Wow! I just got back from class, and realized that one month from tonight I’ll be bringing in 2010 in Montreal!!! As you can see from my last few posts, I’ve had some amazing career endeavors come to mind by listening to my heart, and everything is coming together! I’m busting my butt to get my book done, and it’s right on schedule

I’m certainly pleased with how far I’m going in life, one step at a time. I hope to inspire others out there through my book, my career as a social worker/Ph.D./Who knows, since I know that’s where my heart is at. While it’s taken one hell of a long time to get here, the view is so very satisfying and awe-inspiring. After all, I never imagined myself where I am today.

Stay tuned and be strong!

- Jeff Emmerson

Then I know what I must do. It’s just, I’m afraid to do it.

No, I do not know if it’s the best choice. And I do not know if I’ll be making a huge mistake. All I know is that I’m interested and it’s by far the best I’ve seen. Maybe I’ll be rejecting an opportunity of a lifetime. It’s a huge opportunity, for sure, that I’m so happy, thankful and grateful for the recogniton. But who knows, really?

I think I’ve always known where my heart is. And maybe that’s why I don’t wanna choose. It narrows down my options but I still wanna have an open mind.

And now, for the first step…

A few weeks ago the Pew Center released a study on different states’ financial health. Illinois is amongst the 10 worst, its problem being persistent financial mismanagement and borrowing of money rather than having a balanced budget.

Pew Identifies States, Like California, In Fiscal Peril

Pew Center Report on Illinois

NAMI also gives a low rating to Illinois. Granted, Illinois received the national average rating of “D” but that doesn’t bring me much consolation when I moved from a state with a “B” rating.

NAMI Grading the States 2009

When deciding to move to Chicago, I researched things like cost of living, the culture of the city, and the public transportation system. I didn’t think to research things like financial health and availability of state-provided health insurance. After all, I planned on getting a job and thought Medicaid and health insurance would be distributed like it was in the state that I moved from. That as long as I was broke, I could get health insurance. Not so in Illinois.

My husband and I have already talked about moving if we can’t get a job by the time our lease is up and if I didn’t get into any grad schools. However, that could just open us up to the same problem of moving without a job. Plus, I hate the idea of being forced to move purely for health insurance and because a state is fiscally irresponsible.

At the same time though, if neither a job nor grad school comes through, Chicago is going to feel even more like a bad vacation that has gone on for too long. We have the time to explore the city, but not the money or the peace of mind. We’re just living on borrowed time and borrowed money. Literally.

The word “Art” can sum up every possible act in this world when performed with vigour, charm, passion, love and without a trace of compunction in doing that act. The demeanour of the masters of an art is like a Lime stone rock sheltering cavernous abyss of knowledge. They take out a wondrous thought and approach here and there out of their immense love for their subject of study and practice. These people cannot be equaled or paralleled when they get going.

A master has an uncanny ability to visualize and converge on subtle inferences. The ardent attitude towards their part of knowledge in this universe make them very difficult people to accompany. A mere thought of such company makes a less aware person think of himself/herself as a low form of bacterium and a kind of terror strikes in their pit of stomachs. One has to be continuously saying or stating something intelligent with the master of an art otherwise a retrograde feeling so strong bubbles up that the person with lesser outlook becomes tongue tied and deserving enough to be kicked out of sight.

A master acquires the power to decide whether an abiding has to be a Scruple or ignorance. Their writings are like covenants. Generations mull over their thoughts for years in absolute awe. Every transpiration of ideas becomes a hatch for aesthetes inspiring them to achieve new heights in their field of study.

A master of an art belongs to a different stratum of society, the very elite ones, not by materialistic wealth but by the intellectual wealth. Anyone can be a master if he/she is ready to become indifferent and immune of all the happenings and opinions around and just drop dead in love with the power of knowledge.

A few such masters to be named can be as follow without any disrespect to those whom i do not recollect names of.

V.S Naipual, Albert Einstein, Amartya Sen, Stephen Hawkings, Adolf Hitler, Tom Hanks, Sachin Tendulkar and list will go without stopping. But, then these are very few who have stepped into the likes of masters of their art. Quantitatively, still they account for a mere spec against the intellectual popullation on our little planet the Mother Earth.

Londra, O2 Arena, finale dell’ATP world tour finals (il vecchio masters).

Davydenko (RUS)-Del Potro 6-3 6-4

Nicolaj Davydenko vince il Masters senza avere vinto una prova dello slam. Ha ancora tempo per farlo (anche Agassi quando lo vinse nel 1990 non aveva ancora vinto nessun major, ma lo fece in seguito) ma non credo che sarà così facile.

Ieri Rino Tommasi, grande esperto di statistiche ha subito dichiarato che il russo è il primo giocatore a compiere questa impresa. Mi pregio di correggerlo visto che Alex Corretja nel 1998 ha fatto lo stesso e poi ha chiuso la carriera senza vincere nessuno dei 4 grandi tornei.

