Happy Birthday little Jack!

My college-aged neighbors in Franklin Residential College (FRC) coordinated a birthday party for a young man, Jack, of 7 years. Jack and his parents used to live in the very apartment that I now call home. Thus, little Jack Toma is a popular little guy with the college students who live here. On his birthday, he had his own field day, orchestrated by the FRC student leaders, on Myers Quad, right outside the FRC. Water balloons were flying, freeze tag was in full effect, and the aroma of birthday cake and pizza filled the air. Little kids birthday parties remind me that life can be just that fun...and I have decided that for my next birthday party I am having an adult field day, complete with three-legged races, egg toss, and freeze tag. Because, why not? As adults we become so stuck in the confines of adulthood. When was the last time you got grass stains during a wicked game of freeze tag?

Partyin' Like it's 1980-1990!

Dress-up theme parties never get old and they make for great birthday celebrations. A few of our PhD colleagues were celebrating 30 years and so we decided to throw a party where everyone was invited to don apparel from the 1980's-1990's. Gorbachev was not invited, but his presence was certainly felt as his picture hung proudly on the wall. The evening attire included tie-dye, Fame-style big sweatshirt and legwarmers, gold lamet jacket, big hair, a bowl haircut, black and white checked suspenders and matching shoes. The music of the 80's and 90's got everyone off of the couch and dancing to the sounds of Prince, Michael Jackson, Blondie, Cure, Vanilla Ice, Beastie Boys, Whitney Houston, and Boys to Men. I love that, even in our 30's, we are still having wicked dance parties. Happy Birthday Yarbrah & Scott!

Blue Ridge Parkway...Incredible!

The Blue Ridge Parkway runs 469 miles from North Carolina to Virgina. It is considered to be one of the America's most scenic drives through the mountains. On our way back to Georgia, we decided to drive a portion of the Parkway. Incredible! 75 years ago, as part of the New Deal's work program to employ citizens during the Great Depression, the Parkway was designed and construction began in 1935. In 1987, the "missing link", Grandfather Mountain in North Carolina, was constructed and the parkway was completed. The incredible thing about this parkway is that the scenic landscapes were preserved, so in the distance all you see are layers of mountains. Amazing vistas and more butterflies!

Great Smokies...CHEESE!

We stayed in the super cheesy town of Gatlinburg. For some reason, Southerners think it's cool to "bling" out mountain towns with such things as Dollywood amusement park, Ripley's Museum & Moving Theatre, Hollywood Wax Museum, and indoor putt-putt golf. As if the mountains were not entertaining enough...

One night we decided to partake in the cheese and came home with an old-time photo, hill-billy style! I have to admit...it was pretty fun and the photographer helped us "ham it up" as he kept calling me "mama" and Charlie "pa". We chose the moonshine scene, as it was very appropriate! In June, Tennessee moonshine went legal and the first (legal) distillery opened in Gatlinburg.

The Great Smoky Mountains: Vacation!

After two months of studying in a cave...it was time to breathe some fresh mountain air. The weekend after comps, Charlie and I drove three hours north to spend time in the Great Smoky mountains in Tennessee. During the day, we spent our time hiking trails with butterflies dancing around us and wild blueberries and blackberries on the side of the trail. The Great Smokies are different than the Rocky mountains; the Smokies are much older, hence worn down and not as rugged. And, the Smokies sit at a lower elevation (6,000 feet vs. 14,000 feet), so the foliage is different. But, they are still mountains and I am still a mountain girl...thus, I wore a perma-grin the entire weekend.

Comprehensive Exams: Celebration!

After ringing the bell, we ventured across the street to the downtown Athens area for a little celebration with tequila and red-velvet cake (what a pairing!) Relief. That was the one word we all kept saying...relief! So happy to be done. After a few hours, the fatigue began to settle in and the lights were out before 10 p.m. A full-nights sleep never felt so good.

Comprehensive Exams: Ringin' the Bell!

A bell tower sits proudly behind the beautiful Chapel on campus. Dating back to 1832 this bell originally sat on the Chapel rooftop until it was found to be rotting, then it was refurbished. Today, the ringing of the bell signifies something victorious. During football season you can hear the bell ringing when the Bulldogs score a touchdown. But, in comprehensive exam season, you can hear the bell ringing after someone has finished the exams. And, that is exactly what we did...we rang the bell. Woo...that felt good!

Comprehensive Exams: Mission Accomplished!

Done. Done. And, done. Having run two marathons, I can now say that I have completed a mind marathon too. Seriously, that was grueling! I averaged about three hours of sleep every night, as my mind did not want to shut down. The last day was similar to the Chicago marathon at mile 23. You just don't think you can go anymore, because your brain feels like mush, when all of a sudden a burst of mind energy allows the wisdom to flow.

I was not alone in this adventure, see the amazing IHE comprehensive exam crew in the photo!

Playing TODAY: PhD Comprehensive Exams

ONE Week COUNTDOWN!

