the beginning of the end of 2009: three promises for 2010

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it's been over 3 weeks and 3 days since i first presented the ideas for plan c of my dissertation...in 2010, i promise to stick to plan c -- and plan c only -- and push hard to finish the analysis for my dissertation.


it's been over 7 months and 10 days since i last blogged...in 2010, i promise to blog even when i think that what is on my mind is not blog-worthy.


it's been over 3 years and 9 months since i broke up with my last girlfriend...in 2010, i promise to work through the hard times of the relationship in which i am currently and let her hold me when i am down.


i could provide a laundry list of things i "promise" to do as is usual with many new year commitment lists. yet, for the sake of brevity and my sanity, i will just focus on these three. i choose these three because...


first, i would like to move past this economically-impoverished-but-supposedly-high-status phase of my life. i love the fact that being in graduate school allows me to soak up all the knowledge i can carry at time, BUT graduate school is only for a season. and the season is nigh passed. it is time to stick to an idea and see it through to the end. my goal is to write the shortest dissertation possible, and even then, it will probably be too long. lol.


second, while i am trying to usher this economically-impoverished-but-supposedly-high-status season out, i need to maintain my connection to the outside world. the past six months or so, i have been a(n almost) complete hermit. i spent three months in the bay area, passed my qualifying exams, and formalized my relationship with a long-term dating partner of mine, and yet few people actually know these things. i will say that i am a private person, but in this instance, i have let the ball drop for too long. my bad! as i step into the next phase of my life, i will make sure to reach out more in the way i best know how to -- writing.


third, my relationship life is finally stable, and i like that. my connection here provides me a place to be authentic, raw, and uncovered without fear. many a graduate student may have told you about all the criticism and rejection they face. it's simply a fact of our life. yet, humans were designed to be nourished and thrive in places where they are accepted. so, my bruised ego needs somewhere to go when journal-reviewers and professor-mentors give me the stiff arm and cold shoulder. i may be stoic, but in the end i am only human. i am grateful to have someone who is willing to suffer my eccentricities and at the same time push me to better than i currently am.


with that, i sign off this christmas day. a merry day to you and yours!

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