Guardando le partite del torneo sono molto contento che a vincere sia stato il russo perchè ormai da alcuni anni dimostra di avere lavorato tantissimo per giocare alla pari di giocatori dotati sicuramente di un maggiore talento. Gli mancava solo la grande affermazione, adesso è arrivata ed è stata davvero meritata.

Mi viene da ridere se penso che non riesce a trovare uno sponsor tecnico di livello e che il suo fornitore di racchette è indietro con i pagamenti…

Jason Wright & The Master's Touch sing Demark "Moo Moo" Wheeler's Relocation Celebration / Appreciation Service @ Prince of Peace COGIC, Buffalo, NY

Related : DIY http://diyhomedepot.onblogme.com http://diyhouse.cariblogger.com/

It’s been ages since I’ve written here. I figure I’ll do a post on my current situation then do posts on what has happened since I’ve last written.

Employment

We’re both still unemployed and appear no closer to getting a job than when we first moved here. I was reminded the other day that one of the reasons I may not be getting any call backs is the two year gap in my resume. At the same time though, the person recounted her own difficulties with finding a job despite all her volunteer work. In addition, my husband doesn’t have a huge gap in his resume like I do and he’s having as much trouble as I am.

Financial

My mom finally came through and agreed to give me a sizable loan. I had to beg her for it though and she didn’t offer it to me despite my keeping her updated on all the debt I was running up and having to take out a cash advance at a hefty interest rate. She also found a way for the loan to not come out of her pocket at all. It’s from a credit card offer.

My husband’s mom in the meantime has been tapped dry. The money and loans she’s given us have come out of her own pocket. The different between our parents is striking. Then again, it’s my mom who has OCPD, not his.

As part of that OCPD, my mom is suddenly putting restrictions on the loan. Originally, she was going to give us the whole thing at once. When I asked for the loan in stages, she now has an idea of what I’m using it for and has declared it cannot be used on my husband. Huh? Somehow, my credit card bills to pay for his food and rent to pay for his housing is ok but wanting to use the money for his bankruptcy lawyer is not. This happened yesterday. It stressed me out so much that I couldn’t see straight and had a massive headache. We ended up just going to bed because of the stress she’d caused us.

I’m going to try again today, using a lie to get the money to cover my husband’s bankruptcy. I don’t have enough in the bank to pay for it outright, that’s part of the reason I originally asked for the loan!

Eye Strain

I finally have new glasses. Hopefully my eye strain will be less and I won’t need to take naps as often. Damn astigmatism.

My husband says that stress can increase the pressure in my eyes and I’m feeling it even now. I used to be able to read for hours without a problem. Bleh.

Uninsured

We’re still uninsured and see no way of getting around it. Stroger is now where we have to go for health care. We’re not even sure if our Medicaid denial can be successfully appealed without first getting Social Security which can take who knows how many more months. We seriously moved to the wrong state.

Graduate School

I’m researching graduate schools and trying to start the application process. It’s been a very long time since I started on and completed a project. I keep having doubts about whether or not I can actually do the application, never mind do a graduate school program. My self-esteem is shot and that’s all there is to it. Right now, I’m looking at two schools and three programs. The applications are a lot simpler than I expected. When I first started doing research, I was expecting crazy application essay questions like the ones I got for undergrad. Now it’s just simple “Why do you want to attend our program” questions. When I first started looking I was too early, now I fear I’m too late. The graduate schools are already accepting applications. If I don’t try though, I’ll never know.

I have two main hurdles, getting recommendations from people I haven’t talked to in over three years and taking the GRE. I’m terrified of the GRE because of the cost and because I perform so badly on standardized tests. I’m trying to avoid stress and to keep the depression at bay.

When did I become so fucked up? When did I start to see myself as disabled? As intrinsically different and limited? Bleh. I’m hoping that going to grad school will help alter my perception of myself. While most people can get a BA and certainly anyone can be unemployed, not everyone can get a Master’s degree. I need something to make me feel better about myself and my station in life.

The dress of a teacher talks a lot about his personality and teaching style and has different interpretations of the past.

There is even a book that describes and shows how to dress for success development.

The book Dress for Success, please tell us how to dress for work, our dress, and focusing on the suit, he starts working in the amazing part.

Most schools and universities have some sort of dress code.

ManyWhen the dress is focused on the type of students they teach. For example, if the teacher is a teacher of the preschool child, the expectation would be for them, something colorful and somehow still wear respectable.

In general, however, the rule that the teacher or the clothing is such that the rules do not interfere so distracting, or inappropriate for the task of teaching the clothes are available.

Here are some tips that can help areto choose and decide what is included in your closet, as the suit of the teacher.

* Select the teaching of clothing you have to express your personality while meeting the criteria of the school dress code.

