卒業

あじゃなかった、新学期ですね。あ、とそれももしかしたらもう数週間前の話になってしまった•••？（この点々々、微妙。）

と、私日経ウーマンをネットで読むの辞めました。 以前は自分が読んでも使える情報が載ってんたんですが、最近自分が求めてるモノが変わってきたと言うか•••

で、日経ウーマンに関するポストはこれで最後？と思います。「転機」を呼ぶ方法！どうやら私は「直感力」が鈍いそうです。確かに毎日、毎週同じ事をしてるので、直感的に行動する時間はありませんが。

今までは、土曜日だったら瑞穂区の図書館に行って本読んでましたけど、最近忙しくて全然行ってません。でも、これを機会に、「毎月」読んでた「同じ雑誌」に「さよなら」を言う事に。

さよなら、日経ウーマン。私、貴方から卒業します。長い間、お世話になりました。

Philosopher's Walk

On a drizzly evening this past week my family and I went out to explore a dusky Kyoto. My brother led the way toward the Philosopher's Walk, which we took toward Ginkaku-ji until we stopped from lack of light and too-muddy paths. Along the way we saw some cherry trees and duck couples. All was well in the world.

Right now before me lies a different kind of Philosopher's Walk—one paved with deadline after deadline. Buuuut, last weekend I got through one major one, and I'm feeling pretty good about the fact that I can chillax for the next couple of days.

So today and tomorrow I am getting myself organized and preparing my lesson plans. Having students—like, warm bodies in the room—is an amazing feeling...I just hope that I didn't piss them off to the point of preventing them from registering. Actually...now that I think about it, that's entirely possible...

Here's to a steadily warming Spring Semester!

GSA #14: On Papers and Presentations

I think I've reached my limit on conference presentations for the year—and I've only given one so far. It's not just the work of preparing the paper/presentation itself; it's also the timing. Sometimes I'm in the "talk stuff out with friends over tea and gluten-free cookies" phase. Sometimes I'm in the "present 7-page papers to strangers and get feedback" phase. Sometimes I'm in the "just effin' finish the darn article and send it off" phase. And right now I think I'm in that third phase.

But alas, I've mysteriously signed up to present three more times in the next three months. WTF? And I also was trying to figure out whether I had any juice left to craft an abstract for submission later this year. So, in order to sort through my various past/future papers and make myself an actionable to-do list, I turned to my trusty Excel spreadsheet.

Oh, you know me—I have a spreadsheet for everything. For finances, movies, travel destinations, clothes. So of course I would have one for papers (named, appropriately, <papers.xls>). These spreadsheets aren't sophisticated, but they get the job done.

In this said "papers" spreadsheet I have columns for the course for which I wrote the paper, the term in which I wrote it, its topic, the conference where it was presented, the journal to which I want to submit it, and the larger project to which it belongs. I've added to and modified these headings over time, but this set has worked out for me for the last several months.

The time I spent updating the spreadsheet last week helped me figure out what "to do next". I revised and collapsed the "larger projects" that I have in mind, enabling me to reframe my three upcoming papers—in other words, where they were coming from, and where they are going. Plus, now I have a better picture of which papers still offer an important piece of some "larger project" and is thus worth writing an abstract for.

I admit, though, this spreadsheet really didn't start giving me returns until the last year and a half of my Ph.D. program. One, during coursework, I was just writing random papers for seminars and couldn't identify any salient themes; two, during Qualifying and ABD periods, every paper I wrote was for the dissertation. It's only recently that I've been able to balance those two extremes and understand why I was writing all those "random" papers in the first place, and how they fed into (and can later grow out of) my dissertation. (If you're one of those people who've always known exactly what to write for the dissertation, good for you...I guess.) But there's something really gratifying about identifying all the themes and "larger projects" lurking within the spreadsheet. The Professor Is In has discussed the necessity of a second project while on the job market, and while her points are of course important, I have a stupidly simple reason for maintaining this spreadsheet: I get distracted by little "side projects", and it's nice to know that they can all be collected into something legit later on.

The spreadsheet can also be helpful if you're trying to figure out ways to "reframe" the "larger project" in such a way so as to include papers you didn't think belonged—thus cutting back on the amount of time you might have to spend on writing (new things) and revising. Because, you know, sometimes the magic is in the intro and conclusion...

[Yes, apparently "(Candace) Bushnell" and "Mishima (Yukio)" are interchangeable in my mind...]

