I should keep up with this thing better

My last post I talked about two meetings I had scheduled. Well, thanks to the Oklahoma weather they were both rescheduled for late January. However, I think I have made up my mind about which grad program I am going to pursue. But first let me tell you what helped me make up my mind. The first day of finals week was resheduled to that Friday and after taking my World Civ I final I went to work to find my boss pulling teeth and hair to get papers graded and grades turned in for reports. I jumped in started an marking written essays from a Comp I class and flew trhough them in about thirty minutes. My boss looked at me and asks, "What is your schedule like next semester? Do you wanted to teach the APA portion of my essay writing class?" I was sort of set back at first, but regained composure and ask what the time commitment was due to my Senior Research Project being my final obstacle and how I could do that not yet having recieved my degree. She explained in the developmental department only a bahcelors was required and mined was already confirmed. In addition, my experience in the lab and previous employment gave me more than an ample amount of experience. So to make the long story some what short. I am going to pursue the higher education degree to stay in the college atmosphere. I will still make my appointment with the Univerisity of Tulsa's Law school, but will not be pursuing the law degree, yet. My application packets for two other schools that offer the masters program I will pursue are waiting on sealed transcripts so I can send them off. Cross your fingers.

I made it through the finals weeks power outage fiasco. We had no power at home or on the farm. Life was pretty shitty for a few days, but at least we had family in the area. It was in-laws but they are still family. Fun to visit but defintely not to hang with for a week. Do not get me wrong they are wonderful people and deserve the best in the world, but there house is not mine. Anywho, studying that week was a bitch because not only were we stranded at the inlaws my sister inlaw, her two girls, her fiance, and his two boys were there. For the first time in four years of going to this school I spent three consequetive evenings trying to find a quiet spot in the library. Not to shabby a place to work but I would still rather sit on my couch and watch the news over the top of my laptop as I research a paper while sitting in my underwear. Grades for the semester came back on the 22nd and I pulled three A's an a B. The B in under appeal because several of us in the class who could have taught the class were subject to a different level of standard than the rest of the class. More on this will come down the road. The damn B dropped my GPA to a cumulaitve of 3.79, .01 from latin honors. Oh well, I better pull the 4.o for next semester.

The storm that caused the power outage also caused a lot of damage to the trees. The weekend after finals I got several fraternity brothers together and another buddy to start stock piling all the firewood we could over the X-Mas break. We have tracked a tree service for over a week and pulled over nine cord of wood between the first of two yards they worked next to each other. So far we have piled and stacked almost twenty cord, that has only cost us two tanks of fuel, a few lunches, and a couple 30's of Bud Light. Our next step after break is to cut everything to stove length and start splitting and staking ot to season then sell. Fortunately, these damn Okies do not buy a cord of wood, they buy a "rick" of wood which is precisley a half cord, 2x2x8. The rick as they call it goes for about $60-$85 depending on split, stack, and delivery, so we are in for a pretty penny when it sells.

Well, I am getting tired and am going to be hauling more wood tomorrow. So I hope everyone had a great Christmas and will have a Happy New Year. Take care and take the time to make at least one other person smile a day.

DB

Any input???

I am going to be meeting with two different grad schools this week about possibly attending there schools. Tuesday morning I meet with the Dean of the School of Education at Oklahoma State University--Tulsa about their Higher Education Masters degrees, one emphasizing a cirriculum in Student Personell Services (working admin or staff positions) and the other a Masters in Education (teaching and lecturing). Wednesday afternoon I meet with the President, Dean of Law, and several distinguished alumni from the University of Tulsa to discuss a possibility of attending their Law school. My problem is not getting into either school because I have busted my ass to retain a 3.8 GPA as an undergrad, and my decision is not based off the cost of either school. Even though the University of Tulsa cost $25000 per semester regardless of how many classes I am taking. My dilema resolves with what I want to do for the rest of my life. I completely enjoy every minute I spend teaching, and working in the atmosphere of a higher education institute, but will I get burned out on it. One of my passions is the law, I love to research the law and help people that cannot afford a lawyer. In addition, whenever I read or research the law it does not leave my mind. It becomes a hinderance sometimes when I cannot get a certain statute or code off my mind. I have to work that statute or code until I have answered the questioned I started with. Sometimes I just have to pour a tall vodka and cranberry to help forget about it. The downfall I see myself in the most involves income. Working in higher education really starts to pay once a professor or staff member has reached tenure and that is a process that can take upwards of ten years. Working with a general law degree to help the misfortunate only looks like it will leave me extremely in debt. The next level of degree is already a part of the Dirty Berg life plan, but choosing the one that will leave me and my wife in a better spot financially than we are now is the key. Any outside opinions would be greatly appreciated.

DB