* Choose a costume that is a message to send to their students. Dressing like a professional, shows that you are very high professional and friendly behavior you expect from them.

* Adjust your clothing so that the education of studentsto understand what you are and what you will. This is especially true with young adults. Wear clothing to keep working distance and the professionalism with them.

In every profession there are guidelines indicating how to attract, if the labor market. Make your work day to work as much as any dress code applies. And a professional appearance … still wear clothes that are comfortable. If your clothes fit instruction to you, and you feel comfortable in the associationGuidelines dress code is much easier to function, and let your true personality to work for you.

Be relieved … but be professional.

Efter en synnerligen jämn match mot Juan Martin Del Potro så drog alldeles nyss Robin Söderling kortaste stråt i tredje sets avgörande tiebreak. Lika övertygande som han själv tog hem första sets tiebreak, så förlorade han tiebreak nummer två i skiljesetet. Tyvärr hade han inte marginalerna med sig idag när det väl kom till kritan. För dagens uppgörelse var jämn och oviss från inledningsgame hela vägen till matchboll. Det var helt enkelt en match där ingen borde ha förlorat. Extra synd är det om Robin eftersom han garanterat vunnit hela turneringen om han fått till det i avslutningssetet. Något som inte var långt borta … om han bara hade lyckats hålla sin serve vid ställningen 4-2! Det sägs ju att man inte brutit motståndarens serve innan man hållit sitt eget servegame omedelbart efter. Idag fick vi ytterligare bevis på att så verkligen är fallet.

Jag anser dock inte att Robin chokade enbart, han hade även lite missflyt. Men att tappa sin serve i detta läge i ett avgörande set är ofta en kostsam historia, och så var även fallet i denna match. Men kanske ska man inte vara alltför hård gentemot Söderling. Han har trots allt tagit två fina skalper i London, och de två inkasserade förlusterna var båda oerhört jämna tillställningar. Men kanske, nu med facit i hand, så kan man ändå fråga sig vad som hade hänt om Söderling gett allt i avslutningen mot Davydenko. Personligen så tror jag han då vunnit den matchen, vilket medfört att ryssen åkt ut, Söderling fått 200 extra poäng och nu på måndag varit ny världssjua, eller (om han vunnit hela turneringen) rentav världsexa! Han borde mao ha gjort allt för att slå ut Davydenko. I vilket fall som helst så väntar vi alla med spänning på vad som komma skall i Melbourne i januari. Allt annat än en kvartsfinal där för Robin måste anses vara ett misslyckande. Läs mer här (DN) (SVD).

Ce fut un samedi noir pour beaucoup de monde hier. Je pense d’abord à Federer qui n’ira pas en finale des Masters à cause de sa défaite contre Davydenko. Je pense ensuite aux rugbymen Français qui garderont sans doute un bel œil au beurre noir de leur match contre les all-blacks.

Et je pense particulièrement à Gregory Coupet qui a prouvé aux spectateurs du Parc des Princes qu’on pouvait se casser la jambe ailleurs que sur une piste de ski. (ci-dessous Gregory Coupet en plein en train d’avoir mal)

Un petit peu d’histoire est nécessaire à la bonne compréhension du drame qui s’est joué ce soir Porte de St Cloud.

Gregory Coupet (“Greg”) est un gardien de but qu’on peut qualifier de “sérieux”.

Formé à St Étienne, il trompe les Verts en rejoignant les Lyonnais à qui il restera fidèle pendant 12 ans. Il devient le gardien historique des 7 titres consécutifs de l’OL. En 2008 il décide de partir à Madrid. L’aventure tournera court : il joue peu et souhaite finir sa carrière sur un terrain comme Molière avait fini la sienne sur les planches. Quand beaucoup choisissent une retraite dorée aux Émirats ou la tranquillité princière de Monaco, Coupet fait le pari risqué de rejoindre un club situé dans une ZEP : le PSG.

Comme à son habitude le club déçoit mais Coupet réalise une première partie de championnat solide et sans histoire. Jusqu’à ce soir où il s’est fait mal tout seul à seulement une dizaine de minutes de la fin du match. Déjà victime d’une grave blessure au genou en 2007 dont il avait su se relever, il aura à 37 ans du mal à revenir au plus haut niveau suite à cet épisode douloureux.

Personnellement je ne suis pas un habitué de ce genre de choses. Je veux dire, en général, quand les clients débarquent à l’hôpital, le mal est souvent fait. Mon boulot c’est de réparer, pas d’être le témoin de l’accident. Je n’aime pas être en amont. Je me sens inutile. Je suis moi même sorti un peu choqué de cette blessure aussi violente qu’anodine. Ça s’est vu tout de suite qu’il avait l’air d’avoir mal. A la fin du match, Sylvain Armand s’est senti obligé de rajouter à l’horreur :

J’étais proche de l’action, j’ai vu l’os sortir sous la chaussette.

