So I am now (quickly) approaching the time of the semester that gets a bit "crunchy." I have a discussion/presentation due in a week and I have another assignment due on the following week. Meanwhile, the as yet undefined "game" assignment for my other class continues and I need to pick a topic for my big huge hairy final paper in management. True to form, I am following my predetermined cycle of preparation.
1. Acknowledgement.
This occurs at the beginning of the semester when I first read my syllabus and later listen to my professor go over the same document. I make a mental note of all major due dates and get a little freaked out about how much crap I need to get done in the next few months.
2. Planning. Like a good little student, I take my syllabi and enter all assignments and due dates into my Google Calendar. This way, I reason, I will be able to plan for the future. I assume that I will use this information to start on projects way before they are due, thus relieving my last minute stress.
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| (P.S. Google - you're welcome for the free advertising!) |
3. Defer, defer, defer. The semester starts, and it isn't so bad. The big assignments are really a long way off, so I take more time to do other things, such as blog. Or watch episodes of "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" on DVD.
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| From my favorite episode, "The Nightman Cometh" |
4. Realization. Once my first big due date arises, I earnestly attempt for about one hour to get some stuff done early. After the hour has elapsed, I suddenly recall that my true motivation and skills don't work unless I'm reeling towards the last minute. I give up, go play with puppies and watch HGTV.
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| I do love me some Holmes on Homes... |
5. Completion. In the last 48 hours before the due date, I rally my brain troops and finish up my work. True, it may not be my best work ever, but my grades don't usually suffer for it. Although this is not the last assignment I have due for the semester, my brain claims victory and will temporarily shut down from all academic thought.
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| Yep. |
Steps 3-5 repeat themselves throughout the semester until I am actually, finally DONE. Typically I have about a month or so between semesters and I take this time to really let my brain atrophy. It's pretty nice.
Unfortunately, now that I am approaching the halfway mark in my grad school education, I must start to consider the looming change that everyone is expecting when I graduate; I will need to change careers. The prospect of this is both thrilling and terrifying. I have been at the same company (in various roles) for almost nine years which equals pretty much all of my 20's. My reasons for staying have been a bit unrealistic at times, but the fact is, I like the people I work with and the company has been very good to me over the years.
However, given the fact that I am spending a great deal of (borrowed) money on training for an entirely different occupational field, I have to face the fact that my days at this job are limited. How, limited, I do not know, but I've decided that now is as good a time as any to prepare my resume. I am embarrassed to admit this, but I have not done a resume since I took this job nine years ago. Thankfully, I have only been with one company in that time, so it should be fairly simple, right? Aside from the fact that I've worked in at least three different departments with varying and broad duties all along. This might get complicated.
So if you happen to think of me in the next few weeks (as I'm sure you will) and wonder about my dearth of entries, know that I will either be deep in the throes of steps 3-5 on my list or agonizing about how best to jazz up the fact that I gained a lot of important skills from my job in the past decade.
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