I am tired. My back hurts right between the shoulder blades in those little muscles that run between my shoulder and spine. My head is saturated with authors and dates (Meyer & Rowan, 1977; Slaughter & Rhoades, 2004; Corbett, 2009; Zaharadias, 2007, etc. etc. etc.) My hips feel as tight as a vice. My PhD bum is atrophied with a total lack of movement. This is my life. PhD comps. One more week until I sit down to take them.

In the meantime, I am trying hard to keep my body and mind fueled with "superfoods" and antioxidants, which makes for a lot of kale and green tea. Luckily, my study partners are amazing and have kept me sane through this process and were also more than willing to participate in a "Comps photo shoot" (see photos).

Meet Sarah B.: the baker extraordinaire who shares her home-baked beer bread and delicious granola cookies, who entices me to conversations about plastic rubbish in the Pacific, who listens to me talk about my obsession with the Finnish sauna world championship, who gets what I am talking about when I say, "neoinstitutionalism" and "cultural scripts", who drinks a load of yerba mate tea, and enjoys long walks to Espresso Royal Coffee shop.

Meet Solomon: the 6'10" California dude who keeps me grounded with his down-to-earth approach to life and sudden narcoleptic bouts of head nods, thinks "Pete" the perch fish (the Comps mascot) gives him good vibes, is entertained by Snookie from Jersey Shore (whoever that is...), enjoys intellectual conversations about religion, and loves the neon orange earplugs that I gave him.

Meet Scott: the Florida dude who would much rather be watching football or "cleaning the house" than studying, is totally chilled about the whole COMPS thing which makes Sarah & I feel much less stressed about this whole thing, likes to listen to music while studying, and feels that COMPS is cramping his fall football watching schedule.






Photo BELOW: Study Break!

Welcome to Rutherford Hall!

In the midst of studying for comps, other responsibilities (besides bathing, eating, and sleeping) beckon my attention. Move-in! Yep, as a Graduate Fellow, residing in the University of Georgia residential halls I had the opportunity and duty to assist students moving into Rutherford Hall. To be honest, I took more photos than carried boxes because we had a fantastic moving crew of student residents who were very eager to brave the humidity to schlep mini refrigerators, boxes of clothes, and decor. They even managed to stop for an action photo...and jump! The day ended with a cook-out (or as we call in Colorado, a BBQ) wherein the eager students flipped burgers, hot dogs, and got to know one another. Back to studying!

Nose in the Books: PhD Comps!

The other day my friend asked, where in the world are you...you seem disconnected? I am not rafting in Colorado. I am not riding camels in Morocco. I am not drinking grappa or eating pizza in Italy. I am not hiking through the rice paddies in Vietnam. I am in the dichotomous world of studying for COMPS; sometimes I find it agonizing, painful, and stressful while other times I find it enlightening, calming, and intellectually stimulating. The word "Comps" may not mean much to you, but to an American PhD student in their third year, it means a big-freakin' exam. Here is the deal, as a rite of passage into the PhD world (as if there has not been enough hazing), I must successfully pass an exam that has my brain and butt feeling like mush. The week of August 30, I will receive four questions, within four consecutive days--one question each day. I am expected to have researched the topic extensively in order to write a 10-12 page paper on-the-fly, in four hours, with nothing but my brain and a computer (no resources, no books, no bottles of wine, no internet, and no cheat sheets allowed). Citing is expected. That means that I need to memorize all authors that I want to cite and have a fairly clear idea of what I am going to write. So, there you have it...the reason I am in a cave right now.

Here is a day in the life of Leasa (right now): Wake up (no alarm...ahhh!). Make an egg with cheddar cheese and tomato on an English muffin while preparing Earl Grey tea. Sit down at my computer. While catching up on email...eat. Scan BBC headlines. Shower. Pack a lunch. Go to coffee shop (preferably Jit Joe's). Order green tea. Stick blue ear plugs in my ear. Read. Take notes. When the stomach growls, eat lunch while reading. Yawn. Yawn again. Pack up. Go home. Grab a book. Crawl in bed. Read until my eyes close. Nap. Wake up. Yoga. Luckily, my evening schedule is not as routine. Some nights I meet a fellow PhD friend to study at the library, while other nights I teach yoga or take time off to make a delicious dinner with Charlie. So, there you have it. The joys of COMPS! Okay, it is not all that bad, but I am developing what I lovingly call the "PhD butt".

Ice, Ice, Baby!

Recently a friend received an "icing". This is when a Smirnoff Ice (an otherwise disgusting alcoholic beverage) is presented as a gift to an unsuspecting friend, partner, or foe and if they accept the gift (in disguise of course) then they must drink it on one knee. Okay, it is a rather cheesy and started as a fraternity drinking game (shocker!), but it has spread like rapid fire from the Frats to Ashton Kutcher to the workplace to my own PhD circle of colleagues. The original group of guys called the game, "Bros Icing Bros" and even created a website to post videos/photos. Smirnoff was not a fan of the game and shut down the frat-astic website. The PhD posse gathered last Friday to celebrate one of our colleagues passing the BIG exam and it resulted in a "Bro Icing a Sister". (I think they might need to change up the name of the game to make it more gender neutral.) Anyway, it was all taken in with good humor and added a little zest to an already HOT (95 degrees) and spicy evening at Cali n Tito's.