Moi tout ce que j’ai constaté dans cette affaire, c’est qu’un homme est toujours seul face à la douleur.

Revenons sur l’action : Gregory Coupet s’écroule. S’il reste digne, son rictus ne trompe pas : la blessure doit être sévère.

La position de son pied et la forme sinusoïdale de son tibia laissent effectivement craindre le pire.

Claude Makélélé, visiblement concerné, vient s’informer de la situation.

Il fait clairement la démonstration de son soutien en tenant la main et l’épaule de son coéquipier.

Néanmoins comme une mère se tenant à distance de son enfant atteint du virus de la grippe A, il reste très clairement en retrait.

Peut-être ne s’agit-il que de superstition… Il n’en reste pas moins que cette photo me dit que c’est chacun sa merde. Et Jérémy Clément plus soucieux de fêter son but que de jouer les ambulanciers, de déclarer après la partie:

Je pense que Greg reviendra vite. On m’a dit qu’il était presque souriant en partant.

Certain(e)s me diront que je parle trop de sport. J’accuse réception de ce reproche. Mais je pense parler ici de la solitude d’un homme vers qui vont toutes mes pensées ce soir. Une solitude que je partage puisque ce fut également un samedi noir pour moi qui n’ait  pourtant rien à voir avec le foot.

Je rappelle que ça fait déjà deux semaines que j’ai été (lâchement) abandonné par ma femme.

The notoriously private Tiger Woods has seen his whole secret undercover world blow-up in his face in the past 48 hrs. due a crash caused by him fleeing his wife, who was beating him with a golf club across his head, after confronting him about his alledged affair with another lover.

It has been reported by TMZ.com that Tiger has been having a sexual affair with socialite Rachel Uchitel , and when his wife and mother of his two children, Elin Nordegren spoke to him about this, the argument became heated, and violent.

The violence was inflicted by Elin, who picked up a golf club that she had at the ready, and began pummeling the philandering Tiger Woods across his face, causing what has been described by the hospital as severe facial lacerations and contusions.

I bet that’s not the reaction that Tiger expected her to have. Elin Nordegren does not look like a woman that would beat you down for something like this, but if it was me, I would expect her to maybe just collapse in a bundle of tears…but I’m not married, so what do I know.

I guess don’t judge a book by its cover, because that’s when Barbie doll turns into Brenda Richie!!!

In 1988,Brenda Richie famously beat down her then husband,international singing sensation Lionel Richie, who also had a clean-cut ,family man image with the public and his fans, when she followed him one night creepin’ with his side girlfriend, Diane Alexander.

By all reports, sweet, petite, and quiet Brenda Richie beat up  both Lionel and Diane.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lionel_Richie#Marriage_with_Brenda_Harvey

The “Three Times a Lady” singer was caught by the then-missus during a romantic encounter with Alexander at a Beverly Hills apartment. Brenda Richie went ballistic and was arrested for investigation of spousal abuse, trespassing and vandalism–but the charges were later dropped. After sticking it out for another three years, she and Lionel divorced in 1991.

The only difference here is that Tiger’s wife Elin Nordegren is not black, and Brenda Richie is…so I guess that should put to rest that old stereotype about how a sister reacts to these kind of things, compared to a white lady…

…Pretty much the same way.

Looks like a mad woman of any race may beat you down …if she catches you creeping around town!!!

Looks like Tiger married a Tiger…

http://www.tmz.com/2009/11/28/tiger-woods-elin-nordegren-fight-accident-suv-lacerations/

Sendung vom 27. November 2009

Vorwürfe können dem einzigen nationalen Sender viele gemacht werden. Ausser einem. Sie haben es nie verpasst, möglichst schnell ein Auge auf die wenigen leuchtenden Sterne am Schweizer Sporthimmel zu werfen. Allerdings kommt uns das SF jeweils ein wenig so vor, wie der Fischer, der einmal, aber wirklich nur einmal einen grossen Fang getätigt hat und danach für den Rest des Lebens nicht mehr vom Superlativ loskommt. Beim SF äussert sich dies zudem auch so, dass sie am Nachthimmel noch Licht sehen, wo wir nur noch die schwarze Unendlichkeit zwischen uns und den Quasaren wahrnehmen: Da werden Ruderer und Kanuten und Fechter gefunden, die die Welt noch nicht gesehen hat. Eben, weil sie leistungsmässig unsichtbar sind. Nur das SF sieht in den unendlichen Weiten des Sportweltalls das weisse Kreuz auf rotem Grund leuchten. Wer Dinge sieht, die es nicht gibt, und darüber auch noch redet, ist oft religiös, und dass das SF uns die Birne vollpredigt mit Swissness, während wir viel lieber den Eishockeyspitzenkampf aus Russland sehen möchten, ist bekannt.

