"Optional" Social Events:

I recently wrote that the semester started this week, but not much changed for me because I still have to write my dissertation. That was not quite right. The beginning of the semester comes with a host of events and activities that *demand* one's attendance. Of course, none of there events are really required, but it behoves one to be present at them and be seen by the powers that be.

Tonight's event was the Minority Graduate Student Association's Welcome Back Dinner. Tomorrow is my department's Welcome Back cookout. Next week there is the International Studies Center's welcome back reception, the Welcome Back dinner with the deans, the Orientation Lunch for the Minority Mentor program, and who knows what else. In addition there are lectures, seminars, film showings, brown-bags, and on and on. Don't get me wrong. A lot of these things are what I love about being in an academic environment. But in addition to this blogging thing, it sucks up the time I should be using to write my dissertation. All the key words and cliches come to mind:

Strike a balance.
Prioritize.
Just say no.
Use your time efficiently.
Focus.

These things are easy to spew, but hard to put into practice. In the end, it will be ok. Really. It just dawned on me that the beginning of the semester does bring change to the way I live and the things that I have to do. In someways there are benefits. For example, I did not have to cook dinner tonight (which is a good thing now that I am on a different grant that has a significantly smaller stipend). It was institutional food, but when you are poor you cannot be too picky.

The cookout tomorrow should be fun. It will be nice to see the people from the department and get caught up. It is also nice meeting the incoming students and hear about their interests. I think it will also be a reminder that my time in grad school needs to come to an end. It is time to move on. But where...? That remains to be seen....

Again, stay tuned....