graduate school is making me more introverted

I just thought I'd share. I'm increasingly coming to enjoy being home alone.

Two years of home ownership

That leaves a mere 28 years on the mortgage (it better not take me that long to get my degree...). I posted about it at the time here. I feel fortunate that circumstances (extra funding and my dad co-signing) made this possible. It still doesn't quite feel real. At what age will I start thinking of myself as a real grown up?

Grandpa graduated from high school in a borrowed suit

My mom reminded me of this when I asked her if he'd be proud of me and it's really stuck in my mind these last few days. It may be the start of a new song. He was the first in his family to finish high school. My mom and uncle both have masters degrees. In a few years, God willing, I'll be the first to get a PhD.

He graduated from high school in a borrowed suit, but in a few hours I'll defend my MA thesis in a suit I bought at Men's Warehouse. I've been thinking of all the hard work of other people that lets me be where I am, something I did a post about when I started graduate school.

I've been reading Homegrown Democrat by Garrison Keillor, and it has probably prompted some of this reflection. I think that acknowledging the nature of our social inter-dependence (and in many cases simply acknowledging its existence) gets at one of the key divides between left and right ideology, but, as a scholar I can't in good faith pigeon hole those with whom I disagree into a reductionist version of their position, so I'll expand on that point in the future.

The eighth lap was always the hardest...

I ran track in high school. I did the mile and the two mile. With seven down and one to go I would always just want to be finished and the last lap really hurt. As yesterday made seven down one to go for another ordeal [EDIT 1/24/08: I'm talking about W], I'm bracing myself for a long, painful year. I should be more optimistic, but I'm mostly just tired and want the clown to go back to his ranch so we can attempt to pick up the pieces of the mess he's made. Having a nephew makes all the more real my obligation to future generations--what kind of world are we going to leave them? The alternative to hope is despair, so I try to go with hope. But it's hard sometimes. Sort of like finishing a two mile race.

UPDATE: In the spirit of this post I'm installing this widget.