An einem Punkt berührt sich die manchmal auch schon peinliche Sehnsucht nach Weltläufigkeit am Leutschenbach mit von Superlativen verwöhnten. Es gibt kaum einen helleren Stern am aktuellen Sporthimmel als Roger Federer (haben Sie sich auch schon gewünscht, er möge in St.Louis, knapp hinter der Basler Grenze zur Welt gekommen sein?). Und dieser unser Roger, der nach eigenen Angaben nur noch um Rekorde spielt, trifft nun ausgerechnet auf Nikolai Davidenko, der in neun Jahren Spitzentennis (40 Finalmöglichkeiten an Grand Slams und Masters) genau drei Mal unter Verdacht der Manipulation (wetten dass es um Wetten ging?) und ein einziges Mal im Finale stand. Siege? Nada. Rogers Meinung zur Halbfinal-Qualifikation und den möglichen Finaleinzug: «Ich habe jetzt die Chance auf den Titelsieg!». Titelsieg? Roger, we love you!

Trimphator: Nicht der Sieg zählt. Nicht der Titel. Sondern der Titelsieg.

P.S. Einsamer Höhepunkt der Sendung war der coole Happy-Paddy, der mit seinem Ostschweizer Froschmaul drei Berner Fans in der Eishalle imitierte. Komm, Paddy, sag noch einmal Häne o Fäbu! (L.T.)

En emellanåt lätt oinspirerad Robin Söderling förlorade igår kväll mot Nikolaj Davydenko i Masters sista gruppspelsmatch. Tyvärr. För detta var en match som han borde ha vunnit, men efter att ha säkrat andra set, gruppsegern samt undvikit Roger Federer i semi, så tog viljan att vinna slut. Visst ville Robin ta hem segern igår och på så vis införskaffa sig 200 nya poäng (för att närma sig sjundeplatsen på rankingen), men när det kom till slutgamen så stod alltför mycket på spel för ryssen att släppa greppet om sitt eget avancemang. Och för att kunna vinna de avgörande bollarna så måste man vilja vinna dem med hela sitt hjärta, något Robin inte ville.

Ingen kan klandra honom för det. Han var ju redan klar för semifinalspel. Samtliga experter var eniga om att han inte gav allt i slutet av matchen, något som säkert berodde på att han var rädd att skada sig. Men vi får ändå ge Söderling en eloge då han verkligen gav Davy och de 15000 på läktarna en match. Synd bara att Djokovic åkte ur, för han hade garanterat gett Federer lite motstånd idag. Att Davy ska kunna rå på schweizaren, som nu fått guldvittring, är mer eller mindre uteslutet. Och kanske borde man nu se över hela spelsystemet, speciellt efter skandalscenerna efter Federer och Del Potro matchen där argentinaren fick vänta på banan i en hel kvart!  – innan man talade om för honom att han tagit sig till semifinal!

Problemet vi har idag är att den sista gruppspelsmatchen för det mesta är betydelselös, åtminstone för en av spelarna. Djokovic åkte alltså ur turneringen pga att Söderling inte behövde vinna sista set! Det ska nu bli intressant att se hur förlusten påverkat vår man. Personligen så tror jag att han kommer att få det oerhört svårt mot Del Potro, inte minst pga at denne fått vila upp sig ett helt dygn extra. Detta system måste åtgärdas till nästa år, helst genom att ha en vilodag för alla innan semifinalspelet. Man borde i alla fall se till att alla fredagsmatcherna går på eftermiddagen. Mer rättvist då. För Davydenko som ska spela redan i eftermiddag ser uppgiften nu mao hopplös ut. Söderling har dock en chans, men då måste han ta hem första set. Mitt tips är således att vi får se Federer och Del Potro i finalen på söndag. Vet förresten inte riktigt vem jag ska heja på ikväll, då Delpo vid sidan om Rafa är min favoritspelare. Läs mer här (SvD) och här (DN).

Deciding to get a Masters was somewhat of a no-brainer for me. I’ve always been a huge proponent of higher education and I find being in a university environment incredibly stimulating (lots of very active brain waves floating around). The fact that I am getting my Masters in the UK, where the program is only a year and the fees are relatively comparable to a US Masters (even including the costs of London living!) is icing on the proverbial cake. Getting a PhD (or DrPH) though… well, that’s not quite as simple. As I look to the end of this year and try to figure out what I where I want to be after graduating, the picture in my head begins to get a bit fuzzy. Although I love development studies and the idea of working in the field, I don’t know that I can temper development work with family life. In fact, I am almost positive that the concept of normal life is the antithesis to that of international development (think: being stationed in Yemen for a two-year stint, followed by a few months in DC, followed by a 6 month consultation in Bolivia, etc.). That being said, I’m signing up to take the Foreign Service exam in the spring to hopefully open up some options (fortunately I don’t have to fly to the US to take the exam — American citizens can take it at the embassy). Plus, I have been looking at other institutions to move towards a PhD.

