CLICK HERE TO SEE UPDATE (January 1, 2006)
CLICK HERE TO SEE UPDATE (June 11, 2005)
CLICK HERE TO SEE UPDATE (February 1, 2005)
CLICK HERE TO SEE UPDATE (August 29, 2004)
We don't know what we don't know! There's no arguing about that. Since knowledge is power, it behooves us to gain lots of it. I compare knowledge with fuel for the brain. Furthermore, I compare people with vehicles; and some of these vehicles are very low on fuel. Where do we go to fill up our tanks? To any institution, library, web site, book; in fact there are hundreds of ways of filling up. Let me tell you how I have kept my tank full.
Anything before junior high is kinda like a blur. I remember the schools I attended just because they are in my home town and after living there for so many years there's no way to forget. Besides, my parents still live in the same town, it's been over 30 years. From the seventh grade forward it's a little bit clearer in my head. Seventh and eight grade were not very good, you know trying to define myself as an up coming teenager. Besides, it was my seventh grade math teacher the one one told me I would amount to nothing in life. Ninth and tenth were much better, even though I was in a military school; discipline was the last thing on their list. I made a lot of good friends and did very well in class. I was able to perfectly balance being the class clown with being on the honors roll . . . Not too bad, heh! However, I grew tired of this school. Too many snobs, too many rich kids (many of whom did not do too well in life after all).
For my junior year I decided I wanted to go to a different private school, I ended up going to a catholic school. Big mistake, this was just about the worse school ever. They had this new grading system based on "pass" or "fail", no grades. That was awful. Then we had religion class and mandatory mass attendance . . . mandatory for those who went, I did not. There were better things to do. Like be popular with the girls. Got to give that school dues were they're due, I think that was the school with the best female population I have ever attended. Finishing my first term of my junior year I once again reconsidered my choices and convinced my parents to let me finish my second term of my junior year and my senior year in public school. Talk about a golden move . . . That was the best move I had made so far during that period of time. There I was, back in school with all my friends from grade school and all the crew from the neighborhood. Constant partying . . . And studying of course. Best thing was that I had eliminated the the vast majority of required credits in private school since they are so ahead of the public school system. I ended up taking four classes to complete my junior year and three classes in my senior year. Oh yeah!!!
Graduation came around in 1984, fast forward to 1989 and after my initial enlistment in the Armed Forces I went back home for my undergrad degree. The first couple of years were amazing, I never thought a person could spend so much time in clubs and still get good grades. After a short break of eight months (thanks to Saddam Hussein in 1991) I resumed my junior and senior years of college. After much thought I added R.O.T.C. to my workload and things slowed down, just a little bit. Once again, graduation came around in a year ending in "4". In 1994 I received my undergraduate degree in Criminal Justice and my commission as an Army Second Lieutenant.
And we fast forward again to 2002 when I decided it was time to refuel so I headed on the path of getting my graduate degree. This time around it was totally different. Full time Soldier, full time dad, full time husband, and full time evening grad student . . . Talk about burn out!!! With all that to manage I learned to be an efficient time manager. I stretched out days to last 25 or 26 hours. In the end, and in another year ending in "4", this summer I received two master's degrees in Human Resource Development and Computer Resource and Information Management. It seems like a trend that I hit an educational milestone every decade ending with the number "4" (1984, 1994, & 2004). If I continue this way I just might complete my PhD in 2014. Who knows???
After thinking about taking a year or two off before pursuing my PhD I've decided to go for it. I'm going to strike while the iron's still hot. I've been accepted into a School of Business Organization and Management (Human Resource Management) PhD Program. I plan to begin in January of 2005. However that could shift due to my impending permanent change of orders move that is due to happen anytime soon. Although my tank was not even 1/4 empty, I figure it's time to refuel a bit. Hopefully this all will pan out. I'll keep you informed. In the mean time I'm going to enjoy the free time I have until this kicks off.
Ok, so here it is . . . What you've been waiting for . . . I did start my PhD program. January 3rd was my first day of class. It is definitely going to be a as hard as I thought it would be, but I need to do this. I'm only taking one class this term. Next term I might try taking two to see how that goes. I'd like to complete my degree by the time I retire in about 4 1/2 years. Let's see if I can make this happen. I'll keep you all posted.
Wow!!! That's all I can say. This PhD program is an a$$kicker. I am not going to surrender just yet or no time soon. For those of you thinking about pursuing it, JUST DO IT. It is very time consuming but I'm sure in the end it will pay off. If you are Active Duty in the Army be aware of one important fact; Army Tuition Assistance (TA) does not cover PhD, so you are on your own. Right about now the folks at Citibank Student Loan Department are on first name basis with me. It looks like it's going to be a long and rocky road but I'm in it until the end (hopefully).
So, here I am, with a little over half the PhD program under my belt. If all goes accordingly and the stars align correctly I should enter Comps in the Fall 06 term. I think I have an idea of what my dissertation will address . . . But I don't want to make it known yet in case I decide to change it. Hopefully by then I'll still have a couple of brain cells left to help me get through with it. If/when I finish this degree I am not going to touch another book ever again. I am going to dedicate more time to my recording - a subject covered in another section of this home page!!!