Searchin' for the meaning of "higher education" in such places as Finland, Oxford, Portugal, South Africa, and Athens, Georgia, USA.
The (mis)adventures of academia, travel, culture, and the best cup of tea.

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Have I Lost my Muchness?

Charlie and I went to see Alice in Wonderland at the IMAX theater in Atlanta this past weekend. I loved the movie (the costumes, makeup, Johnny Depp, and the beauty of "Wonderland" were incredible) and the overall theme hit home!
"You used to be much more...'muchier.' You've lost your muchness."
-Mad Hatter
Sometimes I feel like I might have lost my "muchness". PhD life just does not cater to an active and exciting lifestyle where you can feasibly live your life for the next adventure. Honestly, it is a rather stressful and sedentary lifestyle. Reflecting back, four years ago I was considered to be a "weekend warrior" wherein we (a group of 12 of us) rented a house in the mountains and I would drive up on Thursday night and ski all weekend, arriving back in Boulder on Monday a.m. for a 4-day work week. That was a wild year with 38 ski days. Three years ago I was preparing for a trip to Russia, while living in Finland and visiting the Finnish sauna every other day. Two years ago I was living in Oslo and about ready to jump on a plane to visit the University of Georgia. How crazy is that? And, one year ago, I was settling back into Athens after an amazing spring break trip to Costa Rica. Okay, so you get the gist...my life motto has always been to take a BIG bite out of life and exude the "muchness", but I think this PhD lifestyle is cramping my style a bit.

Perhaps that is the life lesson in all of this. I must be patient, as life cannot always equate to skiing delicious powder on a sunny day. Sometimes you have to conquer the jabberwocky to get your "muchness" back, in my case the jabberwocky is the PhD. I know that all of the blood, sweat, and tears will pay off eventually. Plus, it is only a small portion of my life. But, damn where is Leasa's "muchness" in all of this?

"There is a place. Like no place on Earth. A land full of wonder, mystery, and danger! Some say to survive it: You need to be as mad as a hatter." -Mad Hatter

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

You are welcome at my tea table!

Mama Weimer said...

I don't think you have lost your "muchness". It may just be on delay!!!!!! Positive thinking will put it back on the right path. Go Girl!!!!!!!

About Me said...

PhD life is all about reading and writing and sometimes that is just plain boring. Yes, I agree with both Stephanie and mom, positive thinking and lots of tea will get me through this. There are days that I miss blowing an entire day in the mountains or just sitting outside in the sunshine without a monkey on my back. I know the elusive "muchness" is still there, but often times the monkey does not allow me to live it.