Now, here’s the thing with a PhD (this is partly me thinking via blog and partially wanting feedback from anyone who’s been in this position or has any brilliant insight): PhD’s are intense. In many ways, actually.

They’re time-intensive. Typically 3- 5 years; 2 years of coursework + 1 – 3 years of field work to put together a 75,000 – 100,000 word dissertation to submit and orally defend.

They’re expensive. I think that might go without saying, but expenses incurred through higher education are not for the faint of heart. Grad school is expensive. Fortunately, in the PhD world there are a number of schools that have really great financial aid packages for research students (full coverage of tuition + stipends, etc.) if you’re qualified. I have a friend working on a PhD who is teaching undergrad courses at the university in exchange for full tuition + a $26,000 stipend. Depending on your research proposal, some organizations will even step in to subsidize or cover educational expenses.

The application process is rigorous. I’m at the point where getting in isn’t the part that scares me (although that is scary, of course); the application alone is frightening. I don’t know if you have seen the process for applying for a doctoral program but it goes something like this: standard application packet (name + stats), CV including work experience, education and publications, three (3) letters of recommendations from professors that are familiar with your ability to be a quality researcher, a research proposal, wherein your dissertation topic is generally outlined including the research question and methodology and identification of an academic at the institution that would act as your tutor/advisor. Honestly, getting everything together to apply would probably take me a year! Plus, the part about publications? Can you say intimidating?!

PhD + Family? Not so likely. Not sure that you can actually work on a PhD and be a normal human being. And by that, I mean, I’m not sure that you can be 100% committed to your research work if you have a family, housework, normal real-life responsibilities looming. Dose of reality: Inevitably, one has to take precedence and if you’re paying loads of money and spending tons of time working on a doctorate, that will likely come first. If it doesn’t, your PhD will probably not get done in 4 -5 years. A book on my reading list? Mama, PhD, a piece about juggling motherhood with academia.

Long-term Relocation. PhD programmes don’t take many students, typically. Some schools take 2-4 for a given program, some take 15, but normally there aren’t a load of kids working on a doctoral degree in any given year since there is such a strong bond between advisor and advisee. This is very different from a taught Masters programme, where MSc candidates run wild. It would be ludicrous to think an advisor could work with 20 PhD students and help them in the way that they needed. That being said, for me to say that I wanted to get my doctorate in California and that I would only apply to California programs would be incredibly limiting. It is more advantageous to look across the nation (and the world, for that matter) and see what institutions have strong programs in the discipline and apply to programs where you feel a connection with the school, the potential advisor and the general campus and city life (since you’d be living there for a while!) If I got into a school in New York, I would probably go there, despite the fact that it’s not close to my family… makes for some interesting decisions when the discussion of being away from your family, relationships and friends involves talking about long-term versus one year.

Despite all the cons, I’ve always loved school (a fact to which my first-grade teachers can attest) and I can’t really see myself being done after this year. I will definitely need to take a break for a couple of years to put my Masters to work (to gain some more relevant/international experience) and to make sure that four more years of school is what I really want, but I definitely see a PhD (or DrPH) in my future.

Sending brainwaves your way,

Roger Federer et Juan Martin Del Potro se sont qualifiés jeudi 26 novembre pour les demi-finales du Masters de tennis de Londres. Andy Murray, malgré sa victoire face à l’Espagnol Fernando Verdasco 6-4, 6-7 (4/7), 7-6 (7/3), ne sera pas du dernier carré. Dans le groupe A, en effet, le Suisse, l’Argentin et l’Ecossais, à égalité de victoires (deux chacun) et de sets gagnés, ont dû être départagés au pourcentage de jeux remportés. Federer (44 gagnés contre 40 perdus) est sorti vainqueur devant Del Potro (45-43) et Murray (44-43).

Le numéro un mondial est pourtant passé tout près de l’élimination lorsqu’il s’est retrouvé mené 6-2 et 5 points à 4 dans le tie-break du deuxième set contre Del Potro. L’Argentin a alors manqué un coup droit facile sur un retour beaucoup trop court du Suisse. Finalement, le Sud-Américain s’est imposé en 3 sets : 6-2, 6-7 (5/7), 6-3.

Une seule place reste à attribuer pour les demi-finales. Dans le groupe B, où le Suédois Robin Söderling est déjà assuré de se qualifier, le Serbe Novak Djokovic et le Russe Nikolay Davydenko vont se livrer vendredi un duel à distance. Le premier affrontera Nadal, déjà éliminé ; le second, Söderling, déjà qualifié.

Last night, over 17,000 fans packed an arena in London, England, to watch Roger Federer, arguably the best tennis player ever, flirt with exit from the season ending World Tour Finals tournament. He still lost his match, but didn’t go out, because this is the group stages of the tournament, a round-robin stage. Instead, by winning the second set on a tie-break, before falling to an overall two sets to one defeat, he won a sufficient number of games to ensure his progress.