夜喫茶 #10: スガキヤ

皆様、お久しぶりです。もうすっかり季節は春ですね。私は春が大好きです。暖かいし、お花はたくさん咲くし、酒盛りができるし・・・と、お誕生日もあるし。

さて、友達が寿がきやの事を教えてくれたので、機会があったら行こうと思っていました。そうしたら、なんと！先日鶴舞中央図書館に行ったら、地下にスガキヤが！！しかも、半額セール！！！運命でした。

つーか、なんで図書館の地下にラーメン屋があるわけ？全然分からん。ま、別に文句言うつもりは無いけど・・・

スガキヤは名古屋辺りを中心とした会社だそうで。スーパーでも色々と食品を売っているので、今度買ってみようかな。あ、でも、これからは体にイイ物だけを食べるんだっけ？

私はカソリック教徒ではないので四旬節には何もしませんが、もし断食するとしたら、チョコレートを食べない様にするかな？おそらく死ぬだろうな、イースターまでの間に・・・

夜喫茶 #9: 鼎泰豐（ディンタイフォン）

ある日突然点心が食べたくなったので、同僚に言ったら、皆で一緒に昼食を食べる事になりました。香港の点心とは少し違いますが、名駅セントラルタワーズの鼎泰豐に行きました。美味しかった〜。

台湾式でも香港式でも、点心は大人数がいいです。五人で行けてよかった〜。持つべき者は一緒に食いもん食える同僚だぜ、ホント。

[Photo courtesy of N...who, therefore, couldn't be in the photo himself...]

GSA #13: On (Skype) Interviews

It’s admissions season here, and my colleagues and I have been going through BA and MA applications and interviews for our program. This exercise has made me think several things.

One, many of our applicants have accomplished incredible things, even before they get to college. They think deep thoughts, do exciting things, and overcome considerable obstacles. I am impressed. (Of course, the students whose applications I read are a particular subset of people around the world.)

Two, different countries have different education systems. DUH. But when it comes time to rank students from all over the world for an international (particularly undergraduate) program, there’s a lot to consider in evaluating these applications. (Of course, even in the United States there are all sorts of schools, which influences the kinds of application “package” a student can submit. I’m sure the level of complexity is the same even within the U.S. microcosm.)

Three, although I went through my undergrad and Ph.D. application processes years ago, the job application process is still fresh(ly smarting) in my memory. And my god have I learned things about the (Skype) interview process that I wished I'd known earlier. Even though I read the post about phone/Skype interviews on The Professor Is In blog (along with many others), there's nothing like being on the interviewing side that really brings these things home:

1. Relax—if at all possible. While nervousness is often acknowledged by both parties, it puts a weight on all of your responses. And trust me, it's not good weight. (And contrary to what Sheryl Sandberg might say, don't lean in. It gives off a desperate vibe.)
2. Smile—not an idiot smile, but a comfortable smile—and DON'T STOP. It's heartbreaking when an applicant that had been smiling stumbles on a difficult question and stops smiling. It's almost like a quiet declaration of defeat. 
3. Make declarative statements—we're not playing an improv game here; don't answer a question with a question. Even if you're wrong, just say it like you mean it—and believe that you're right. Confidence (even if it's feigned, but especially if it's genuine) can make you look like a million bucks.
4. Be humble—yes, I know, I just emphasized confidence, but there's nothing more annoying than someone who isn't able to acknowledge just how much more there is to learn. Isn't that why we're in this business in the first place?
5. Don't look at note(card)s—write stuff down on your brain. I think it's perfectly appropriate to have pen and paper ready to take notes (especially since it shows that you are taking seriously the conversation you are having), but there's something unnatural about looking at note(card)s while you are trying to have a conversation with your interviewers. Things you say in an interview should be second-nature—whether it's about yourself, your research, or the school to which you are applying. If it's not something you know, it shouldn't be coming out of your mouth.

I practiced doing a Skype interview twice, with my friend and my professor, and it was immensely helpful. But now I realize that what would've been even more helpful was to practice being an interviewer, so that I could see for myself the things to do and not to do. So if you have friends who are on the job market with you, give each other practice interviews! It'll be a great bonding experience, and it'll be hella useful too.

I'm learning an incredible amount through this admission process—and I’m sending positive energy to all the students who get to apply to university and take entrance exams! And even more positive energy to the folks who are on the job market (academic or not), trying to find a job that they are happy with. 

[Yes, that's an alcohol ad...but I like it!!! It's so appropriate for my mood right now...]

夜喫茶 #8: チュウズデイオフ

お酒好きの皆様、こんにちは。昨日から三月でございます。と言う事は、桜の季節に一歩ずつ近づいて行っていると言う事・・・

先日ボンボンセンターのチュウズデイオフに行って参りました。その日はちょっと、その、新しい事に挑戦してみようかと・・・

正直言って、お店が可愛かったです。日本酒のお店とは思えない程チャーミングでした。なるほど、燻製のお店でも、こんな演出ができるのか・・・

日本酒の事が全然分からない私でも、黒板をじーっと観察しながらちょっとずつ注文していきました。一杯ずつの量も調節できるので、色々試したい人には嬉しいお店です。

お通しは三種の盛り合わせで、あんまし覚えてないけど、お漬物と何か？あと、トントロ！うひゃ〜、トントロは美味しかった。あれは丼一杯食べたい。死ぬけど。（人気があるのはオムレツだそうです。今度行ったら注文してみよう。）と言う訳で、気分転換したい時はチュウズデイオフですね。