the program I am applying for and two of the professors who I may be working with if I get accepted into the program there. All the interviews went extremely well. The one prof who I really want to work with interviewed me for an hour and kept saying things like, "When you are my research assistant..." and "When we are working on your master's thesis..." and so forth. She liked my ideas and my methodology too. The other prof was quite nice and seemed to enjoy our discussions too. The grad director asked me about the other schools I'm applying at and when I told her that I wanted to take Dutch language courses at one of the few schools in the country that offers it, she quickly told me that if I did the courses this coming summer that MSU could pay for them. She went on to explain that MSU does not take a grad student unless they have funding available, which is very nice to know. I sent all the profs I met with thank-you emails and the responses I got back were very encouraging. They seemed impressed with my CV (which is like an academic resume) and the fact that I have presented at two local history conferences and one international conference really impressed them. Plus, the research grant I received last summer seemed to increase my chances of getting more funding in grad school. All very nice. But, since applications are reviewed until about March, I won't hear anything back until then. Now I have to wait...sigh.

2. Upcoming graduation at the ole Grand Valley State University...

Yessirree. In a little over a week, after seven years at GVSU, I will get to walk down the aisle and receive my two Bachelor's degrees. I'm excited but also a little down about it. GVSU, for all its problems, has become like a second home to me. I've made a lot of friends there, learned a lot about myself, and even managed to learn a few important lessons in the courses I took (just kidding...my education was quite good and thorough). It is gonna be a bit sad leaving the place. I will, however, come back next semester for my internship. So, I can still keep in contact with a few people while having the privelege of no longer being a student. Graduation still seems a little surreal though.

3. Kids and such...

Well, the kids and Darling Husband are doing well. Princess is progressing fairly well in kindergarten. She's learning all her letters, numbers, some basic math and word recognition, phonics, and the like. Plus, she is making friends like crazy. I think she has managed to get at least ten new phone numbers of friends in the last two months! What can I say...she is sociable like her mama. The Boy is enjoying his sisters being gone in school. He gets to play with their stuff and gets all the attention all to himself. Plus, I kinda like just some one-on-one time with him. Princess and The Boy are only 14 months apart so he got used to sharing the spotlight. I think he likes to spend time with just me and him. Darling Husband is his normal self. He is working hard and hating it the whole time. He finished one college course and is just about to finish his second. I was kinda surprised at him because he really is enjoying school. He may just end up loving it.

4. Me, personally...

I've been okay lately. I have a lot to do to finish up with school and I am constantly rushed lately. But, I try to maintain a sense of humor about things and I have some very, very good friends who don't mind me complaining to them from time to time. I went to a movie last weekend with my FOM and we had a wonderful time. It was a bit awkward at first because it almost felt like a date...I don't know why either. But, we got over that quite quickly and ended up having a great time just hanging out. My other new guy friend is also a lot of fun to hang out with. We spend a lot of time just discussing a wide variety of issues, especially relating to history since we are both history majors at GVSU. Anyhow, I am tired lately but content. Life is good to me and I have what I truly need...good friends, a comfortable family, a career that I love, enough food, a warm house (which is good in Michigan in November!), and most of all, I have myself. I don't care if it sounds pompous, but I really do love myself. I enjoy my own company and I know who I am and what I am capable of. That's important.

So, to my random collection of blog-world buddies, thanks for reading and I wish you all well in whatever life offers you.

With affection,

Anita