Three of the four players in the group that Federer and his conquerer, Juan Martin del Potro of Argentina, won two matches and lost one. The other player was Britain’s (or Scotland’s, to appease Scottish readers) Andy Murray. Federer won 44 games and lost 40 in his three matches, del Potro won 45 and lost 43, while Murray won 44 and lost 43, losing a heavy final set to Roger Federer. So Murray was eliminated from the tournament by a single game. It was undoubtedly a thrilling climax, and the tournament will now progress.

Interestingly enough, the 6-3 final set scoreline was about the only score by which Murray could have been knocked out – or at least, that’s what the BBC reports. Of course, a 6-2 or 6-1 scoreline for del Potro would have still put Federer and del Potro through, although 6-0 would have put Federer out. 6-4 and del Potro would be boarding the flight home this morning, same with 7-5 or 7-6.

Furthermore, for those conspiracy theorists out there, del Potro crumbled in the second set tie break from an eminently winnable position, and wimpered to defeat. A straight sets defeat for Federer and he was out. Is it beyond the realms of possibility that these two chaps contrived to engineer one of the few possible scores that ensured they both progressed?

Given Nick’s recent post on corruption in soccer, tennis is an eminently more corruptable sport than soccer. That isn’t to say soccer is clear, or tennis bent because of the different number of players engaging each other in a given match (22 plus subs and officials in soccer, 2 plus officials in tennis). It’s just to give some bait to those who like a good conspiracy theory (and hadn’t already spotted this probably fairly obvious one!).

What I’m more interested and amused about is the arena those 17,000 fans packed into. Nine years ago, to great fanfare, that same arena was opened as the Millennium Done, to general farce and ridicule. It didn’t last too long, was strongly criticised as a waste of money, and lay dormant for quite a while. It’s nice though to see that someone took on the rather obvious idea of turning it into a venue. It’s now the O2 Arena thanks to the mobile phone company’s sponsorship, and it hosts musical concerts, even an opera (Carmen next May), and now, excitingly, sports events. That London and the UK now has a venue for hosting indoor sports events to suitably large crowds (over 17,000) is very exciting, and I’d be interested to see how much public money had to be sunk into that one – my imagination is that, if we forget about the costs to develop the Dome way back, it’s probably fairly small. Or maybe I’m being naive?

After the incredible and the forces of destruction sank the mainland of Atlantis some 800 hundred thousand years ago ,The Great one fled to higher ground and found their way to the mountain ranges of Tibet,The Rocky’s,The Urals,the Andes,and as well as some places that are underground.It was from these retreats that they have been overseeing the human evolution ,from behind the scene for many 10’s of thousands and are awaiting the time age after age until humanity has come to the realization that we are all brothers and sisters of one humanity,and that we all have been born together as one human family learning the laws of right human relationships.

In most cases the Master will come into contact with the person through  1 the dream state,2 during some form of deep meditation,3Through direct contact in the flesh,and this is very rare.There are many all over the world who are being groomed to be overshadowed by the Christ and with other Masters as well.There have been teams of investigators who have gone into the Himalaya’s to seek out these Masters and to document their lives and to see how they live from day to day.One such group was a team under Baird T Spalding who wrote about the miraculous things they would perform on behalf another.These Masters at that time did not want their real identity known to all ,a least for now.Many of the scientists that were there and witnessed the Masters do incredible things such as walking on water,and causing a seed to come forth into full flower in just a matter of minutes and the many healing acts were genuine beyond belief.

We can not contact the Masters ,as the law is that they will contact us ,and only if we have some way to serve the hierarchy,such as some skill or gift that could be used to help humanity in some way.It is more likely that the Masters will come into contact with those who are advanced enough to undertake the work that is needed ,and those would be people who have no marriage,or children,and who are well versed in the occult and who have a lot of time on their hands to be able to do this kind of work,and these will include those who have taken the first initiation 1.0 or at least coming up to that point who may be standing at about 0.7-0.9.There are at this time about 40 Masters of Wisdom who are now coming into the world ,and one of the reasons that they are here is that they have heard the evocative cry for help coming from the human kingdom

i saw The Merlin at an ATM;

he dropped his gold card and i knelt at his feet.

i tried to hand it back to him, 

but he’d disappeared down the street.

i talked with Saint Lazarus on the crosstown bus;

i thought someone would give him a seat.

he smiled at me and said not to worry that

everyone else looked beat.

Gautama was driving a cab i jumped in;

i probably tipped him too much.

White Tara was shopping on Fordham Road;

She seemed to be a rush.

Milagros was at Barnes and Noble,

Ganesha on line at Whole Foods.

Sekhmet was selling hotdogs;

I was starting to feel really good.

Apollo was sweeping a theater;

La Madama was a CEO.

Lakshmi was giving a manicure;

The Morrighan was taking in a show.

the masters are descending

we’re more open to love now they say

this dimension is  finally bending

i hope to goddess they’ll stay.

Na de Zesdaagsen van Dortmund en Milaan sneuvelt ook die van Hasselt in 2010 na vier uitgaven in de Ethias Arena, wegens de niet haalbare leefbaarheid ondanks 18.000 toeschouwers vorige editie. Een gloednieuwe Cyclocross Masters neemt de plaats in op 24 februari 2010, waarbij de wereldtop in zal aantreden.

Nys en Alberts nemen het peterschap voor hun rekening en zullen moeten optornen tegen onder andere Wellens en Stybar in drie veldritdisciplines: een tijdrit, een korte veldrit en een puntenkoers.

De Cyclocross Masters wil op deze manier de indoorveldrit promoten als spektakelsport.

www.grenslandhallen.be

Depois de surpreender Rafael Nadal nas estreia no Masters de Londres, o sueco Robin Soderling conquistou mais um resultado inesperado nesta quarta-feira, quando bateu o número 3 do mundo , o sérvio Novak Djokovic. Com isso, ele não só assumiu a liderança do grupo B, mas também selou a classificação para a próxima fase no torneio.

Informaçao Tenisbrasil.

Ça devait arriver. L’ami Rafa est arrivé au point de rupture. Depuis sa blessure aux genoux et son arrêt forcé de plusieurs mois cette année, Rafael Nadal n’apparaît plus comme un surhomme des courts.

Au Masters, il vient de se faire écrabouiller deux fois en deux jours. Sans la condition physique (il a maigri pour alléger ses rotules) qui faisait de lui un superman, il redevient un simple mortel, incapable même de mettre à mal un Davydenko qui jouait, hier, sur une jambe.

Je n’ai rien contre Nadal. Mais quelle contraste entre lui et Roger Federer. Le Suisse, relâché dans tous ses coups, allonge bien sûr sa durée de vie sur les courts pendant que l’Espagnol sollicite à cent pour cent tous les muscles de son corps depuis des années. Observez n’importe quelle photo de Nadal en action, c’est à chaque fois un homme torturé par l’effort et qui semble crier grâce. Roger semble quant à lui, sur chaque cliché, évoluer en toute décontraction, sans la moindre marque de tension corporelle.

J’ai la désagréable ‘impression que le Majorquin, à seulement 23 ans, a déjà grillé une grosse partie de son capital physique. Et que nous n’aurons plus beaucoup l’occasion d’admirer les fabuleux duels entre les deux phénomènes, comme à Wimbledon en 2008. Quel dommage.

Ingen blev mer förvånad än jag över det sätt som Robin Söderling avslutade matchen mot Novak Djokovic i Masters – 6-1! Sensationellt! Visserligen vet vi sedan gammalt att Djoko, precis som de flesta andra tennisspelare, emellanåt kan ge upp i förtid. Han gav ju tex inte Federer det motstånd han förtjänade i US-Open semifinalen senast. Del Potro visade oss i finalen vad som kan hända om man aldrig ger upp. Exakt varför Djoko inte gav allt i andra set igår är det ingen som vet, men kanske är det verkligen så som han själv sa efter matchen att han helt enkelt var trött? Han har ju spelat många tuffa matcher den senaste tiden, något som i slutändan sliter inte bara fysiskt utan även mentalt. En sak vet vi med säkerhet, han kommer inte underskatta Söderling igen. Läs mer om matchen mot Djoko här (SvD).

I nästa match väntar nu Nikolaj Davydenko på Robin, och det troliga är väl att ryssen vinner den matchen, speciellt efter segern över Rafa. För Davy har nu chansen att ta sig till semifinal på nytt. Och kanske kommer vår man att välja att spara på krafterna om matchen inte går som han vill. Visserligen så står det 200 nya fina poäng på spel, men i slutändan så är det ändå viktigare att vara hundraprocentigt hel i semifinalen mot Murray, Del Potro eller Federer på lördag. Att sia om matchen är mao svårt, men utgångstipset är såklart en ny svensk 2-0 seger. Inbördes möten dem emellan är för övrigt 6-3 till Robin, och i år har han vunnit tre av fyra möten med ryssen. Ju mer man tänker på saken så kan inte Robin förlora?

För att avslutningsvis ägna Nadal några rader, så är det svårt att riktigt förstå vad som hänt med honom sedan Paris. Men att problemet huvudsakligen är mentalt tror jag vi alla nu insett. Kanske har han helt enkelt ledsnat på tennis, något som alla råkar ut för förr eller senare. Om han får ordning på sig själv igen eller inte är det ingen som vet. Men om problemen med knäna inte kan lösas samtidigt som han tappar glöden, så är slutet på karriären snart här. Han kommer säkert att försöka knäppa Djoko på näsan i morgon, men ingen tror väl att så kommer att ske?

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